As is known, the Law No. 7252 on the Establishment of Digital Platforms Committee and Amendments to Certain Laws, which was published in the Official Gazette dated 28 July 2020 regulated that the President is authorized to extend the periods for prohibition of termination and unpaid leave until 30 June 2021 and re-stated that the period for the short-time work allowance may be extended until 31 December 2020.

In this regard, the Presidential Decision numbered 2810 regarding the time extension for short-time work allowance and the Presidential Decision numbered 2811 regarding the time extension for prohibition of termination and unpaid leave were published in the Official Gazette dated 31 July 2020.

Previously, with the Presidential Decision dated 29 June 2020 and numbered 2706, the duration of short-time work allowance for workplaces which have applied for the short-time work until 30 June 2020 (including this date) was extended by 1 (one) month without a need for a new application and conformity assessment, for the same employees who have previously benefited from short-time work and with the same conditions. As such, 1 (one) month period was determined as:

- starting from 01.07.2020 for the workplaces where the implementation of short-time work has ceased before 30 June 2020,

- starting from the expiration date of short-time work for the workplaces where the implementation of short-time work practice continues as of 30 June 2020.

With the Presidential Decision No. 2810, the aforementioned periods have been further extended by 1 (one) month and this one-month extension period shall commence as of the end of the one-month period indicated above which has been set by the Presidential Decision No. 2706.

2. Time Extension for Prohibition of Termination (Presidential Decision No. 2811):

Previously, with the Presidential Decision dated 29 June 2020 and numbered 2707, the periods specified under Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Provisional Article 10 of the Labour Law whereby the three-month prohibition of termination is regulated were extended by 1 (one) month and the ending date of the prohibition was determined as 17 August 2020. The Presidential Decision No. 2811 has introduced a further determination and has extended the mentioned periods by 1 (one) month as of 17 August 2020, thus the new ending date of the prohibition has become 17 September 2020.

Therefore, employment or service agreements cannot be terminated until 17 September 2020, except for termination due to the violation of ethics and good faith rules and other similar reasons stated under subparagraph (II) of paragraph one of Article 25 of the Labour Law and relevant provisions of other laws, expiration of the term in employment or service agreements with definite term, closure of the workplace for any reason and cease of its activity and cease of work in all kinds of service purchases and construction works made according to the relevant legislation. However, the employers may, either completely or partially, send the employees on unpaid leave without exceeding this time period.

If you have any questions regarding our note above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,
Güner Law Office