Pilot and Cabin Crew Dismissal and Compensation Rights

When a pilot or cabin crew member is dismissed, rights commonly associated with the Labour Act cannot simply be assumed. For air transport personnel excluded from Law No. 4857, the applicable employment framework is generally the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO), together with the individual contract, any applicable collective agreement and workplace practice. The employee’s actual duties and the legal classification of the employment must be checked first.

This guide explains the different forms of termination, possible compensation, procedural requirements and the particular problems caused by losing a licence or medical certificate. It addresses the position of employers and employees without treating every dismissal as producing the same result.

1. Termination and procedure

A fixed-term contract and an indefinite-term contract do not end under identical rules. Unless otherwise agreed, a fixed-term contract normally expires at the end of its term without notice (TCO Article 430). Continuing it implicitly, or renewing fixed terms successively, raises additional questions under that provision. If an employer ends it immediately without just cause before expiry, Article 438 may give rise to compensation.

Under Article 432, the statutory notice period for an indefinite-term contract is two weeks where service has lasted up to one year, four weeks from one to five years and six weeks for service exceeding five years. The periods cannot be shortened but may be increased by agreement. They must be equal for both parties; where different periods have been agreed, the longer applies to both. The employer can terminate by paying the notice-period remuneration in advance.

The TCO does not give an exhaustive list of just causes. Safety breaches, serious misconduct, alcohol or substance issues, or the loss of required qualifications can be relevant, but none should be treated as an automatic justification without examining the facts. Labour Act Articles 24 and 25 may assist the assessment; that does not make the entire Labour Act applicable.

The Labour Act’s specific six-working-day rule is not expressly reproduced in Article 435. For a TCO employment relationship, the right should be exercised within a reasonable time in light of good faith. Investigation and the date on which the relevant facts became known should be documented.

2. Compensation and outstanding claims

If the employer dismisses immediately without just cause, Article 438 allows the employee to claim what would have been earned had the notice period been respected in an indefinite-term contract, or had the agreed term been respected in a fixed-term contract. In the latter case, expenses saved and income earned elsewhere, or deliberately not earned, are deducted. A remaining-term claim is therefore not necessarily the full gross balance.

In addition, the court may award a further amount, assessed in all the circumstances, of up to six months’ wages under Article 438(3). This is a discretionary ceiling, not a fixed award automatically due on every dismissal.

For excluded aircrew, statutory severance under the Labour Act system is not automatically available merely because the employment lasted a particular number of years. An entitlement may instead arise from an individual contract, an applicable collective agreement or established workplace practice. In the same 2018 case, the Court of Cassation required an investigation into whether severance payments to comparable aircrew had become an established practice. It did not grant severance to all aircrew as a general rule.

A contractual statement excluding severance should not be assumed to extinguish an existing entitlement under a binding collective agreement or established practice. Employers should review the complete legal basis, and employees should preserve evidence of contracts and comparable payments.

Where a profit-sharing or bonus entitlement exists, departure during the year does not necessarily eliminate the accrued proportion. The terms and practice governing the benefit must be examined. Unpaid salary, qualifying flight-hour payments, allowances and earned but unused annual-leave remuneration are separate items. Each requires its own contractual basis, records and calculation; an expense reimbursement and remuneration are not interchangeable.

3. Reinstatement, mediation and litigation

Labour Act Articles 18–21 do not automatically apply to aircrew excluded from that Act. The statutory reinstatement procedure is therefore generally unavailable on that basis alone. A collective agreement may contain additional job-security provisions, whose scope, procedure and remedies require separate examination. Other specific statutory protections must also be checked where relevant.

Under Article 3 of Labour Courts Law No. 7036, mediation is a prerequisite to lawsuits concerning employee or employer receivables and compensation based on legislation or individual or collective employment agreements. Aircrew claims arising under TCO service contracts are included in that framework. Under Article 5, labour courts hear employment disputes arising from those service contracts; the exclusion from Law No. 4857 does not by itself send the claim to an ordinary civil court.

Limitation rules differ by the claim, its legal basis and the relevant dates. Do not assume that one period covers wages, termination compensation and every other entitlement. Keep the termination notice and evidence, identify the correct mediation application and calculate the applicable periods promptly.

4. Licences, medical certificates and discipline

Aircrew must hold the qualifications and medical fitness required for their duties. An administrative suspension or loss of a licence can prevent flying, but its employment consequences require a separate assessment. A temporary inability to perform a flight duty does not automatically establish permanent impossibility, justify dismissal or permit unilateral unpaid leave.

The duration and reason for the restriction, responsibility for it, the contract and collective agreement, and the possibility of suitable ground duties matter. The employer’s protective duties under TCO Article 417 are particularly relevant to medical restrictions. The employee’s health and any necessary adjustments must be evaluated on the facts.

Aviation licensing and safety rules can produce administrative measures independently of employment remedies. The exact measure, its legal basis, conditions and review deadlines must be checked against the actual decision and the current SHGM text. An administrative challenge does not automatically resolve the employee’s monetary claims, or vice versa.

Safety reporting and fatigue-related concerns should be assessed consistently with the operator’s applicable non-punitive reporting procedures. Neither every safety report nor every disciplinary allegation determines the employment outcome by itself. Evidence, good faith, safety responsibilities and the applicable employment rules remain important.

Training-cost repayment and post-employment non-compete clauses are separate issues, discussed in the first article in this series. Losing a licence or being dismissed does not automatically make every claimed training cost payable. Because these events may affect future employment as well as the current contract, administrative and employment remedies should be considered together.

5. Checklists for both parties

Employer: before termination

• Confirm the applicable employment law, contract type and collective agreement.
• Check the alleged grounds and supporting records; distinguish a temporary restriction from a lasting inability to work.
• Prepare the written grounds required for immediate termination and assess notice-period obligations.
• Review severance entitlements, workplace practice and any suitable alternative duties.

Employer: after termination

• Calculate outstanding wages, eligible allowances, bonuses and unused annual leave individually.
• Examine training-cost terms separately rather than automatically deducting the claimed amount.
• For an employee release under Article 420, written form alone is insufficient: at least one month must have elapsed since termination, the type and amount of the claim must be explicit, and full payment must be made through a bank. A document signed immediately on departure does not automatically discharge all debts.

Employee: after termination or loss of fitness

• Keep the termination notice, employment contract, collective agreement, payroll, rosters and relevant correspondence.
• Document the basis for severance, profit-sharing and other benefits.
• Apply for required mediation promptly and preserve proof of the application.
• Check separate administrative review deadlines for a licence or medical decision while pursuing employment entitlements.

6. Legislation and judgments

• Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098: Articles 417, 420, 425, 430, 432, 435 and 438.
• Labour Act No. 4857: scope and exclusion in Article 4, and the distinct statutory job-security regime.
• Labour Courts Law No. 7036: Articles 3 and 5.
• SHGM legislation: applicable licensing and flight-time instructions; the precise measure must be checked in its current text.
• Court of Cassation, Ninth Civil Chamber, 25 June 2018, E. 2015/36466, K. 2018/13572. The historical termination date and former Code No. 818 are material to its interpretation. Judgments may be searched in the official judgment database.