New Termination Codes Regulation

Introduction

The Circular No. 2013/11 of 22/02/2013 was amended by the Circular No. 2021/9 of the Social Security Institution. In accordance with the relevant Circular of the Social Security Institution, in the circular dated February 22, the code "29 - termination by the employer due to the employee's behavior against ethical and goodwill" was removed from the table of reasons for termination. Instead, the following codes from 41 have been added from the Social Security Institution.

CODE	CONTENT OF THE CODE	RELATED REGULATION
42	At the time of the conclusion of the employment contract, the employee misleads the employer by falsely claiming to possess qualifications or to satisfy conditions required by one of the essential features of the employment contract or by giving false information or making false statements.	Article 25/II/a of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
43	The employee says anything or acts in a way that constitutes an offense against the honor and dignity of the employer or a member of the employer's family, or makes denouncements or groundless accusations against the employer that offend the employer's honor and dignity.	Article 25/II/b of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
44	The employee sexually harasses another employee of the employer.	Article 25/II/c of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
45	The employee assaults the employer, a member of the employer's family or a fellow employee, or the employee comes to work drunk or under the influence of drugs, or consumes alcohol/drugs at the workplace.	Article 25/II/d of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
46	The employee acts dishonestly and/or is disloyal to the employer, such as commuting a breach of trust, theft or disclosing the employer's trade secrets.	Article 25/II/e of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
47	The employee commits a crime at the workplace that is punishable with imprisonment of seven days or more and that cannot be postponed.	Article 25/II/f of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
48	Without the employer's permission or a just reason, the employee is absent from work for two consecutive business days, or twice in one month on the business day following a holiday or three business days in a month.	Article 25/II/g of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
49	The employee insists on not performing their duties despite being warned.	Article 25/II/i of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law
50	Either willfully or through gross negligence, the employee endangers the safety of the work or damages or loses the machines, equipment or other property or materials of the workplace or that do not belong to the workplace but are in possession in a way that the damage/loss cannot be offset by their 30 days' salary.	Article 25/II/i of the 4857 Numbered Labor Law

I. What is the “Code 29”?

As it is known, termination restrictions have been implemented as of 16/04/2020 in order to protect employees from the negative effects of the coronavirus epidemic on employment. Cases that do not comply with the rules of ethics and good faith in the Labor Law are counted among the exceptions to the termination restriction application. Situations that do not comply with the rules of ethics and goodwill include deliberate and continuous negligence of the duty, not coming to work without an excuse, as well as sexual harassment, swearing, theft, and using drugs. In all of these cases, in case of termination of employment, the notifications of dismissal transactions to the Social Security Institution are made over the "29 numbered code".

II. The Purpose of the Termination Codes Regulation

When it was realised that the notification of all different termination reasons with the same code (Code-29) caused uncertainty in working life, separate codes were determined for all cases that do not comply with the rules of ethics and goodwill with the amendment made in the SSI circular. In this way, it is aimed to prevent possible problems by ensuring that different termination reasons such as unexcused absence and theft are made with different notification codes.

III. What is the Termination Code?

Social Security Institution Termination Codes are customized codes that allow SSI to notify the employee why the employee left the job after the termination of the employment contract between the employee and the employer. Whether the insured employee is entitled to severance pay, period of notice and payment in lieu of notice and, finally, unemployment insurance benefit is determined according to the selected termination code.

Conclusion

Upon the observation that the notification of all different reasons for termination with the same code (Code-29) leads to uncertainties in business life The Circular numbered 2021/9 determines separate termination codes for all circumstances that do not comply with the rules of ethics and goodwill. In this way, it is thought to prevent possible problems.

Yazar : Att. Yusuf Eren Yildiz - Legal Intern Kutay Çağlar