Collective Dismissal and Redundancy in Turkey

Direct answer: A collective dismissal Turkey project is not completed merely by paying notice and severance. If an employer covered by Article 29 of Labour Law No. 4857 plans enough terminations for economic, technological, structural or similar enterprise, workplace or work requirements within one month, it must follow the statutory collective procedure. Thresholds depend on workplace headcount; written notice generally goes at least thirty days in advance to workplace union representatives, the competent regional authority and İŞKUR, and consultation is required where representatives exist.

Each employee's selection, valid reason, individual notice, receivables and reinstatement rights still require separate review. Artificially staggering dismissals or disguising redundancy as resignation can increase risk.

Collective Dismissal Turkey: 2026 legal check

2026 legal check: Collective-dismissal treatment under Labour Law No. 4857 depends on workplace headcount, the number dismissed and whether terminations occur within the statutory period for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons. Advance notifications and consultation duties may apply, but compliance does not by itself validate each termination. Selection criteria, discrimination, reinstatement eligibility, mediation and individual notice or severance rights still require separate review. The Collective Dismissal Turkey assessment must use the current official text and the documents in the individual file.

Collective dismissal Turkey: when Article 29 thresholds are reached

The calculation begins with the workplace's employee headcount and employer-initiated termination plan, not only the number already dismissed. Under the current statutory text, collective procedure is triggered within a one-month period when an employer intends to terminate:

• at least 10 employees in a workplace employing 20 to 100 employees;
• at least 10% of employees in a workplace employing 101 to 300 employees; or
• at least 30 employees in a workplace employing 301 or more employees.

Article 29 does not apply to a workplace below 20 merely because one dismissal is serious, although ordinary dismissal law still applies. The employee denominator, workplace boundary, proposed one-month window and reason for each exit must be documented. Do not count only people who accepted a settlement if the programme and surrounding facts show employer-driven terminations.

Which exits count—and why labels are unsafe

Employer terminations for economic, technological, structural or similar operational reasons are central. Genuine employee resignations, expiry of a valid fixed term, retirement choices and mutual termination may receive different treatment, but a label is not conclusive. A “voluntary” package offered under pressure, a resignation drafted by management or a manufactured misconduct ground may be treated according to its substance.

Terminations based on protected conduct, union membership, discrimination, pregnancy, complaint or retaliation cannot be made safe by including them in a redundancy programme. Nor should an employer use separate legal entities or dates to obscure a single operational decision. Build one privileged project list that records the actual proposed event, but do not prewrite explanations inconsistent with the board and business evidence.

Collective-dismissal planning table

Planning question	Evidence to prepare	Risk controlled
What is the genuine operational need?	Board/business decision, financial or workflow data and new organisation	Claim that redundancy is fabricated
Which workplace and one-month window apply?	Payroll headcount, workplace registrations and proposed exit calendar	Threshold miscalculation or unlawful staggering
Who must receive advance notice?	Union-representative list, regional authority and İŞKUR submission records	Procedural non-compliance
How are roles and employees selected?	Job map, objective matrix and comparable assessments	Arbitrary, discriminatory or retaliatory selection
Are alternative roles available?	Vacancies, training options, location/shift proposals and responses	Failure to treat termination as a last measure
What is owed to each employee?	Service, salary, leave, notice, severance and benefit calculation	Receivable and release disputes

The thirty-day notice framework

The employer must give written information at least thirty days before the planned collective dismissal to workplace union representatives, the relevant regional authority and the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR), according to Article 29's current wording and official channels. The notice should state the reasons, number and groups of affected employees and the period during which terminations will occur. Keep proof of content, authorised signature, delivery and receipt.

The statutory text links effectiveness of termination notices to thirty days after notification of the regional authority. That rule must be coordinated with individual notice periods and any payment in lieu; it is not permission to omit either. Verify the currently competent provincial/regional unit and İŞKUR filing method on submission day. An informal email to a general inbox should not be assumed sufficient.

Consultation with workplace union representatives

Where workplace union representatives exist, consultation follows the notice. Its purposes include avoiding or reducing the dismissals and mitigating adverse effects. The parties should record meetings and proposals in a document at the end. Consultation should occur while alternatives can genuinely be considered, not after every employee has been irrevocably selected and notified.

