Türkçe
Corona Virus (COVID-19) epidemic which occupies Turkey’s agenda for a while and causes both social and commercial life to come to a standstill, negatively effects the employers who are willing to maintain the existence of their employees. Especially, the sectors in which the activities are temporarily interrupted within the scope of the measures taken by the government, are more affected by this situation and have difficulty in maintaining the existing personnel employment.
At this point, Additional Article 2 of the Unemployment Insurance Law No. 4447 (“Law”) and the Regulation on Short-Time Working and Short-Time Working Payment published in the Official Gazette dated 30.04.2011 and numbered 27920 (“Regulation”) are frequently applied by the employers.
What is the Subject of the Regulation on Short-Time Working and Short-Time Working Payment?
In accordance with Article 1 of the said Regulation; the subject of the Regulation is to set the rules and procedures of the short-time working payment to be made for the insured employees who are employed by an employer under an employment contract, if the weekly working hours in the workplace of such employer is temporarily reduced significantly or stopped entirely or partially due to general economic, sectoral or regional crisis and compulsory reasons.
What is Short-Time Working?
The Short-Time Working is defined under paragraph (ç) of Article 3 of the Regulation as follows;
“Temporary reduction of the working time in whole or part of a workplace by at least a third or cease of the work wholly or partially for at least four weeks, without need of continuity due to the reasons listed under Additional Article 2 of the Law, provided not that such short-time working shall not exceed three months.”
Does Corona Virus (COVID-19) Epidemic Give Right to Make a Request for Short-Term Working Payment under the Regulation?
As stated above; in order for an employer to benefit from this right, the weekly working hours in the workplace of such employer should be temporarily reduced significantly or stopped entirely or partially due to general economic, sectoral or regional crisis and compulsory reasons.
Compelling reasons are described under the Regulation as follows:
“Periodic situations or situations like earthquake, fire, flood, landslide, epidemic disease, mobilization which are unpredictable, unavoidable and caused out of control or without default of the employer and resulted in temporarily reduction of the working time or cease of the activity wholly or partially”
In that respect, current COVID-19 epidemic and the sectoral decisions taken to cease or reduce the activities in this context fall under the definition of a compelling reason under the Regulation. For that reason; it is possible for the employers whose activities are adversely affected by COVID-19 epidemic and decreased may apply for short-time working payment.
What are the Requirements to Benefit from Short-Time Work Payment?
In order to enforce short-time working in a workplace, the employer should apply to Turkish Employment Agency or related labor union, if the same is a party to a collective labor agreement, by declaring that its working hours are significantly reduced or ceased due to compelling reasons under the Regulation. Following such application, the labor inspectors will make the necessary investigations and determine whether such application is appropriate.
The conditions for such application and the investigation to be made by the labor inspectors are indicated under Articles 5. and 6. of the Regulation. Pursuant to such articles; the important thing here is the determination to be made for which employees will be subjected to shot-time working and how this will be documented. Here, it will be appropriate to make the application by notifying the employees whose working hours are reduced accordingly or the employees whose working hours are wholly ceased since there is no need to employ such employees currently (such as the cleaning personnel or dining hall personnel may not be needed due to the closure of the facility) .
However, at this point, remote working and short-time working should not be confused. If the employer has instructed his personnel for remote working by complying with the same working hours usually applied at work, it would not be possible to accept that there is a decrease in the working hours of the workplace and in the activities of the employer.
Is Possible for the Short-Time Working Payment to be Cancelled or Refunded?
Even if the application regarding the short-time working payment is considered appropriate and accepted, the labor inspectors shall conduct inspections in the workplace during the short-time working application pursuant to Article 8 of the Regulation. If it is determined during such inspections that the employers have submitted wrongful information or documentation about the working hours of their employees during the application made for short-time working payment, the short-time working payment will be cancelled and the employer shall refund the already made payments together with the legal interest to be accrued as from the payment of such amounts to the employer.
For all these reasons; it is important for employers who will apply for short-time working payment to manage this process in detail and to conduct the necessary works without causing any errors or misreporting in order to avoid any rejection and sanction.
ERKUT LAW OFFICE
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