An employee whose employment contract is terminated without a valid reason may, under certain conditions, request reinstatement. This right is based on the job security provisions set out in Articles 18–21 of Labour Law No. 4857.

Who can request reinstatement?

To benefit from job security, the following conditions must, as a rule, be met together:

• Thirty or more employees must be employed at the workplace.
• The employee must have at least six months’ seniority.
• The employment contract must be for an indefinite term.
• The employee must not be an employer’s representative who manages the business as a whole and has the authority to hire and dismiss employees.

Time limits

The time limits for a reinstatement claim are peremptory; if they are missed, the right to bring the claim is lost.

• An application must be made to a mediator within one month of service of the notice of termination. Application to a mediator is a precondition for bringing an action (mandatory pre-litigation mediation).
• If no agreement is reached in the mediation meetings, an action may be brought before the labour court within two weeks of the date on which the final minutes are drawn up.

Consequences of a reinstatement judgment

If the court rules that the termination is invalid:

• The employee must apply to the employer within ten working days of the judgment becoming final and state that he or she wishes to return to work.
• If the employer does not reinstate the employee within one month of the application, the employer becomes liable to pay the employee compensation equal to four to eight months’ wages.
• The employee is paid the wages and other entitlements accrued for the period during which he or she was not employed, up to a maximum of four months.

Since the content of the notice of termination and its date of service are decisive in calculating the time limits, it is important to keep the relevant documents.