Terms Of Termination Prohibition, Unilateral Unpaid Leave And Short-Time Working Allowance Have Been Extended Again

• Introduction
• Extension of termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave
• Extension of short-time working allowance

Introduction

Shortly after the publication of Law 7252 on the Establishment of Digital Platforms Commission and Amendment of Certain Laws in the Official Gazette (Number 31199, dated 28 July 2020), two presidential decrees (Numbers 2810 and 2811) were published in the Official Gazette (Number 31202) on 31 July 2020extending the termination prohibition, unilateral unpaid leave and the short-time working allowance for one month (for further details please see "Termination prohibition, unilateral unpaid leave and short-time working allowance extended").

Following these developments, on 31 August 2020 another presidential decree (Number 2915) was published in the Official Gazette (Number 31230), which extended the short-time working allowance for a further two months from the expiry of the previous one-month extension.

Lastly, with Presidential Decree 2930 published in the Official Gazette (Number 31234) on 4 September 2020, the termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave have been extended for a further two months as of 17 September 2020.

Key amendments regarding the termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave introduced by Law 7252

include the following:

• The president can extend the termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave until 30 June 2021, for a maximum of three months per extension.
• The scope of exceptions to the termination prohibition have been expanded, with the following items now regulated as exceptions:
  • the expiry of the term in fixed-term employment or service agreements?
  • the closure of the workplace for any reason and termination of the employer's activities? and
  • the termination of work-in-service procurements and construction works conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation.

Extension of termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave

In accordance with Presidential Decree 2930, published in the Official Gazette (Number 31234) on 4 September 2020, the termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave, which were to expire by 17 September 2020, have been extended for a further two months until 17 November 2020. Therefore, employers:

• are prohibited from terminating employment contracts until 17 November 2020? and
• can impose unpaid leave without employee consent until 17 November 2020.

As per the amendments introduced by Law 7252, the president is expected to extend these terms.

Extension of short-time working allowance

Presidential Decree 2810, published in the Official Gazette (Number 31202) on 31 July 2020, provides that payment of the short-time working allowance for employers that applied for short-time working on grounds of compelling reasons due to COVID-19 by 30 June 2020 (inclusive) has been extended for one month until 1 Moreover, Presidential Decree 31230, published in the Official Gazette on 31 August 2020, extended this term for a further two months. At the time of writing, employers that fulfil the abovementioned requirements can benefit from the short-time working allowance until 31 October 2020 (inclusive).