Bad news for high‑salary earners. Columnist Ali Tezel wrote that those who earn high salaries may be at a disadvantage. There are specific conditions to qualify for unemployment benefits. According to Ali Tezel’s column, the requirements to receive unemployment insurance benefits are as follows:
- Except for journalists, people who become unemployed involuntarily are eligible for benefits. Journalists are eligible even if they left their job voluntarily.
- Within the 1,080 days (3 years) before becoming unemployed, at least 600 days of premium payments must have been made to the Social Security Institution.
- You must have been employed during the last 120 days prior to unemployment.
- There must be no tax registration in your name. Additionally, you must not be a partner of a limited company (Ltd. Şti.), a shareholder in a joint-stock company (A.Ş.), or a member of a board of directors.
- Another condition is that you must not be receiving a retirement pension from your own work.
- Finally, you must apply to İŞKUR within 30 days from the date you become unemployed.
Benefit Calculation
Unemployment benefit duration depends on days of paid premiums: 6 months for 600 days, 8 months for 900 days, and 10 months for 1,080 days of premiums. In this framework, the minimum monthly unemployment benefit is 428 TL and the maximum is 856 TL.
Are High Earners at a Disadvantage?
The earnings base for social security premiums has been set at 6.5 times the minimum wage. Calculations show that someone who earned a high salary may receive relatively little in unemployment benefits compared with the contributions they paid. As a result, unemployment benefits may not be sufficient to maintain the standard of living that high‑income workers were accustomed to prior to becoming unemployed.