TUTOĞLULAW
Employment law

Reinstatement: the right employer

Checks who a reinstatement lawsuit should be brought against in situations such as subcontracting, principal employers, groups of companies or a transfer of the business, and whether the job security conditions are met.

The right defendant in a reinstatement lawsuit

A reinstatement lawsuit (işe iade davası) is brought against the employer that terminated the employment contract. For employees of a subcontractor (taşeron / alt işveren), the party to the contract is the subcontractor; however, the principal employer is jointly liable with the subcontractor for obligations towards the subcontractor’s employees relating to that workplace (Labour Code (İş K.) art. 2(6)). For this reason, in practice the lawsuit is brought against the subcontractor and the principal employer together; the obligation to take the employee back lies with the employer that is party to the contract, while both are held jointly and severally liable for the financial consequences of reinstatement (Court of Cassation 9th Civil Chamber, 10.02.2026, E. 2025/8001, K. 2026/1069).

The mere existence of an “organic link” between several companies does not make all of them liable. The Court of Cassation has stressed that liability requires a transfer of the business, a transfer of the employment contract, a principal employer–subcontractor relationship or joint employment to be established on concrete facts (Court of Cassation 9th Civil Chamber, 20.10.2025, E. 2025/7996, K. 2025/8083).

To seek reinstatement, you must apply to a mediator within one month of being served with the notice of termination and, if no agreement is reached, file the lawsuit within two weeks of the final mediation report (art. 20). You can work out the deadlines with the deadline calculator.

Legal basis

  • Labour Code (İş K.) art. 2(6)–(8) (principal employer and subcontractor)
  • Labour Code art. 6 (transfer of a business)
  • Labour Code arts. 18, 20, 21 (job security and reinstatement)
  • Labour Courts Law (İşMK) art. 3

These provisions and rates were last checked against official sources on 1 October 2026.

Note: This tool provides general information about Turkish law; the details of a specific case may change the result. For anything with a deadline, consult a lawyer to avoid losing your rights.
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