This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Taşeron İşçilerin Hakları ve Asıl İşveren Sorumluluğu.
The principal employer is liable, together with the subcontractor, for the employment claims of a subcontractor's workers (Article 2/6 of the Labour Act). That liability is joint and several: the worker may claim the whole sum from the principal employer alone if they choose. And where the subcontracting arrangement was set up contrary to the Act — a sham — the worker is treated as having been the principal employer's worker from the outset.
Subcontracted workers make up a very large part of the workforce in Turkey. Many of them do not know whom to claim against, and assume that when the subcontractor closes down everything is over. In fact the law provides strong protection: the principal employer's joint liability.
What Is a Subcontracting Relationship?
Article 2 of the Labour Act defines it. A subcontracting relationship arises where a principal employer gives work to another employer in ancillary work relating to the production of goods or services at the workplace, or in defined parts of the core work that require expertise. In that relationship:
- The principal employer owns the workplace and carries on the greater part of the work (usually a large company or a public body).
- The subcontractor takes on defined work from the principal employer and performs it with their own workers.
- The subcontractor's worker has a contract with the subcontractor but works at the principal employer's workplace.
The Act strictly prohibits sham subcontracting. Where an arrangement is created in order to restrict the rights of the principal employer's own workers, or by handing over the core work in its entirety, settled case law treats it as a sham and the subcontractor's workers as the principal employer's workers from the outset. The consequences for the worker are significant: length of service is calculated from the day they started at the principal employer's workplace.
Which Claims Is the Principal Employer Liable For?
Under Article 2/6 the principal employer is liable jointly and severally with the subcontractor towards the subcontractor's workers. In practice that is very strong protection.
It covers:
- severance pay
- notice pay
- overtime
- annual leave pay
- unpaid wages
- weekly rest and public holiday pay
- the consequences of an invalid termination, where the conditions are met
Because the liability is joint and several, a worker may sue the principal employer alone, the subcontractor alone, or both. Suing both is the safer course: if the subcontractor has no assets, the judgment can be enforced against the principal employer.
| Lawful subcontracting | Sham arrangement | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is the employer | The subcontractor | The principal employer, from the outset |
| Length of service | From the start with the subcontractor | From the start at the principal employer's workplace |
| Liability for claims | Both, jointly and severally | The principal employer |
| Effect of changing subcontractor | Service continues where the workplace is the same | Irrelevant |
| Collective agreement rights | Those of the subcontractor's workplace | Those of the principal employer's workplace |
Where the subcontractor changes but the work and the workplace stay the same, service is not reset; the successive periods are added together.
When Is an Arrangement a Sham?
The indicators used in practice:
- the core work handed over in its entirety, rather than a part requiring expertise
- the subcontractor's workers doing the same work, side by side with the principal employer's own workers
- instructions, leave approvals and discipline handled by the principal employer's managers
- tools, materials and premises supplied entirely by the principal employer
- the subcontractor having no organisation of its own and no other customers
- the workers continuing unchanged while the subcontractor is replaced on paper
Where a sham is established, the worker is treated as the principal employer's worker from the beginning — which affects service, the wage scale and any collective agreement rights.
How to Claim
- Gather the evidence. Payslips, the social security record of insured employment, entry and exit records, instructions and correspondence, and colleagues who can act as witnesses.
- Go to mediation. Mediation is a condition of the action in employment claims, and both the subcontractor and the principal employer should be named in the application.
- Bring the action against both. If either is left out, enforcement against them later becomes impossible.
- Plead the sham expressly where the indicators are present, and ask for service to be calculated from the start at the principal employer's workplace.
- Watch the limitation period: five years for employment claims, running from termination.
The principal employer's liability is joint and several, so a worker may recover the whole sum from them — but only if they were named. Leaving the principal employer out of the mediation application and the claim is the commonest way this protection is lost, and it usually only becomes apparent when the subcontractor turns out to have no assets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim from the principal employer rather than the subcontractor?
Yes. The liability is joint and several, so you may claim the whole sum from the principal employer, the subcontractor, or both. Naming both is the safer course.
What claims does the principal employer answer for?
Severance and notice pay, overtime, annual leave pay, unpaid wages, weekly rest and holiday pay, and the consequences of an invalid termination.
What is a sham subcontracting arrangement?
One created to restrict workers' rights or by handing over the core work entirely. Where it is established, the worker is treated as the principal employer's worker from the outset.
Does my service reset when the subcontractor changes?
No. Where the work and the workplace stay the same, the successive periods are added together.
How long do I have to claim?
Five years for employment claims, running from the date of termination. Mediation must be attempted first, naming both employers.