Severance Pay Claims of Employees Fulfilling the 3600-Day Seniority Requirement

Okyay Law Firm

Under the Labor Law No. 1475, employees who have completed the required number of premium payment days for retirement, but have not yet reached the retirement age, may terminate their employment contracts due to “retirement” in a manner that entitles them to severance pay. Since there is no notice period involved in this type of termination, this situation can cause challenges for employers, particularly concerning personnel organization. Employees who have currently completed 3600 premium payment days fall under this scope.

Article 14 of the –Repealed– Law No. 1475, which remains in effect pursuant to Article 120 and Provisional Article 6 of the Labor Law No. 4857, regulates the circumstances under which an employee is entitled to severance pay. Article 14 of the Repealed Labor Law No. 1475, which governs severance pay, is still in force. Pursuant to paragraph 5 of the aforementioned article, in the event of resignation, the date of initial entry into employment is taken into consideration to determine the entitlement to severance pay:

Employees will be entitled to severance pay if they resign to wait for the retirement age, provided that their premiums have been paid for:

• 15 years and at least 3600 days for employees who entered employment for the first time before September 1999,
• 25 years and at least 4500 days for employees who entered employment for the first time between September 1999 and April 30, 2008,
• 25 years and at least 5400 days for employees who entered employment for the first time after May 2008,
• 7000 days, without a year requirement, for employees who entered employment for the first time after September 1999.

The aforementioned year and day periods do not need to be completed at the same workplace. These periods can be completed at different workplaces, and there is no requirement to fulfill the duration and day conditions under the same employment status.