The Role Of Disciplinary Regulations İn Labor Law

In line with the evolving needs of the modern era, workplace rules are increasingly regulated through general provisions predetermined by the employer, rather than by negotiating individual working conditions with each employee. Internal regulations prepared by employers serve this purpose by establishing general workplace rules and ensuring that they are known by all employees. A disciplinary regulation, prepared by the employer, constitutes a type of internal workplace regulation, and through such provisions, it is possible to impose sanctions on employees that are less severe than those stipulated by law.

Since, apart from certain provisions set forth in Labor Law No. 4857 and the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, there is no general legal regulation governing disciplinary sanctions and the procedures and principles regarding their implementation, employers tend to adopt internal disciplinary regulations in the workplace.

1. The Legal Applicability of Disciplinary Regulations to Employees

In accordance with fundamental principles of law, individuals can only be held accountable for rules if they have been made aware of them. Therefore, employers who choose to establish disciplinary rules through a disciplinary regulation must ensure that employees are informed of these rules.

Before the employment contract is concluded, the disciplinary regulation should be presented to the employee, and the employee must be given the opportunity to become familiar with its content. What matters here is that the employee is provided with a genuine opportunity to review the document containing the general disciplinary rules. To prove that these requirements have been fulfilled, it is important that, at the time of concluding the employment contract, the disciplinary regulation is shown and explained to the employee, and a written statement is obtained confirming that the employee has read and accepted the regulation.

As is evident from all the explanations above, the provisions of a disciplinary regulation become valid only if they are presented to the employee in advance and are explicitly or implicitly accepted by each employee. In the event of any amendment to the disciplinary regulation to the detriment of the employee, the employee's consent to such amendment must also be obtained.

2. The Applicability of Disciplinary Sanctions Specified in the Diciplinary Regulation

In order for the sanctions specified in disciplinary regulations prepared by employers to be applicable, these sanctions must not conflict with mandatory provisions or with higher-ranking sources in the legal hierarchy above the disciplinary regulation. For example, an employer cannot terminate an employee's contract for just cause on grounds that do not fall within the scope of Article 25 of the Labor Law. Therefore, it is not legally permissible for a situation that is outside the scope of Article 25 to be listed in the disciplinary regulation as a valid reason for termination for just cause.

Disciplinary sanctions can only be imposed for the purpose of maintaining order and discipline within the workplace. No disciplinary action can be taken for behaviours that do not disrupt the order of the workplace. Therefore, even if the disciplinary regulations list behaviours that do not disturb workplace order as grounds for disciplinary sanctions, such sanctions cannot be applied in those cases.

In its decision dated October 10, 2019, numbered 2016/20858 E., 2019/18604 K., the 22nd Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court held that if a disciplinary procedure is established in the workplace disciplinary regulations and it is indicated that the employer has applied this procedure, then any disciplinary sanction imposed without following the prescribed procedure is deemed unlawful. The relevant part of the decision is provided below:

"As a principle, the employer is not obligated to obtain a defense prior to justified termination; however, if the employer chooses to proceed with termination by obtaining a defense, they are then required to comply with this procedure. In the present case, the employer has failed to prove that the termination was carried out in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Disciplinary Regulations."

3. Conclusion

Employers issue internal workplace regulations to ensure that workplace operations are based on predetermined rules. One such internal regulation is the disciplinary regulations. For disciplinary regulations to be binding on employees, these rules must first be known and reviewed by the employees. In this context, the validity of disciplinary regulations depends on the employee's explicit or implicit acceptance.

In order for the sanctions determined by the disciplinary regulations—established to maintain order and discipline in the workplace—to be enforceable, these sanctions must not contradict mandatory legal provisions or higher-ranking sources above the disciplinary regulations in the legal hierarchy. Disciplinary regulations that do not conflict with mandatory rules and higher-ranking legal sources generally aim to establish order, thereby ensuring consistent disciplinary practices across uniform workplaces.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.