Explication of the transfer of service relationship in Turkey
The new law has made a regulation that was not included in the old law and regulated the transfer of the service relationship in Turkey. Article 428 of the Law regulates the transfer of the whole or part of the employer and Article 429 regulates the transfer of the contract (labour contract).
According to Article 428, when the whole or part of the workplace is transferred to another person by a legal transaction, the service contracts existing in the workplace or part of it on the date of transfer shall pass to the transferee together with all rights and obligations. In terms of the rights of the employee depending on the length of service (such as notice and severance indemnities, annual leave, at least 6 months of work for reinstatement), the date of employment with the transferor employer shall be taken as the basis. According to the aforementioned provisions, in the event of transfer, the transferor and the transferee employer shall be jointly and severally liable for the debts arising before the transfer and to be paid on the date of transfer, and the liability of the transferor employer for these obligations shall be limited to two years from the date of transfer.
As can be seen, the regulation is a repetition of the first, second and third paragraphs of Article 6 of the Labour Law No. 4857. For this reason, although it is not included in the Labour Law, since there are no similar regulations in the maritime labour and press labour laws, it has become valid for those who work and employ according to these two laws.
According to Article 429 of the Law, the service contract can only be transferred to another employer permanently with the consent of the employee. In the said transfer, the transferee will become the employer party of the service contract together with all its rights and obligations.
In this case, the date on which the employee started to work for the transferor employer shall be taken as a basis in terms of the rights of the employee depending on the length of service (notice and severance indemnities, annual leave, working at least 6 months in reinstatement, compensation for non-reinstatement, etc.).
