1. Period for Filing a Reinstatement Lawsuit and Its Commencement

Pursuant to Article 20 of the Labor Law No. 4857, the legal period for an employee whose employment contract has been terminated to file a lawsuit for annulment of the termination and reinstatement is one month. The Supreme Court’s decisions have established the following principles regarding the commencement of this period:

Notification of Termination: The period begins from the date the termination notice is served to the employee. This date is not the date the document was drawn up, but the date it was actually received or served to the employee.

De Facto Termination: If the employer terminates the employment contract de facto without a written notice, the one-month period starts from the date of the termination.

Termination with Notice Period: In the event that the employment contract is terminated by giving a notice period, the period for filing a lawsuit does not commence on the date the notice period expires, but on the date the employer serves the termination notice to the employee.

Mediation Process: As stated in the Constitutional Court and relevant judicial decisions, if an agreement cannot be reached at the end of the mediation activity, from the date the final report is drawn up, ia lawsuit must be filed in the labor court within two weeks is required.

2. Legal Nature of the Reinstatement Lawsuit Period

According to the established jurisprudence of the 9th and 22nd Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation, the one-month period stipulated for filing a re-employment lawsuit is a period of forfeiture. Due to this nature: The court considers whether the period has passed ex officio (on its own initiative) at every stage of the proceedings. This period is a condition for the lawsuit, and it is mandatory for the judge to observe it even if the parties do not raise it.

3. Consequences of Missing the Re-employment Lawsuit Period

If the period for filing a re-employment lawsuit (one month) or the period for filing a lawsuit after mediation (two weeks) is missed, the following legal consequences arise:

Dismissal of the Lawsuit: Lawsuits filed after the period has expired are dismissed by the court, without delving into the merits of the case, due to the expiration of the forfeiture period.

Loss of Right to Sue: With the expiration of the forfeiture period, the employee’s right to claim the invalidity of the termination and to demand re-employment ceases. The Court of Cassation annuls the acceptance decisions rendered by local courts in cases not filed within the period, due to the forfeiting nature of the period, and rules for the dismissal of the lawsuit.

4. Secondary Sources and Additional Context

Judicial decisions considered as secondary sources contain the following additional information regarding the process after the re-employment lawsuit is concluded:

Application Period to the Employer: The employee is obliged to apply to the employer to start work within ten business days from the notification of the finalized reinstatement decision to the employee. This period is also preclusive.

Missing the Application Deadline: If the employee does not apply within ten business days from the notification of the finalized decision, the termination made by the employer will produce the effects of a valid termination. In this case, the employee loses the right to non-reinstatement compensation and wages for the period of unemployment; they can only claim notice and severance pay if the conditions are met.

Importance of Notification: The ten-business-day application period starts not from the finalization of the decision, but from the proper notification of the finalized decision to the employee. The employee’s informal knowledge of the decision does not start the period.

In conclusion; it is mandatory to file a reinstatement lawsuit within one month from the notification of the termination, and missing this period is a definitive cause of right forfeiture leading to the procedural rejection of the case. A paper suggestion.

Why is Expert Lawyer Support Necessary in Reinstatement Lawsuits?

Reinstatement lawsuits, due to the short and preclusive periods stipulated in Labor Law No. 4857, are one of the types of lawsuits where rights are most frequently lost in practice. In particular, the inability to correctly calculate the lawsuit filing period after the date of notification of termination, de facto termination cases, terminations with notice periods, and the mediation process can lead to the employee completely losing their right to sue.

According to Supreme Court precedents, the period for filing a reinstatement lawsuit is of a preclusive nature and is considered ex officio by the court. For this reason, missing the deadline results in the dismissal of the case without delving into its merits. Furthermore, in cases to be filed after mediation, there is a two-week lawsuit period, and after a final reinstatement decision, a ten-business-day application period to the employer, as separate and independent deadlines. Each of these deadlines has different starting points, and their misinterpretation leads to significant loss of rights.

An expert labor law attorney plays a critical role in correctly identifying the type of termination, accurately calculating deadlines, conducting the mediation process in accordance with procedure, and determining the lawsuit strategy in line with Supreme Court practices. Furthermore, the protection of rights such as the post-lawsuit application process for re-employment and compensation for non-reinstatement also requires professional legal follow-up.

In conclusion, reinstatement lawsuits are not limited to merely filing a case but are a multi-stage legal process strictly bound by deadlines. Therefore, to avoid losing the right to reinstatement and to manage the process correctly, obtaining expert legal support is an indispensable element of legal security.