Under the Civil Servants Law, contract-based public employees employed under Article 4/B of Law No. 657 may have their contracts terminated in certain circumstances. The termination of a contract for a contract-based civil servant generally occurs unilaterally and is carried out by the public institution that employs them. Contracts may also be ended at the employee’s own request or may expire automatically when their fixed term ends. For these reasons, 4/B employees’ contracts can be terminated for various causes, which are summarized below.
Regulations and procedures prepared to manage the employment and responsibilities of contract personnel—issued by the Council of Ministers—clarify the conditions under which service contracts for contract staff can be terminated.
What Are the Reasons for Terminating a Contract of a Contracted Staff Member?
- The termination process is usually initiated by the employing institution or organization.
– A contract may be cancelled if the institution later determines that the employee did not actually possess the qualifications or credentials that justified their appointment.
– If a contracted employee loses one of the qualifications that were required at the time of hiring, the institution may terminate the contract.
– Contracts for a specific position may be ended if, after some time, the institution determines that the position is no longer needed.
– If a public employee is absent from duty without an excuse, without providing an official leave document or medical report, for an uninterrupted period (typically between 3 and 10 days depending on rules), the institution may terminate the contract.
– When an employee is hired for a particular task or project and that task or project finishes earlier than the contract’s specified period, the institution may end the contract.
- Another reason for 4/B contract termination is that the employee themselves may choose to end the contract.
– Contracted staff commonly resign by notifying their institution roughly one month in advance, in accordance with the required notice period.
– Employees may also unilaterally terminate their contracts if they request reassignment for health reasons, family circumstances, or other personal causes and the change of unit or location is not possible.
- Finally, 4/B contracts may end automatically when the contract term itself expires.
– Contracts typically expire automatically after the employee has served uninterruptedly for a minimum period in accordance with applicable rules—for example, two years—at which point a new contract would be required for continued service.
– In the event of the employee’s death, the employment contract is terminated automatically.