What is a Fixed-Term Employment Contract?

What is a Fixed-Term Employment Contract?

Under the Labor Law, employment contracts signed between employers and employees are considered indefinite-term contracts if the employment relationship is not tied to a specific period. Fixed-term employment contracts, on the other hand, are defined in the law as written employment contracts made between employers and employees for a specific period or dependent on objective conditions such as the completion of a particular task or the occurrence of a specific event.

Fixed-term employment contracts cannot be renewed consecutively (in a chain) unless there is a substantial reason. Otherwise, the contract is considered indefinite from its commencement date. However, if there is a substantial reason, consecutive employment contracts retain their fixed-term nature.

4857 sayılı İş Kanununun 11. maddesinde. “İş ilişkisinin bir süreye bağlı olarak yapılmadığı halde sözleşme belirsiz süreli sayılır. Belirli süreli işlerde veya belli bir işin tamamlanması veya belirli bir olgunun ortaya çıkması gibi objektif koşullara bağlı olarak işveren ile işçi arasında yazılı şekilde yapılan iş sözleşmesi belirli süreli iş sözleşmesidir. Belirli süreli iş sözleşmesi, esaslı bir neden olmadıkça, birden fazla üst üste ( zincirleme ) yapılamaz. Aksi halde iş sözleşmesi başlangıçtan itibaren belirsiz süreli kabul edilir. Esaslı nedene dayalı zincirleme iş sözleşmeleri, belirli süreli olma özelliğini korurlar” şeklinde düzenleme mevcuttur.

According to the rules stated above, although there was a reason initially requiring the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract, there is no substantial reason subsequently requiring the conclusion of multiple employment contracts one after another with the plaintiff lecturer.

The defendant university has failed to prove a substantial reason for this. Furthermore, the defendant employer paid the plaintiff, a lecturer, both severance pay and notice pay due to the termination of her employment contract. The defendant also acknowledges that the plaintiff worked under an indefinite-term employment contract. Therefore, it must be accepted that the plaintiff worked under an indefinite-term employment contract.

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS, 9TH CIVIL CHAMBER | CASE NO. 2007/7996, DECISION NO. 2007/18353

Equal Treatment Rights of Employees

Unless there are substantial reasons, an employer cannot treat a part-time employee differently from a full-time employee, or a fixed-term employee differently from an indefinite-term employee.Article 5Personnel employed under a fixed-term employment contract cannot be treated differently from comparable employees employed under an indefinite-term employment contract solely on the basis of a fixed-term contract, unless there is a justifiable reason for the differentiation. (Article 12)

Does an employee qualify for severance pay under a fixed-term employment contract?

For employees working under a fixed-term employment contract, wages and divisible monetary benefits are paid proportionally to the length of time worked, based on a specific time criterion. Unless there is a justifiable reason to apply different seniority criteria for employees working under a fixed-term contract when seniority at the same workplace or business is required to benefit from any employment condition, the seniority applied to a comparable employee working under an indefinite-term employment contract shall be used.

A comparable worker is a worker employed at the workplace in the same or a similar job under an indefinite-term employment contract. If no such worker is found at the workplace, a worker employed under an indefinite-term employment contract performing the same or a similar job at a suitable workplace in that sector is taken into consideration.

A fixed-term employment contract terminates upon its expiration. If the contract is terminated prematurely, and if the termination is deemed unfair, the employee may claim compensation for lost monthly salaries for the remaining months.

In which employment relationships can a fixed-term employment contract be established?

For a fixed-term contract to be valid, there must be an objective reason explaining why the relationship is limited to a specific period. Examples of situations where fixed-term contracts can be used include company campaign periods, seasonal work, exhibitions/fairs/sports activities, compensation for temporarily absent personnel, stage work, projects/tendered works, unexpectedly increased orders, machine installation in a factory, and similar situations. 

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