In our country many young people are obliged to perform military service once they reach the age of 20, whether they go at 20 or later. Military service means that citizens who have reached a certain age must serve in the armed forces for a period of time or perform their profession under specific conditions. As in many countries, compulsory military service is applied here as well. There are two types of compulsory service: short-term and long-term.
Those who reach the age for conscription may have the right to postpone their enlistment to a later date if they meet the required educational documents and conditions. This allows them to complete certain life arrangements before fulfilling their national duty. One important issue related to military service is whether severance pay is paid when an employee leaves to serve. In the rest of this article you can find the answer to the question: is severance pay given when you go to the military?
According to the law, there are seven situations in which severance pay can be claimed:
- The employer dismisses the worker without just cause.
- The worker leaves or resigns for a justified reason.
- Male employees leave their jobs to perform military service.
- The worker leaves the job in order to retire.
- The worker leaves the job after fulfilling other retirement conditions and waits at home until reaching retirement age.
- A female worker leaves her job within a year after marriage.
- The worker dies.
Under the law, if a worker terminates the employment contract because of military service, that person acquires the right to severance pay. In other words, employers are obliged to pay severance to employees who leave to perform military service. For a person to qualify for severance pay, the reason for leaving must be military service. If the worker leaves and then starts working elsewhere, their departure cannot be considered due to military service and they will not be entitled to severance pay. The worker must not be employed anywhere during the period of separation and must report to the designated unit within the specified time to perform their service.
After completing military service, the worker may return to their former job or choose not to return. If they do return and the initial employment period was not liquidated, the two periods of employment are combined. In other words, if a returning soldier resumes work in the same place, all rights continue from where they left off. Unused annual leave is adjusted by subtracting the military service period. The employer must rehire the returning worker either in the same position or, if that position is occupied, in the nearest available equivalent role. If the employer fails to reinstate the worker, they must pay compensation equal to three months’ salary.
The conditions for severance pay when leaving for military service are as described above. The worker must prove to the employer that the reason for leaving is military service. This can be demonstrated with the Military Call-up Document. If the person does not obtain this document, the employer is not obliged to pay severance.
Before leaving for military service, the employee should notify the employer within a reasonable time that they will be leaving due to compulsory military service.
Severance Pay in Paid Exemption (Paid Military Service)
In paid exemption (commonly referred to as paid military service), there is no actual deployment to the armed forces. People who pay the fee set by the state benefit from paid exemption and are considered to have fulfilled their military obligation. Those who use paid exemption do not leave work in order to go to the military. If they resign because of military-related reasons, that resignation is treated as a voluntary resignation and therefore those who benefit from paid exemption are not entitled to severance pay.
In addition to severance pay, those who go to serve may be eligible for unemployment benefits, but specific conditions apply. To receive unemployment payments, the person must have paid a total of 600 days of premium contributions within the last three years prior to leaving for military service. If this condition is met, the person who goes to serve can apply for unemployment benefits after returning by submitting an application to the employment agency (İŞKUR).