Provide enough accurate information to support dialogue while protecting legitimate personal and commercial data. Consider reduced overtime, hiring freezes, redeployment, training, voluntary arrangements, temporary measures or phasing where viable. Consultation does not require agreement on every proposal and does not eliminate management's lawful operational choice, but a ceremonial meeting can undermine the credibility of the process.

A collective procedure does not prove a valid individual reason

Employees within reinstatement protection may challenge whether a valid operational reason existed, whether the business decision was applied consistently, whether the employee's position actually disappeared and whether termination was a last measure. Courts do not simply replace business judgment, but they examine reality, consistency and the connection between the decision and dismissal.

The employer should show the old and new organisation, duties remaining after the reduction, vacancy search and why the selected role was affected. Hiring a replacement under a different title for materially the same work can contradict redundancy. An employee's weak performance should not be retrofitted as an economic reason. Performance and misconduct routes have their own warnings and proof requirements.

Objective selection and discrimination safeguards

Turkish law does not supply one universal scoring formula for every redundancy, but selection must be defensible, consistent with the operational decision and free of prohibited discrimination or retaliation. Define the selection pool before scoring. Relevant criteria might include role need, objectively evidenced skills, qualifications, experience and documented performance, weighted for the future organisation.

Avoid criteria that directly or indirectly target pregnancy, disability, age, sex, union activity, health leave or a prior complaint without a lawful and proportionate basis. Review outliers. Keep source records supporting each score, allow correction of factual mistakes and separate privileged legal assessment from manager comments. The dedicated guide on union-related dismissal explains the distinct anti-union claim.

Individual notice, payment and documentation

Each employee should receive a clear written termination notice stating the real reason with sufficient specificity for the applicable regime. Calculate notice or payment in lieu, severance if eligible, unused annual leave, earned wages, bonus/commission and other benefits. Payroll, release and bank payment should use consistent categories. A collective notice to authorities does not replace the employee's document.

A release has strict validity considerations and cannot cure a false reason or missed reinstatement period. Do not demand an undated resignation or condition undisputed wages on a blanket waiver. Provide employment records and statutory job-search leave where notice is worked and applicable. Foreign employees also need prompt work-permit and immigration coordination; see foreign workers in Turkey.

Reinstatement challenges and mandatory mediation

An employee covered by job-security provisions who alleges invalid dismissal generally must apply to a mediator within one month after receiving the termination notice. If mediation ends without agreement, the action is generally due within two weeks after the final mediation record. Coverage itself depends on statutory workplace/employer headcount, at least six months' service subject to exceptions, an indefinite contract and the employee not falling within the employer-representative exclusion.

Do not delay because authority consultation or an internal appeal is continuing. A reinstatement case differs from a claim for notice, severance or unpaid wages, although mandatory mediation applies broadly to employee-employer receivable and compensation cases. The guide on unpaid wages and wrongful dismissal provides wider background.

The six-month re-employment duty

Article 29 restricts engaging new employees for the same kind of work within six months after collective dismissal becomes final where the employer needs workers with the same qualifications. Qualified former employees should be invited in the statutory manner. The current wording and facts should be checked before recruitment begins.

Maintain a secure former-employee contact and qualification list, job descriptions and invitation/delivery records. A materially different specialist role may not be “same kind of work,” but changing the title alone is not decisive. Outsourcing, agency labour or recruitment through an affiliate should be assessed for whether it contradicts the asserted need and last-resort rationale.

Workplace closure is a related but distinct notification event

Where an employer definitively and continuously closes a workplace and terminates all activity, Article 29 provides a separate written notification/publication framework. It should not be collapsed into the ordinary reduction analysis. Confirm the notice recipients, timing and workplace announcement required by the current law.

A temporary shutdown, relocation, transfer of undertaking or outsourcing decision may fall under different rules and affect whether contracts continue. Classify the transaction before using a closure form. A transfer designed only to evade accrued employee rights will create additional exposure.

