Reinstatement Lawsuits in Türkiye
An Employer-Side Risk Overview
20 MAy 2026
Author: Av. Onur Puğ
Under Turkish employment law, reinstatement risk usually starts once the workplace reaches the 30-employee threshold.
If the employee also has at least 6 months of seniority and works under an indefinite-term contract, termination may no longer be treated as a simple management decision.
The employer is expected to prove that the dismissal was based on a valid reason supported by written procedure, proper documentation, proportionality, and legally obtained evidence.
Severance and notice compensation alone do not automatically make the process legally safe. And the financial exposure may become much larger than many employers expect.
If the employee wins the lawsuit and is not reinstated, the employer may face:
4 to 8 months of reinstatement compensation
up to 4 months of idle period wages
additional employee rights, litigation costs, and related financial risks
And perhaps more importantly:
after a full legal dispute, you may also end up deciding whether you truly want the same employee back inside the workplace again.
The article covers subjects such as:
valid termination requirements
written defense procedures
personnel file management
performance-based dismissals
operational restructuring
mediation deadlines
burden of proof
subcontractor structures
holding companies
union-related dismissals
discrimination risks
court process
witnesses and expert reports
post-decision obligations
The practical message is fairly simple:
If the personnel file is empty, the employer usually enters the courtroom almost empty-handed. Written warnings, defense requests, performance records, internal emails, objective criteria, and properly documented processes may completely change the outcome of the case. The article is written mainly from an employer-side practical risk management perspective.
Full original article is available in Turkish on this website.
