Supreme Court's Annual Leave Pay Decision: 5-Year Statute of Limitations for Employees Who Leave

The 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court made a significant change in jurisprudence regarding wage claims arising from unused annual leave for employees who have left their jobs. The High Court ruled that the statute of limitations for annual leave rights, which convert into wage claims upon the termination of an employment contract, is 5 years, and this period begins to run from the date of termination of the employment contract.

The 10-year statute of limitations period previously applied for the period between 2012 and 2017 was re-evaluated after the merger of the Supreme Court's 9th Civil Chamber and the abolished 22nd Civil Chamber. The Court ruled that the 5-year period stipulated by Law No. 7036 on Labor Courts should be applied to cover previous periods as well.

The decision was finalized through a lawsuit filed by the relatives of a worker who left a construction company in 2013 after working for 11 years. The Court overturned the local court's decision, ruling that the lawsuit filed in 2019 for an employment contract that ended in 2013 was subject to the statute of limitations.