Drafting Employment Contracts and Regulating Working Conditions
Preparing an employment contract as a standard text containing only job and wage information may not reflect the real needs of the employment relationship. The employee’s duties, workplace, working time, wage components, performance system, fringe benefits, remote working arrangement, confidentiality obligation, use of employer equipment and the conditions for termination of the contract should be regulated clearly and in an enforceable way.
In this context:
- Fixed-term and indefinite-term employment contracts
- Full-time and part-time work
- On-call work and probationary periods
- Remote or hybrid work contracts
- Senior executive and key employee contracts
- Provisions on job description, workplace and place of work
- Wages, bonuses, gratuities, sales commissions and fringe benefits
- Overtime approval and recording of working hours
- Leave, excuse and absence arrangements
- Confidentiality, non-compete and intellectual property provisions
- Personal data, communication tools and information security policies
- Discipline, performance and workplace conduct rules
- Training cost, repayment and contractual penalty provisions
- Material changes in working conditions
are examined. Contract provisions cannot be drafted so as to remove mandatory rules of employment law or to restrict the employee’s statutory rights. For the employer as well, it is important to build an enforceable and provable contract system instead of vague, disproportionate or one-sided provisions.
Occupational Health and Safety and Preventive Legal Review
The occupational health and safety obligation is not an area of responsibility examined only after an accident has occurred. The employer must identify risks in advance, set up the organization and document training and supervision, and employees must also comply with the rules that have been set.
In this context:
- Legal review of risk assessments and emergency plans
- Occupational health and safety appointments
- Records of training, instructions and personal protective equipment
- Health surveillance and fitness-for-work processes
- Near-miss and accident investigation procedures
- Coordination with subcontracting employers and other employers on site
- Obligations specific to construction, tourism, manufacturing and hazardous work
- The right to refuse to work and serious, imminent danger
- Suspension of work and administrative sanctions
- Preservation of documents and records after a work accident
- Internal investigation and corrective action plans
- Duties and responsibilities of employer’s representatives and managers
are examined. Where technical risk assessment and engineering review are required, law, occupational safety, medicine and the relevant technical disciplines need to work together.
Principal Employer–Subcontracting Employer, Transfer of the Workplace and Joint Employment
Giving work to another employer, assigning employees among group companies or transferring a workplace does not mean that employees’ rights and responsibility disappear automatically. The way the relationship is actually carried out may be more decisive than the title of the contract.
The principal topics in this area:
- Establishing a principal employer–subcontracting employer (alt işveren) relationship
- Legal review of subcontracting agreements
- A sham-arrangement allegation and treating the employee as the principal employer’s employee from the outset
- Joint liability of the principal and subcontracting employer
- Preservation of length of service when the subcontracting employer changes
- Transfer of the workplace or of a part of the workplace (işyeri devri)
- Effect of company mergers, demergers and share transfers on employment contracts
- Joint-employment allegations in group companies
- Temporary employment relationships and private employment agencies
- Assigning the employee to another workplace or company
- Claims arising from damage caused to a third party or from the act of a third party
may be listed in this way. The commercial structure and employment-law liability should be examined together; transfer or outsourcing agreements should be prepared with employee rights and the record-keeping system in mind.
Non-Compete Covenants, Confidentiality and Employee Inventions
In the employment relationship, trade secrets, the customer base, technical knowledge, software, databases and work product may be protected; however, provisions that restrict the employee’s economic future disproportionately may not be valid. A non-compete covenant must be established within statutory limits in terms of place, duration, field of activity and the employee’s access to the customer base or production secrets.
Our work in this area:
- Confidentiality and secrecy provisions in the employment contract
- Non-compete agreements
- Breach and expiry of a non-compete covenant
- Contractual penalty and compensation claims
- Non-solicitation provisions for customers and employees
- Return of employer data and work equipment
- Unlawful use of trade secrets
- Employee inventions and claims for remuneration
- Rights in software, designs, content and other work product
- Closing the access authorizations of a departing employee
- Evidence preservation, interim injunctions and other provisional protection requests
headings are covered. Where necessary, the provisions of employment law, the law of obligations, commercial law, intellectual property and personal data protection are assessed together.
Employer Advisory, Compliance and Workplace Processes
Employer advisory does not consist solely of responding to lawsuits that have been filed. Setting up recruitment, working arrangements, performance, discipline, wage policy, occupational health and safety, personal data and exit processes consistently with one another helps manage disputes before they arise.
