Job Seeking Leave in Turkish Law
WHAT IS JOB SEEKING LEAVE IN TURKISH LAW?
Job seeking leave; In definite-term employment contracts, if the contract is terminated by either employer or employee, this should be notified to the other party, which is called notice period. Until this period expires, it is essential that the employee keeps its position where its works. The purpose of notice period is to minimize possible damages of parties; the employee can seek a new job and the employer can seek a new laborer during this period.
The purpose of job seeking leave is to enable the employee to keep the current position where its works while seeking a new job.
How is Job Seeking Leave Applied?
When the employee or employer have used the notice period to terminate the employment contract, the employee is automatically entitled to have job seeking leave during the notice period. In other words, the employer should grant this leave to the employee. This leave is given by the employer within working hours and without deduction on the employee’s wages. Should the employer does not grant this leave to the employee or the leave is partially used, it has to pay the fee corresponding to the time not used.
The right of job seeking leave cannot be abolished or limited by contract. Even if it is not requested by the employee, the employer has to grant this leave to the employee.
If the employee finds a job during the notice period, job seeking leave terminates itself. In this case, according to the Court of Cassation, the employee, who finds a job during the notice period, cannot claim a fee related to job seeking leave.
THE DURATION OF JOB SEEKING LEAVE
Job seeking leave cannot be less then two hours a day. If the employee wishes, it can combine these leaves and use them collectively. This should be notified to the employer.
It is more appropriate that the employer determines between which hours the leave will be used. Nevertheless, if the employer determines these hours to the disadvantage of the employee, especially in the hours when it is impossible to find a job, the employee will be entitled to terminate the employment contract for good cause. For example, if the leave is given at nighttime to an employee who works at nights, it will be contrary to the natural flow of life and grants the employee the right of termination.
FEE IF JOB SEEKING LEAVE IS NOT USED
During the job seeking leave, wages are paid without deduction to the employee for the time when the employee seek a job. If the employee works within this time, the wage is paid with 100 % raised pay.
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