Especially recently, due to the coronavirus outbreak many employees have been placed on unpaid leave by their employers. In this situation, employees often wonder whether they are allowed to work elsewhere while on unpaid leave.
What Are Workers’ Leave Rights?
There is no specific provision in labor law that directly regulates unpaid leave. However, written employment contracts between the employee and employer may include provisions regarding unpaid leave. If the employment contract contains clauses about using unpaid leave, both parties must comply with those terms. If the employer wishes to place an employee on unpaid leave without the employee’s request, the employee’s consent must generally be obtained. If the employee is forcibly placed on unpaid leave, they may be entitled to severance pay or notice pay under certain conditions.
Under ordinary circumstances, unpaid leave can occur in specific situations such as travel for annual leave or childbirth. Employees who will spend their paid annual leave somewhere other than the workplace location may request additional time, and if they document the situation, the employer may grant up to four days of unpaid leave for travel time to and from the destination. Female employees may take unpaid leave related to childbirth: eight weeks before and eight weeks after birth, totaling 16 weeks. Additionally, pregnant employees and new mothers may be allowed up to six months of unpaid leave upon request.
Outside of these cases, current legislation does not provide comprehensive regulation on unpaid leave. However, the pandemic has led to exceptional measures and changed practices in many workplaces.
Can an Employee Work at Another Workplace While on Unpaid Leave?
If an employee has been sent on unpaid leave as a unilateral decision by the employer, that employee has the right to seek other employment and also to terminate the employment contract and claim severance pay in applicable cases. If, however, the employee voluntarily requests unpaid leave and did not inform the employer that they would work elsewhere during that leave, the employee generally may not work for another employer while on unpaid leave. In such a case the employer may have the right to terminate the employment contract. This principle is commonly referred to in employment literature as the duty of loyalty (ahde vefa).
These rules apply under normal conditions. Because special arrangements were introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, temporary legal measures have taken effect. These measures impose a ban for employers on dismissing employees for certain reasons while also permitting employers to place employees on unpaid leave due to the pandemic. Employers have therefore been able to rely on pandemic-related reasons to send employees on unpaid leave. At the same time, employees on unpaid leave can receive daily cash support of 39 lira. During the pandemic, being placed on unpaid leave by the employer is not considered a valid ground for employees to claim justified termination; in other words, employees cannot terminate their employment contract on the basis that they were sent to unpaid leave. This temporary rule was extended until November 17, 2020.
Employees on Pandemic-Related Unpaid Leave May Work Elsewhere
Labor law normally includes a provision restricting an employee on unpaid leave from working at another workplace. However, in the context of pandemic-related unpaid leave, those restrictions were relaxed. As a result, employees placed on unpaid leave due to the pandemic are not categorically prevented from working elsewhere. It remains advisable for employees to inform their employer if they take up other work during unpaid leave. Working in an area that competes with the employer may create disputes and could violate noncompetition obligations. Another important point is that employees who take another job while on unpaid leave are not eligible to receive the daily cash support (39 lira).