Compliance Quarterly Türkiye

Türkiye

Amendments to the labor law on weekly rest for tourism sector employees

With the Law on Amendments to Certain Laws and Decree Law No. 375, published in the Official Gazette No. 32956 dated July 14, 2025, certain changes were made to the Labor Law No. 4857 (Labor Law) which entered into force on the date of publication.

Under the new provisions, employees working at accommodation establishments holding tourism operation certificates may take their 24-hour weekly rest, which they are entitled to within a seven-day period, within four days following the entitlement date, provided that the employee submits a written request or gives approval. This regulation introduces an exception to the general rule of taking one weekly rest per week specifically for employees in such tourism-certified establishments.

In this context, any work performed by the employee during the entitled weekly rest will not be counted toward overtime for the portion equivalent to the normal daily working hours. The employees may withdraw their consent by providing written notice to the employer at least 30 days in advance.

Following the annulment of Article 27 of the law on international private and procedural law, which allowed choice of law in employment contracts, a new regulation has been introduced

Pursuant to Article 27/1 of the Private International and Procedural Law No. 5718, the parties to an employment contract were granted the opportunity to choose the law governing the substance of the contract, provided that the minimum protections afforded to the employee under the mandatory provisions of the employee’s habitual workplace law were preserved. According to Article 27/2, where the parties had not made a choice of law, the law of the employee’s habitual workplace applies to the employment contract and if the employee temporarily performed work in another country, that location is not considered the habitual workplace.

Although Article 27/1 of the Private International and Procedural Law established the law of the habitual workplace as the minimum protection standard, in certain cases, a “closer connecting law” providing higher protection than the habitual workplace law, did not apply in cases where the parties had made a choice of law, pursuant to paragraph 4 of the same article. For this reason, the Constitutional Court, in its decision numbered 2023/158 E. 2024/187 K., published in the Official Gazette on March 10, 2025, ruled that Article 27/1 violated Article 49 of the Constitution and that its annulment would enter into force six months later.

Following the annulment decision, Article 27, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Private International and Procedural Law were amended by Law No. 7550 on “the Execution of Criminal and Security Measures and Amendments to Certain Laws,” published on June 4, 2025, as follows:

(1) Employment contracts are subject to the law chosen by the parties in the contract, provided that the minimum protections afforded under the mandatory provisions of the employee’s habitual workplace law are preserved.

(4) However, except for the provisions of the law of the place where the work is performed that must apply at the time of performance, if there is a law more closely connected to the employment contract, that law may apply instead of the provisions of paragraphs one, two, and three.

Mobbing prevention circular

The Presidential Circular No. 2025/3 on the Prevention of Psychological Harassment (Mobbing) in Workplaces was published in the Official Gazette on March 6, 2025 (No. 32833). The Circular seeks to combat psychological harassment, defined as the deliberate and systematic mistreatment or humiliation of employees, and builds upon earlier measures such as the 2014 “Workplace Psychological Harassment (Mobbing) Information Guide.”

Employees may report incidents to their institutions, the Presidential Communication Center, the Parliamentary Petition Commission, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (ALO 170), the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey or the Ombudsman’s Office. The Circular re-establishes the Psychological Harassment Prevention Board, which will set national policies, coordinate training and carry out awareness-raising activities, with its secretariat run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Employers and managers are assigned primary responsibility to identify risks, adopt preventive measures, and ensure workplace protection. Institutions are expected to conduct training and awareness programs, while investigations must respect victims’ privacy and avoid harming organizational reputations through unfounded claims. Preventive provisions are also to be included in collective labor agreements.

Through this Circular, stronger obligations and preventive measures are introduced to address psychological harassment in workplaces.

You can read our full article, "Mobbing Prevention Circular."

The Grand General Assembly for the Unification of Case Law of the Court of Cassation has ruled that disputes arising from non-compete agreements fall within the jurisdiction of the commercial courts

The jurisdiction over lawsuits arising from post-termination non-compete agreements was previously unclear, as it was not certain whether such cases should be heard by labor courts or by civil commercial courts. The Grand General Assembly for the Unification of Case Law of the Court of Cassation, in its decision dated June 13, 2025, Case No. 2023/1, Decision No. 2025/3, resolved this uncertainty by ruling that civil commercial courts have jurisdiction. In the decision, the Assembly emphasized that the employee’s duty of loyalty applies only during the term of the employment contract, while the non-compete obligation agreed upon for the post-termination period constitutes an independent contractual undertaking, and that lawsuits arising from non-compete agreements are considered “purely commercial” (mutlak ticari) under Article 4/1-c of the Turkish Commercial Code. Accordingly, it was concluded that the competent court is the civil commercial court, eliminating the previous ambiguity.

Amendments to the labor law regarding notifications via registered electronic mail

With the Law No. 7555, published in the Official Gazette No. 32965 dated July 24, 2025, which amends the Law on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency, certain other laws and Decree Law No. 635, specific changes were also made to the Labor Law No. 4857. These amendments entered into force on the same date.

Under the new provisions, notifications under the Labor Law, which previously could only be delivered in writing, may now also be sent via the Registered Electronic Mail (KEP) system, provided that the employee gives written consent. Notifications that result in the termination of an employment contract are excluded from this scope. All costs associated with the use of the KEP system will be borne by the employer.

Constitutional Court decision on second amendment requests

In a petition before the Constitutional Court, the applicant claimed that their right of access to the court was violated due to the rejection of a second amendment request (ıslah) in a labor claims lawsuit. With its decision dated September 17, 2024 with the application number 2019/36380, the Constitutional Court held that, pursuant to Article 176/2 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, an amendment may only be submitted once in the same case, that the legislator aimed to ensure the orderly and timely conduct of proceedings and that the rejection did not impose a disproportionate burden on the applicant. Accordingly, the Court concluded that the prohibition on submitting a second amendment did not constitute a violation of the right to a fair trial. The decision was published in the Official Gazette on February 21, 2025.