When starting a new job, some employers or workplaces ask employees to sign blank papers as part of the hiring process. Papers that employees sign without considering potential future consequences can later create serious problems. Therefore, it is important to be careful about documents signed when starting a job.
Do Not Sign Blank Papers When Starting a Job
Some employers request that new hires sign blank documents during onboarding. In some cases, employers later treat these as promissory notes to secure themselves, while malicious employers can use them to manufacture large debts for employees. In a case reviewed by the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), a sales manager hired by a company was asked to sign a blank document. A relative of the employee was also asked to sign as a guarantor. The employee left the job five months later and requested the return of the document, but the employer did not return it. After the employee stopped pursuing the matter for a time, three years later the employer claimed a debt of 50,000 lira against the employee.
The employee filed a lawsuit, arguing that the blank paper signed at hiring had been filled in later to create a 50,000-lira obligation and that the promissory note had been backdated to appear as if it was executed before employment began. The employee stated there was no commercial relationship between them and the employer. The employee also filed a separate criminal complaint seeking punishment of the employer for forgery.
Can a Security Note Replace a Promissory Note?
Documents signed before starting work can sometimes be considered security notes, but such security should not be used against the worker. In response to the civil suit, the employer’s lawyer argued that the employee did not deny the signature within the statutory period after receiving the payment order and therefore accepted the signature on the note. The lawyer also claimed the employee had borrowed 15,000 lira from the employer when starting the job and that the note documented that debt, insisting it was not a security note.
The labor court, however, found that the employee was not indebted and ruled that 20% of the claimed debt should be paid to the employee by the employer as compensation. The Court of Cassation deferred a final ruling pending the outcome of the criminal case. After the employer was acquitted in the criminal trial, the labor court issued a decision finding the employee liable for the debt.
Signing a Blank Paper Is Considered Invalid
The Court of Cassation has ruled that blank papers signed at hiring are invalid. The court clarified that a criminal court’s decision should not unduly affect other proceedings in a way that undermines procedural independence. It noted that at the start of an employment relationship an employer may request a document as collateral, and if this is convincingly proven, the document could be treated as a security instrument rather than a promissory note. The court also emphasized the employer’s relative social and economic power and the need to protect employees under labor law.
Nevertheless, the Court of Cassation determined that signatures on blank papers signed at the start of employment will be considered invalid. Because signatures on blank documents can later be exploited for malicious purposes, employees are urged not to sign blank papers during hiring. At the same time, the court noted that it is necessary to prove that a signature was made on a blank paper. Employees who have been burdened with supposed debts created from blank papers signed at hiring can challenge those claims in court; if they pursue appropriate legal action, they may be able to overturn such fabricated obligations.