Turkish Labour Courts: Scope, Jurisdiction and Procedure

A Turkish Labour Court (İş Mahkemesi) is a specialised first-instance civil court that decides employment disputes — severance and notice pay, unpaid wages and overtime, unfair dismissal, reinstatement, and social security claims. If you work, employ staff or run a business in Türkiye, almost every employment dispute starts here. This guide explains what these courts decide, the compulsory mediation step and the deadlines that can make or break your claim, how venue and appeals work, and what foreigners should expect at each stage.

What are Turkish Labour Courts?

Labour Courts (İş Mahkemeleri) are specialised first-instance civil courts created by the Labour Courts Law (Law No. 7036). They exist because employment disputes raise recurring, technical questions — severance, notice, overtime, social security — that benefit from judges who handle these matters every day. In cities without a dedicated Labour Court, a designated chamber of the Civil Court of First Instance (Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi) hears the same cases.

For foreigners, the key point is that these courts have exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over the disputes listed below. You cannot bring an employment claim before an ordinary civil or commercial court, and a contract clause sending the dispute elsewhere will not override the statutory rules.

Which disputes do Labour Courts decide?

Under Law No. 7036 and the Labour Code (İş Kanunu No. 4857), Labour Courts hear, among others:

• Individual employment claims — wrongful or unfair termination, severance pay (kıdem tazminatı), notice pay (ihbar tazminatı), unpaid wages, overtime, annual leave pay and bonuses. See our guide to how severance pay is calculated.
• Reinstatement actions — job-security claims where an employee with the required seniority challenges a dismissal made without valid reason.
• Existence of the employment relationship — actions to establish that a working arrangement was, in substance, an employment contract.
• Social security disputes — service-period verification, pension entitlement, disability and survivors' benefits, and claims against the Social Security Institution (SGK).
• Disputes with İŞKUR — matters involving the Turkish Employment Agency.
• Collective labour law — union dues, collective agreement rights and related claims under the Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law (Law No. 6356).
• Personal-rights violations at work — defamation, mobbing and similar claims arising out of the employment relationship.

The exact characterisation of a claim affects which procedural rules and deadlines apply, so it is worth confirming this early. If your dispute follows a resignation or dismissal, our note on terminating a contract for just cause explains when leaving for cause still preserves severance. Because outcomes turn on the facts and on current case law, a Turkish lawyer should review your file before you commit to a strategy.

Time limits: how long do you have to claim?

Two kinds of clock run in Turkish employment disputes, and missing either one can end your claim before a judge ever reads it.

The 5-year limitation period (zamanaşımı)

Most money claims are time-barred five years after they fall due. This covers severance pay, notice pay, annual leave pay and the bad-faith/unequal-treatment indemnities. The clock for severance and notice generally starts on the termination date; for annual leave pay, on the date employment ends.

The shorter, claim-killing deadlines

Separate from the limitation period, specific actions carry much tighter deadlines — most notably the one-month window to apply for mediation in a reinstatement case (below) and the two-week window to sue after mediation fails. These are hak düşürücü (preclusive) periods: once they pass, the right is gone, with no extension.

Mandatory mediation before you can sue

Türkiye requires compulsory mediation as a precondition to filing many employment lawsuits. Skipping it is not a minor defect: the court will dismiss the case on procedural grounds without examining the merits.

Claims that require mediation first

• Compensation and monetary claims (severance, notice, unpaid wages, overtime, leave pay).
• Reinstatement (job-security) claims.
• Personal-rights and mobbing claims arising from the employment relationship.

Claims exempt from mediation

• Declaratory actions (for example, establishing the existence of an employment relationship).
• Material and moral damage claims arising from work accidents and occupational diseases — and related determination, objection and recourse actions.
• Certain social security disputes where statute provides otherwise.

Mediation is fast by design. A mediator is appointed through the Ministry of Justice system, the first session is usually held within a few weeks, and the whole process often finishes in three to four weeks. If the parties settle, the signed settlement is an ilam niteliğinde belge — enforceable like a court judgment, so you can take it straight to enforcement if the other side does not pay.

The reinstatement deadline that catches people out

If mediation fails, the mediator issues a final report (son tutanak) and you then have a limited window — generally two weeks from the date of that report — to file the lawsuit. You must attach the original or a mediator-certified copy of the final report; if you do not, the court grants a one-week cure period and then dismisses the case on procedural grounds. Keep the report safe.

