Termination for just cause

Termination for just cause is the immediate ending of employment, without notice, where the relationship has become intolerable under the standard of good faith. Turkish law lists the grounds separately for employee and employer: health reasons, conduct contrary to morals and good faith, and force majeure.

For employees, unpaid wages, workplace mobbing and non-application of working conditions are typical just causes, and an employee who resigns on such grounds keeps severance entitlement if the conditions are met. For employers, theft, insults and unexcused absenteeism are the leading grounds, and dismissal on these bases also defeats the employee's severance claim.

Where the cause relates to morals and good faith, the right must be exercised within a short statutory period running from discovery of the incident. Missing this deadline turns a just-cause dismissal into a wrongful one.