Duration of short-time working allowance has been extended by two months with the latest Presidential decision, yet many workers still face problems related to the allowance. Common issues include requiring employees to work full shifts despite the allowance, paying the remainder of the salary as an advance, and failing to pay social security contributions. These practices can lead to serious sanctions for employers.
Rules to Follow for Short-Time Working Allowance
The allowance, extended for two months as of August to protect workplaces and employees economically affected by coronavirus measures, also brings a number of problems. Fundamentally, to benefit from the short-time working allowance, an employer must reduce working time by at least one third. This is the basic requirement and workplace owners must pay attention to it. In other words, if a workplace operates six days a week, cutting working days to four means two days without work; the allowance covers those two non-working days.
Accordingly, the employer is obliged to accurately report to İŞKUR how much the weekly working time has been reduced and how many hours are worked each week. If any changes occur to the reported working hours, those changes must also be reported. Employers must not require work beyond the hours and work options stated in the application. For example, if the employer has reduced working time by half and receives the allowance on that basis, employees should not work four, five, or six days; they must only work three days as declared.
Increase in Rule Violations
Despite these rules, many workplaces receiving the allowance do not comply with the conditions. If there is a detrimental deviation from the declared periods and employees are affected, employees can apply to İŞKUR and SGK to request an investigation into the workplace’s actual working hours.
Another important point concerns the wages employees receive during this period. Short-time working allowances are paid for the days not worked. That means the allowance covers non-working days; for days actually worked, employees must be paid their full wages and social security contributions for those days must be calculated and paid to SGK. For example, if a workplace reduces working time by one third so that two days are not worked and four days are worked, the allowance should cover the two non-working days. The employer must pay the wages for the remaining four working days and also pay SGK contributions for those four days. Therefore, these amounts cannot be treated as advances.
Severe Penalties for Employers
If an employer ignores these points or intentionally applies different practices, they act contrary to the law and face criminal and administrative sanctions. First, an employer who violates the rules or misdeclares must repay short-time working allowances to employees with legal interest. Another consequence is that, because refusing to pay wages for worked days also violates the Labor Law, the employee may terminate the employment contract and claim all their rights. Finally, a penalty for short-time working allowance violations may be imposed: if contributions for worked days are not paid, administrative fines apply to the employer and, if unpaid, business operations may be suspended.