Extended Summary

Termination with just cause constitutes one form of the termination of the contract of employment as a continuous liability relation. Termination of the contract of employment with just cause is regulated in Article 435 of Turkish Code of Obligations and Article 24 and 25 of Labour Act. In the Article 437 (1) of Turkish Code of Obligations, the right of the party terminating the contract of employment to claim compensation due to the non-compliance of the other party with the contract is regulated. The paragraph regulates the culpable breach of the contract and total compensation of the loss is prescribed. In the Article 437 (2) of Turkish Code of Obligations, the cases where the termination with just cause is not based on the culpability of the other party or the cases where both parties are culpable are regulated. In accordance with the Article, the judge evaluates the pecuniary consequences of the termination with just cause considering all the circumstances and conditions. Since there is no special provision in Maritime Labour Act and Press Labour Act regarding the issue, the Article 437 of Turkish Code of Obligations applies in terms of both Acts.
The employee or employer terminating the contract of employment with just cause has the right to claim compensation in accordance with the Article 26 (2) of Labour Act. In comparative legal systems, it is also observed that the right to claim compensation is conferred on the party who terminates the contract of employment due to the non- compliance of the other party with the contract. In fact, these regulations are the appearance of the principles of general law of damages in labour law.Temporal limitation regarding the right to claim compensation is the ending of the date agreed in the fixed-term contract of employment. In other words, the benefits that the party terminating the contract with just cause would have gained if the contract ordinarily expired at the end of its term are taken into account. As for the permanent contract of employment, the period of notice constitutes the temporal limitation. The benefits which can be gained in case of the termination of the contract with notice are considered in the determination of the compensation. Regarding the employee’s termination of employment contract with just cause, the provisions of job security should be taken into account in relation to the compensation of the loss suffered by the employee, who is compelled to terminate the contract as in the comparative law.