Employment Law Series · 7 of 8
Severance and notice compensation are separate rights. A termination can produce both, one or neither. Long service alone does not make every departure qualify for severance; notice compensation concerns failure to observe an applicable notice obligation.
1. Entitlement to severance
The surviving Article 14 of Law No. 1475 generally requires at least one year with the same employer and a qualifying end to employment. Grounds include:
- Employer termination other than a proven morality/good-faith ground under Labour Law Article 25/II.
- Employee termination for just cause under Article 24.
- Departure for qualifying compulsory military service.
- Departure for qualifying retirement, old-age or invalidity pension or lump-sum payment, with the necessary documents.
- Departure after satisfying the relevant insurance-duration and contribution-day conditions other than age, where the statutory retirement-related route applies. Conditions depend on insurance history, not one universal age/day formula.
- A female employee's voluntary departure because of marriage within one year after marriage.
- The employee's death, with payment to legal heirs under the provision.
An ordinary resignation without a qualifying ground or a lawful Article 25/II dismissal generally does not qualify. Minimum service remains important. A probation label cannot reset accrued service or evade mandatory rules.
2. Calculation and ceiling
The basic statutory calculation is thirty days of the relevant final gross remuneration per full service year, with proportional payment for the remaining period. More favourable treatment of the thirty-day period is possible within the statutory framework; the annual ceiling still matters.
The basis includes qualifying regular monetary or monetarily measurable benefits, not only base pay. Meals, transport, regular bonuses, fuel or housing benefits may qualify according to their nature and valuation. Overtime, extra weekly-rest or holiday-work payments, unused-leave payment and genuinely occasional benefits are not simply added as regular pay. Labels alone do not decide regularity.
Distinguish statutory severance from separately agreed additional termination payments and their tax treatment. Calling everything severance does not extend the income-tax exemption. Qualifying severance within the applicable exemption is generally income-tax exempt and subject to stamp tax; notice compensation is generally subject to income and stamp taxes. Actual net amounts depend on applicable payroll rules and exemptions.
3. Notice compensation
Article 17 governs ordinary termination of indefinite contracts. Minimum periods are two weeks below six months; four weeks from six months to one and a half years; six weeks from one and a half to three years; and eight weeks above three years. Check exact dates, boundaries and any valid longer contractual period.
The compensation corresponds to the notice period using pay and qualifying monetary benefits. It is reciprocal: an employee leaving without required notice may owe the employer. Valid immediate termination and other statutory departures need separate treatment. There is no one-year service threshold, but a genuine probation clause may affect entitlement.
An employee terminating for just cause may qualify for severance without notice compensation for that own termination. A worker below one year may instead have notice compensation without statutory severance. Examine each right separately.
4. Which service counts?
- Actual dates: establish the real start and end with records and evidence.
- Same employer: examine different workplaces and whether periods may legally be combined.
- Transfer: workplace transfer does not automatically reset service. Transferor and transferee liability requires the applicable statutory rules.
- Leave and suspension: paid leave, maternity, unpaid leave, military and long medical absence do not all receive identical treatment. Check the type, dates and applicable provisions.
- Interrupted service: non-payment for an earlier period alone does not automatically require aggregation. The departure reason, qualifying entitlement, payment and validity of settlement matter. The same period cannot be paid twice.
5. Payment, interest and limitation
Severance generally becomes payable on a qualifying termination; delay engages Article 14's special highest-deposit-interest rule. Notice compensation ordinarily attracts statutory interest, but default, demand, mediation and claim dates affect commencement. Do not assume that every notice-interest claim starts automatically at termination.
The general current limitation period is five years under Additional Article 3 of the Labour Law. Temporary Article 8 contains transition rules for older claims. Suspension or interruption, including the relevant mediation period, must be checked; the headline period is not a safe calculation for every historical file. Covered employment-payment actions require pre-action mediation under Law No. 7036.
6. Release and payment evidence
Article 420 of the Code of Obligations requires a written employee release, at least one month between termination and release, clear claim types and amounts, and full bank payment. A paper signed on departure is not automatically a valid waiver of every claim.
Keep the service calculation, wage and benefit basis, period ceiling, deductions and bank evidence. Incomplete payments and receipts require separate assessment; the document's title is not decisive.
Series navigation
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Official sources
Ministry of Labour legislation: Law No. 1475 Article 14; Labour Law Article 17, Additional 3 and Temporary 8; Law No. 7036. Official July–December 2026 ceiling. Code of Obligations Article 420.
Reviewed on 27 October 2026. General information about Turkish law. Service, departure ground, payroll and limitation require individual review; Turkish statutory texts govern.