A remarkable decision came from the Supreme Court regarding annual leave pay, which concerns millions of employees.
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided that the statute of limitations for unused annual leave rights that turn into wages upon termination of the employment contract is 5 years, not 10 years.
In the decision, it was emphasized that the 5-year period starts from the date the employee leaves the job.
STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR ANNUAL LEAVE PAYMENT IS 5 YEARS
The statute of limitations regarding workers' unused annual leave wages was evaluated within the scope of different legal regulations and judicial decisions in the past.
With the Labor Courts Law No. 7036, which came into force in 2017, the statute of limitations for annual leave wage receivables arising from the employment contract was regulated as 5 years.
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals also re-evaluated its application for previous periods after its merger with the 22nd Civil Chamber, which was closed in 2020.
The Department ruled that annual leave wage receivables in the period between the date of entry into force of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 and the date of entry into force of Law No. 7036 are subject to a 5-year statute of limitations.
HE WORKED FOR 11 YEARS, HIS UNUSED LEAVE WAS NOT PAID
In the case subject to the decision, D.K., who worked as an iron master at a construction company's construction sites abroad for 11 years, could not receive payment for the annual leaves he did not use after he left the job.
After D.K.'s death, his relatives filed a lawsuit against his employer.
Plaintiffs; In addition to severance and notice pay, he demanded payment of annual leave, overtime, week holidays, national and general holiday wages.
The defendant company argued that the employment contract had ended due to the completion of the work, that the worker had no receivables, and objected to the statute of limitations.
THE COURT DETERMINED THE RIGHT TO 110 DAYS LEAVE
The Labor Court, which examined the case, decided that the worker was entitled to severance and notice pay in line with the Social Security Institution (SGK) records and the evidence in the file.
The court determined that the employee was entitled to a total of 110 days of annual paid leave during the working period.
The annual leave fee request was accepted on the grounds that the employer could not prove that the leaves in question were granted or paid.
Requests for overtime, weekly holidays, national and general holiday wages were rejected due to the statute of limitations.
The Regional Court of Justice also found the decision of the first instance court appropriate. Thereupon, the file was moved to the Supreme Court.
THE SUPREME COURT REVERSED THE DECISION
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which examined the file, ruled that the 5-year statute of limitations should be applied when receiving annual leave pay.
The following statements were included in the unanimous decision:
“For annual paid leave, the statute of limitations is five years and this period starts from the date of termination.”
The Supreme Court pointed out that in the concrete case, the employment contract ended on December 4, 2013, and the case was opened on October 24, 2019.
It was decided that the annual leave fee request should be rejected, stating that more than 5 years had passed and the defendant employer had filed a statute of limitations objection in due time.
WHAT DOES THE 5-YEAR PERIOD MEAN FOR WORKERS?
According to the decision, unused annual leaves are converted into wages upon termination of the employment contract. The statute of limitations begins to run from this date.
Therefore, employees who quit their jobs must take the 5-year statute of limitations into consideration when claiming that they will receive annual leave pay.
However, the expiration of the 5-year period does not mean that the case is automatically dismissed. In order for the statute of limitations to be taken into consideration by the court, the employer must file an objection in this regard in due time. In addition, the legal reasons that suspend or interrupt the statute of limitations may also be important in terms of the concrete event.
The Supreme Court's decision once again demonstrated the importance of the deadline for filing a lawsuit for workers who claim that their annual leave wages have not been paid.