Which Labour Court is competent (venue)?

Venue determines the specific city where you file. Under Law No. 7036 and the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK No. 6100), an employment claim may generally be brought before:

• the court of the defendant's domicile at the time the action is filed;
• the court of the place where the work was performed or where the transaction giving rise to the dispute occurred;
• where there are several defendants, the domicile of any one of them; and
• for work accidents, the place where the accident happened or the claimant's domicile.

Before signing on in Türkiye, it pays to have a lawyer review your employment contract — venue, governing law and termination clauses are where disputes are quietly won or lost.

For cross-border situations — a foreign employee, an overseas employer, or work partly performed abroad — which country's courts and which law apply is governed by the International Private and Procedural Law (MÖHUK No. 5718). As a rule, a choice-of-law clause cannot strip an employee of the protection of the mandatory rules of the country where they habitually carry out their work; where that is Türkiye, Turkish labour protections will usually apply regardless of the contract's stated law. These questions are fact-sensitive and should be assessed case by case.

How the procedure works

Labour Courts apply the simplified procedure (basit yargılama usulü) under the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK No. 6100, arts. 316–322). Compared with the ordinary procedure, this means:

• fewer rounds of written pleadings — broadly one statement of claim and one reply, with no second exchange as of right;
• shorter response and evidence deadlines; and
• a more concentrated hearing process aimed at resolving the case faster.

Evidence checklist for a foreign employee

Gather these early — they decide most labour cases:

• the written employment contract and any amendments;
• your SGK service record (SGK hizmet dökümü), which proves registered start date, salary and contributions;
• payslips and bank statements showing wage and salary payments;
• correspondence about duties, hours, warnings and the termination; and
• names of colleagues who can give witness evidence.

Courts frequently appoint an expert (bilirkişi) to calculate amounts such as severance, notice and overtime, and the claimant is usually asked to deposit an advance toward the expert and other costs. Strict statutory deadlines apply throughout, and missing one can be costly — which is why local representation matters.

How long it takes

Realistic expectations help. Mediation typically runs three to four weeks. A first-instance labour case commonly takes many months, often more than a year, particularly where an expert report is needed. An appeal to the Regional Court of Appeal (İstinaf) and, if available, the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) can each add many further months. Timelines vary by court workload and the complexity of the file.

Reinstatement: what you can recover

If you have the required seniority and were dismissed without a valid reason, a successful reinstatement (işe iade) claim does not simply hand you your old desk back. The court orders the employer to re-engage you; the employer can refuse, but at a price.

• Non-reinstatement compensation (işe başlatmama tazminatı) — if the employer does not take you back, it must pay an indemnity the court sets at between four and eight months' gross wages, based on your length of service and the circumstances of the dismissal.
• Idle-period wages (boşta geçen süre ücreti) — wages and benefits for up to four months between the dismissal and the court decision, payable whether or not you are re-engaged.

Appeals: İstinaf and Yargıtay

A Labour Court judgment is rarely the final word. There are two levels of review, each with monetary thresholds that are revalued every January and applied as at the date the case was filed.

For up-to-date numbers and how recent reforms affect them, see our overview of recent changes in Turkish employment law. Always confirm the current figures and time limits for your specific case before relying on them.

Enforcing a labour judgment that the employer won't pay

Winning is not the same as being paid. If an employer ignores a final judgment or a mediation settlement, you enforce it through the Enforcement Office (İcra Dairesi) under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK No. 2004). Because a court judgment and a signed mediation settlement both have the status of an ilam (enforceable title), you can move directly to ilamlı icra — attaching the employer's bank accounts, receivables and assets — without re-litigating the merits.

Cross-border collection against a company with assets abroad is more involved and may require recognition of the Turkish judgment in the other country. Our team can enforce a Turkish labour judgment and pursue the employer's assets on your behalf.

How Lexin Legal helps foreign employees and employers

We act for foreign employees, expatriate managers and foreign-owned companies employing staff in Türkiye on both sides of Turkish employment disputes — from pre-action mediation through trial, appeal and enforcement. We work in English, manage the local procedural steps and translation, and coordinate with you across time zones.

Whether you are facing a dismissal, chasing unpaid severance and wages, or defending a claim brought against your company, get in touch for a confidential review of your position.

Frequently asked questions