Supreme Court Ruling on Working Hours and Relative Witnesses

A landmark ruling concerning tens of thousands of employees was issued by the Supreme Court regarding the determination of working hours and insurance premiums. The high court emphasized that a kinship relation alone does not invalidate a witness testimony.

Lawsuit Filed Due to Unregistered Employment

M.D., who started working at a manufacturing facility in 1994, learned that his social security premiums had not been paid when he went to the hospital in July 2017. Following this situation, the employee terminated his employment contract and resorted to legal action.

Local Court and Appeal Process

The Labor Court partially accepted the lawsuit, acknowledging that the plaintiff had worked continuously for 23 years and 2 months. However, upon the employer's appeal, the Regional Court of Justice changed the duration based on the fact that the witnesses were the plaintiff's siblings and by taking SSI records as a basis.

Relying on the expert report, the Regional Court of Justice recalculated the working period as intermittently 13 years, 2 months, and 25 days, and corrected the decision accordingly.

Supreme Court's Precedent-Setting Reversal Ruling

Upon the plaintiff's appeal, the 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court, which reviewed the file, ruled that kinship relations do not alone require disregarding witness testimonies. It was stated that decisions must be made by taking into account the witness's length of service at the workplace and their statements.

Emphasizing that it should be accepted that the plaintiff worked continuously for a certain period, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the decision and sent the file back to the Regional Court of Justice.