ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

Importance of Obtaining Defense Statement in Labor Law* Att. Yesim Tokgoz Turkish Labor Law is a branch of law, the general framework of which is drawn through Labor Law numbered 4857 (“Labor Law”) and the related regulations, which subtleties are embedded in Supreme Court practice. Within this field, some procedural actions that are con- sidered to be simple and unimportant may change the outcome of pro- ceedings. In this regard, it can be said that most of the disputes arising from the termination of employment relations are due to the improper implementation of these procedures. In this article, we focus on “de- fense statement” in these procedural actions, which is considered to be simple, and its importance, in the case of termination of employment contract of indefinite duration. Obtaining Defense Statement The basic principle in labor law for employers is to base their decisions on legal grounds and prove their actions. In this context, the lawfulness of the decision to terminate an employment contract is based on whether a defense statement should be taken from the em- ployee or not, and evaluation of this statement. However, in practice, due to the employers’ precipitous manner in terminating employment contracts, the content of the defense statement request, timing and evaluation of the statement provided, are not concluded properly, at times, and these cause unintended negative consequences. However, in accordance with the established caselaw, the employ- ees must be informed of the events and/or instances in which he/she caused negativity/disturbance for his/her employer within a reasonable period of time in order for the employees to submit his/her statements. * Article of November 2018