We would like to inform you that pursuant to the Presidential Decisions numbered 2810 and 2811, both of which were published in the Official Gazette dated 31 July 2020, the periods of short-term working allowance (in Turkish “Kısa Çalışma Ödeneği”), prohibition of termination of the labor contract (in Turkish “Fesih Yasağı”) and the option of the Employer to send the Employee on partial or total unpaid leave (in Turkish “Ücretsiz İzin”) have been extended for another one month.

As per the previous Presidential Decision numbered 2706 (the “Decision Numbered 2706”) published in the Official Gazette dated 30 June 2020, short-term working allowance period had already been extended for one month for workplaces that applied for short-term working until 30 June 2020 (included). The application of the one-month extension period had also been determined as below:

Now, the Presidential Decision Numbered 2810 (the “Decision Numbered 2810”) extends the short-term working allowance extension period within the same framework of the principles determined in The Decision Numbered 2706 for another one-month which will start as of the expiration of these dates mentioned above.

Moreover, the prohibition on the unilateral termination of employment contracts by the employer and employers’ option to send their employees on unpaid leave have also been extended for another one month starting as from 17 August 2020, as per the Presidential Decision No. 2811 (the “Decision Numbered 2811”) published in the Official Gazette on 31 July 2020. So, according to the Decision Numbered 2811, termination prohibition shall now continue until 17 September 2020 and in accordance with the Paragraph 2 of Provisionary Article 10 of the Labor Code Numbered 4857 (“Labor Code”), the Employers may send their Employees on partial or total unpaid leavewithin the aforementioned extension period of one month, i.e. until 17 September 2020.

The prohibition of termination shall not apply to the terminations due to the good faith and morality clauses provided in Article 25/1 (II) of the Labor Code or in the relevant articles of other Laws. Besides, prohibition of termination shall not apply to the exceptions provided in Article 5 of the Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws and on the Establishment of a Digital Media Commission No. 7252 published in the Official Gazette on 28 July 2020, explained in our Newsletter of 28 July 2020.

Our Law Firm remains at your disposal for any further clarifications or assistance you may need about the subject matter.