In this context:
- Preparing employment contracts and their annexes
- The employee personnel file and retention arrangements
- Workplace regulations, code of ethics and disciplinary procedure
- Performance evaluation and defense processes
- Wage, bonus and fringe benefit policies
- Shift, working time, leave and timekeeping systems
- Complaint mechanism for mobbing, harassment and discrimination
- Employee personal data and workplace monitoring
- Remote work and information security
- Work accident response and notification procedure
- Subcontracting employer and supplier labor risks
- Restructuring and collective dismissal plans
- Mutual termination (ikale), termination and exit documents
- Record-keeping for mediation and litigation files
- Preparation for labor inspector and SGK inspections
- Assessment of administrative sanctions and correspondence with institutions
- Human resources and manager training
are addressed. Legal review should be carried out on the basis of the business’s actual working arrangement and sector risks; it should not be limited to producing template documents.
Remote Work, Digital Records and Employee Data
Remote and hybrid work require specific regulation in terms of working time, overtime, work equipment, expenses, information security, occupational health and safety and the processing of employee data, in addition to the place of work. Using digital systems does not mean that unlimited employee monitoring may be carried out.
In this context:
- Remote work contract and workplace policy
- Working hours and availability arrangements
- Overtime and electronic timekeeping
- Computers, phones, vehicles and other employer equipment
- Use of internet, email and messaging systems
- Camera, location and access records
- Employee privacy notices and data processing procedures
- Proportionality, notification and access authorizations
- Cybersecurity and remote access rules
- Closing accounts and returning data on departure
- Usability of digital records in a dispute
are assessed. In processing employee data, employment-law obligations and the provisions on personal data protection apply together.
Senior Executive, White-Collar and Key Employee Disputes
For executives and key employees, authority over duties and representation, the bonus system, company vehicles, share or option plans, non-compete covenants, the status of employer’s representative and the scope of job security may require special assessment.
In this context:
- Executive employment contracts
- Authority over duties, representation and signature
- Target bonuses, bonuses and the performance system
- Share, option and long-term incentive plans
- Employer’s representative status and conditions for reinstatement
- Determination of wages and fringe benefits
- Non-compete covenant and confidentiality
- Internal investigations and compliance inquiries
- Removal from office and termination of the employment contract
- Company car, housing, health insurance and other benefits
- International assignment and return conditions
are examined. Where the same person holds both the capacity of an officer or representative of a commercial company and the capacity of an employee under an employment contract, the legal consequence of each relationship must be determined separately.
Sector-Specific Employment Law Disputes
The working arrangement and the legislation to be applied may differ by sector. In the tourism, hospitality, construction, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, logistics, technology, maritime and press sectors, the actual conditions of the work must be examined separately.
In a sector-specific assessment:
- Seasonal and periodic work
- Averaging (equalization) of working time and the compressed work week
- Night work and shift arrangements
- Prohibitions and limits on overtime
- Work in rotating teams
- Percentage-based pay and tips
- Accommodation and employer-provided housing practices
- Construction site, field and project-based work
- Scope of the Maritime Labor Law or the Press Labor Law
- Occupational health and safety risk class
- Subcontracting employer and supply chain
- Foreign and seasonal employees
- Transfer of the workplace or closure at the end of the season
are taken into account. For employees subject to a special law, whether the provisions of the Labor Law apply directly should be determined at the outset.
Preventive Review and Record-Keeping for the Employer
Legal review does not consist solely of drafting a termination letter. The contract, job description, wage and bonus system, leave practice, working time, discipline and data processing procedures are addressed together. Differences between current practice and the written documents are identified.
Performance and discipline
Whether the criteria were set in advance, communicated to the employee, applied in a comparable manner and accompanied by a defense is examined according to the reason for termination. In an operational decision, the organizational need, consistency, alternative positions and the last-resort assessment are reflected in the file. Instead of producing documents after the fact, the lawful retention of existing records is essential.
Tourism and seasonal work
In tourism and hospitality operations in Antalya, the transition between seasons, the suspension period, recall to work, shifts, tips and accommodation benefits are important. Seasonal work does not mean a fixed-term contract in every case. Successive contracts and interrupted service are assessed according to the specific relationship.
Inspections and administrative sanctions
A labor inspector’s or SGK report, a request for records and an administrative fine are each examined with their own route of objection and time limit. Discussions about employment receivables do not protect these time limits automatically. The consistency of human resources and financial records is taken into account in the legal assessment.
Preparing for the Consultation
Prepare the employment period, contract, termination or application documents and the related records. Mention missing documents and any approaching deadline at the first consultation.