Conditions are not the same in every country. Today, many nations face poverty and repeatedly experience waves of emigration. In addition to countries living on the brink of hunger, there are also nations at war. People in these places often seek refuge by going to other countries and trying to rebuild their lives there. In our country, there are likewise many foreign workers. In this article, we examined the issue of severance pay for refugee workers in our country.
The term stateless person refers to someone who is not recognized as a citizen by any state under its laws. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a nationality, and no one should be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality or denied the right to change it. In other words, the right to citizenship is a fundamental human right.
The causes of statelessness have been identified as follows:
- Conflicting laws
- Transfer of territory
- State practices
- Actions taken by individuals
A refugee is someone who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is forced to leave their country and whose fears are recognized as legitimate by the country they seek protection in.
Severance pay is one of the most important social securities for insured workers who are dismissed. Certain conditions must be met for severance pay to be paid. The rules for Turkish citizens working in our country to receive severance pay are generally as follows:
- An employee who has worked for the same employer for at least one year may be eligible for severance pay.
- An employee whose employment contract is terminated by the employer for reasons other than breaches of general moral rules may be entitled to severance pay.
- If the employee terminates the employment contract for health reasons, they may be eligible for severance pay.
- Termination due to compulsory military service is a ground for severance pay.
- Employees who leave because they have reached retirement age or fulfilled the required insurance and premium days may be eligible for severance pay.
- A female worker who terminates her employment because of marriage may be entitled to severance pay.
- If an employee dies and their employment contract is consequently terminated, the employee’s heirs may be eligible for severance pay.
The question of severance pay for refugee workers has become increasingly important. For foreign nationals working in Turkey with a valid work permit, the primary condition to be eligible for severance pay is to have worked more than 360 days at the workplace. This is essentially one of the general requirements for receiving severance pay.
In some cases, foreign workers or refugees are granted work permits for less than one year, so they cannot remain employed with the same employer for more than a year. As a result, these individuals do not qualify for severance pay. Therefore, the duration of the permitted work period affects whether foreign nationals can claim severance pay.
Apart from the one-year employment requirement, the conditions under which foreign workers can receive severance pay are determined as follows:
- Foreign workers and refugees who leave their job for reasons other than employer misconduct or violations of moral standards may be eligible for severance pay.
- Foreign workers and refugees who must terminate employment due to health reasons, good-faith considerations, violations of moral standards by the workplace, or suspension of business operations may be entitled to severance pay.
- Foreign workers and refugees who leave employment because they become entitled to retirement or have fulfilled the required insurance period and premium days may receive severance pay.
- The beneficiaries of deceased insured persons can claim severance pay on behalf of foreign workers and refugees who have died.