Evidence for an employee selected for redundancy

Keep the contract and amendments, termination notice and envelope/e-service record, payroll, service history, job description, appraisals, vacancy advertisements, organisation announcements, selection communications, names of materially comparable roles and the mediation application. Record who performs the work after departure using lawful, non-confidential sources.

Do not download customer files, trade secrets or colleagues' personnel records. A job advertisement, public corporate announcement or message lawfully received may be preserved with date and metadata. If the selection appears linked to union activity, discrimination, whistleblowing or leave, record the sequence and exact decision-makers rather than assuming motive.

Employer implementation checklist

1. Freeze the proposal long enough to map legal entities, workplaces, headcount and one-month windows.
2. Record the genuine operational decision and future organisational design.
3. Calculate Article 29 thresholds and identify all exits in substance.
4. Prepare accurate notices to union representatives, the competent labour authority and İŞKUR.
5. Consult representatives while reduction or mitigation options remain open.
6. Define selection pools and audited, non-discriminatory criteria.
7. Search and document suitable alternatives before final individual decisions.
8. Issue consistent employee notices and calculate every entitlement.
9. Calendar reinstatement, records, permit notifications and six-month rehiring restrictions.

Common collective-dismissal errors

• Counting dismissals by calendar month rather than analysing the relevant one-month plan.
• Excluding pressured “resignations” from the threshold.
• Sending authority notices after individual decisions are effective.
• Holding consultation only to obtain signatures on a finished outcome.
• Using undocumented manager preference as the selection matrix.
• Assuming severance payment prevents reinstatement or discrimination claims.
• Advertising the same work immediately under a changed title.
• Missing the former-worker invitation duty during the following six months.

What to send for an initial redundancy review

An employer should provide workplace/legal-entity headcounts, the business decision, proposed dates and roles, union status, selection pools and criteria, vacancy list, draft authority and employee notices, consultation plan and entitlement model. An employee should send the termination notice and receipt date, contract, role, service and payroll records, selection facts, available vacancies and mediation documents. Share through a confirmed channel and remove unrelated personnel data. A review can identify thresholds, missing steps and urgent claims; it cannot guarantee that a business reason or individual selection will be upheld.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is dismissal of nine employees always outside Article 29?

No universal answer is possible. The workplace headcount, other exits within the one-month plan and substance of arrangements must be counted.

2. Do mutual termination agreements count?

Genuinely voluntary agreements may differ, but an employer-driven or pressured programme cannot safely avoid the statute through labels.

3. Is thirty days' notice to İŞKUR enough?

No. Article 29 identifies multiple recipients and, where applicable, consultation; individual termination requirements also remain.

4. Must the employer agree with union representatives?

Consultation must be meaningful, but the statute does not require agreement on every operational proposal.

5. Can only high earners be selected?

Cost can be relevant to a genuine decision, but a crude salary-only rule may be inconsistent, discriminatory or unrelated to the future role structure.

6. Does payment of severance make the dismissal valid?

No. Payment addresses one entitlement; procedure, valid reason, selection and reinstatement can still be disputed.

7. How quickly must an employee challenge?

For reinstatement, an eligible employee generally applies to mandatory mediation within one month of the termination notice.

8. Can the company hire again after redundancy?

Article 29 restricts hiring for the same kind of work within six months and can require invitation of qualified former employees.

9. Are fixed-term expiries automatically included?

A genuine expiry differs from employer termination, but sham fixed terms or non-renewals used to implement the plan need careful classification.

10. Does workplace closure use the same steps?

Article 29 contains a related but distinct closure notification/publication framework; the facts must be classified first.

Official sources

• Labour Law No. 4857, including Articles 18–21 and 29
• Labour Courts Law No. 7036
• Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR)
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security
• Court of Cassation official decision search

Legal information updated: 21 September 2026.

Publisher: Attorney Emirhan Keskin, Mersin Bar Association registration no. 5507.

This guide supplies general information on Turkish collective dismissal and redundancy. It is not a substitute for advice on a particular workforce plan or termination, and it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Headcount, timing, competent authorities, selection and procedural periods must be verified from current records and official rules.