Rufina Taştan Law Office provides advisory and litigation services for employee and employer disputes in Alanya. As a labor lawyer in Alanya, we protect our clients' rights across a broad field, from severance and notice pay to reinstatement claims, and from unpaid overtime to work-accident compensation. We offer service in Turkish and Russian.
Severance and Notice Pay
An employee whose contract ends for an unjust reason, or a reason that entitles them to compensation, may claim severance and notice pay once the conditions are met. To qualify for severance pay, the employee must generally have at least one full year of service; compensation is calculated as 30 days of gross wage for each completed year. Notice periods vary with the employee's length of service (for example, two weeks for less than six months), and failure to observe them gives rise to notice pay. The limitation period for these claims is five years from the date the contract ends.
Reinstatement Claims
An employee covered by job security who is dismissed without a valid reason may seek reinstatement. This requires certain conditions, such as a minimum number of employees at the workplace and at least six months of service. Mediation is a mandatory stage before filing; the employee must apply to a mediator within thirty days of receiving the termination notice. If no agreement is reached, a claim is filed with the labor court in time.
Steps of the Reinstatement Process
- Review of the termination notice and its stated grounds
- Timely (30-day) application to a mediator
- Filing with the labor court if mediation fails
- Post-judgment application to the employer and the compensation process
Overtime and Unpaid Wages
Work exceeding the weekly statutory hours is paid as overtime at an increased rate. Claims and litigation are available for unpaid wages, overtime, weekly rest, and national and public holiday entitlements. Witness statements, payslips, entry-exit records, and bank transactions are important evidence in such matters; collecting evidence correctly directly affects the outcome.
Work Accidents and Occupational Disease
An employee who suffers physical harm from a work accident or occupational disease, or their relatives in case of death, may claim material and moral compensation. In these cases, the degree of fault, whether the employer met occupational health and safety obligations, and the scope of the loss are determined through expert examination. The process should be supported by medical reports and social security records.
Foreign Employees and Work Permits
For foreigners working in Alanya, the employment relationship is closely tied to the work permit. Employment without a valid permit, or after it expires, creates legal risk; the employer may also face administrative sanctions. We assess both the employment contract and the work-permit process together for foreign employees.
Employment Contracts and Workplace Advisory
Well-drafted contracts are the most effective protection before a dispute arises. We advise employers on fixed and indefinite-term contracts, non-compete and confidentiality clauses, and termination and record-keeping procedures. Our aim is to reduce the risk of future disputes from the outset.
Other Employee Claims on Leaving Work
Besides severance and notice pay, the end of the employment relationship may bring claims for unused annual paid leave, unpaid public and weekly holiday entitlements, and any bonuses or premiums. If the contract is terminated in bad faith to put the employee in a difficult position, a bad-faith indemnity may arise; if the employer breached the duty of equal treatment, a discrimination indemnity may apply. Which claims arise depends on the length of service, how the wage is documented, and the reason for termination.
Claim Items to Assess
- Unused annual paid leave
- Unpaid overtime, weekly rest, and public holiday pay
- Bonuses, premiums, and other contractual rights
- Bad-faith and discrimination indemnity where conditions are met
In a significant portion of employment disputes, mediation is a mandatory stage before filing a claim. We conduct this process in Alanya with care, calculating all claim items fully and protecting the client's interest.
You can discuss your employment-law issue with our office in Alanya during a free initial consultation. For service in Turkish and Russian, reach us at +90 538 838 63 66 and let us manage your process with care.
Does a foreign employee without a work permit have any rights?
Foreigners' work in Türkiye is governed by the International Labour Force Law No. 6735; the former Law No. 4817 was repealed by its Article 27. A first work permit is issued for up to one year, tied to a specific employer and job; extensions must be filed within the last sixty days before expiry (Arts. 7 and 10). When the job ends, the permit is cancelled; the employer must report the start and end of employment to the Ministry within fifteen days (Arts. 15 and 22). A valid work permit also counts as a residence permit (Law No. 6458, Art. 27), so leaving a job affects your residence status as well.
Working without a permit is sanctioned on both sides: administrative fines apply to the foreigner and to the employer, and the foreigner is reported for deportation (Law 6735 Art. 23; Law 6458 Art. 54(1)(ğ)). Yet work actually performed is not lost: under Article 394 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, an employment contract later found invalid produces all the effects of a valid contract until the relationship ends. Wage claims are possible but are weighed against the immigration risk. For a tax number and bank account see this guide, and for permit types see our 2026 overview.
When is severance pay due, and how long are the notice periods?
Severance pay rests on Article 14 of Law No. 1475, which Article 120 of Labour Law No. 4857 kept in force. It arises only on: dismissal by the employer other than for just cause such as the employee's breach of good faith and morality; termination by the employee for just cause; compulsory military service; retirement; voluntary resignation after meeting every retirement condition except age; a female employee leaving within one year of marriage; and the employee's death. Each full year earns thirty days' wages, capped by a periodically updated statutory ceiling.
For indefinite-term contracts, minimum notice periods are set by Article 17 of Labour Law No. 4857 and may be extended by contract:
| Length of service | Minimum notice period |
|---|---|
| Under 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 months – 1.5 years | 4 weeks |
| 1.5 – 3 years | 6 weeks |
| Over 3 years | 8 weeks |
Severance, notice, bad-faith and unequal-treatment compensation and unused-leave pay become time-barred after five years (Law 4857, Additional Art. 3), as do wage claims (Art. 32).
Is mediation mandatory, and is the case filed in Alanya or Antalya?
Under Article 3 of Labour Courts Law No. 7036, applying to a mediator is a precondition for suing over statutory or contractual employee and employer claims, compensation, and reinstatement; it also covers annulment-of-objection, negative-declaration, and recovery cases concerning those claims. Work-accident and occupational-disease compensation claims are excluded. The application goes to the mediation office where the other party resides or where the work was performed. The mediator must conclude within three weeks, extendable by at most one week in compelling cases, and the limitation period is suspended from the application until the final report.
If no settlement is reached, the case is filed with the labour court where the defendant resides or where the work was performed; jurisdiction clauses to the contrary are void (Art. 6). The Alanya courthouse has three labour courts (Alanya Justice Commission 2024 activity report); if the work was done in central Antalya, the Antalya labour court may also have jurisdiction. Where no labour court exists, the civil court of first instance hears these cases. See also our Antalya page and foreigners law.