Mobbing, the insidious practice of psychological harassment or workplace bullying, is a deeply serious legal concern in Turkey. Recognized and addressed through key labor law provisions and Supreme Court (Yargitay) precedent, employees are protected against systematic mistreatment designed to humiliate, isolate, or force a resignation.
As Akkas & Associates Law Firm, a top-notch full-service law firm based in Istanbul, providing dedicated labor and employment law services since 1992, we offer this definitive guide to understanding mobbing under Turkish law. Our goal is to empower you with the crucial knowledge needed to protect your rights in the modern Turkish workplace.
Table of Contents
- Understanding Mobbing Under Turkish Law
- Defining Mobbing: More Than Just a Bad Day at Work
- The Legal Framework: How Turkish Law Addresses Workplace Bullying
- Common Examples of Mobbing Behavior
- The Employee’s Rights and Legal Recourse
- The Burden of Proof: A Critical Factor
- International Dimension of Mobbing in Turkey
- FAQs About Mobbing in Turkey
- 1. What is the typical duration required to prove mobbing?
- 2. Can an employee claim severance pay if they resign due to mobbing?
- 3. Who can be held liable for mobbing: the perpetrator or the employer?
- 4. What kind of evidence is most effective in a mobbing case?
- 5. Is a single, severe act of harassment considered mobbing?
- 6. Where can I find the official Turkish legal texts?
- Contact us for Mobbing Under Turkish Law
Understanding Mobbing Under Turkish Law
Mobbing refers to repeated, systematic, and intentional psychological harassment at the workplace. Turkish courts have defined mobbing as a pattern of hostile behavior aimed at intimidating, excluding, or undermining an employee.
Although the term “mobbing” is not explicitly written in all statutes, it is legally recognizable through several regulations, including:
Defining Mobbing: More Than Just a Bad Day at Work
Mobbing in Turkey, often translated as psikolojik taciz (psychological harassment), is defined by the Court of Appeals as systematic, intentional, and repeated hostile and unethical communication directed from one or more persons toward an employee.
It is critical to distinguish mobbing from a simple, isolated workplace conflict, a tough supervisor, or a one-time argument. Mobbing is a sustained campaign of abuse that targets an individual’s dignity and well-being.
- Systematic and Repetitive: The behavior must occur frequently and consistently over a period of time, generally requiring proof of duration (often cited as a minimum of six months).
- Intentional Hostility: The actions must be deliberate, malicious, and aimed at degrading, intimidating, or isolating the victim.
- Violation of Dignity: The harassment fundamentally violates the employee’s personal rights, dignity, and psychological health.
- Power Imbalance: The acts can be vertical (superior to subordinate, or vice-versa) or horizontal (between colleagues of the same rank).
The Legal Framework: How Turkish Law Addresses Workplace Bullying
While the Turkish Labor Law No. 4857 does not explicitly contain the word “mobbing,” the legal framework to combat it is robust, drawing from several key pieces of legislation and judicial precedent.
Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO) – Article 417
The cornerstone of protection is Article 417 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098. This article imposes a fundamental duty of care on the employer.
It mandates that the employer must protect the employee’s personality, show respect, and ensure a workplace order consistent with the principles of good faith and fairness. This is interpreted by the courts as an explicit legal obligation to prevent mobbing.
The Labor Law (No. 4857)
Under the Labor Law, mobbing can constitute a just cause for termination by the employee. Article 24 allows an employee to terminate their contract immediately and claim severance pay if the employer’s actions, or the actions of a co-worker or manager, are such that the employee cannot reasonably be expected to continue the employment relationship.
Furthermore, Article 5 of the Labor Law prohibits discrimination, which often overlaps with and is invoked in mobbing cases, especially when the harassment is based on gender, race, religion, or other protected characteristics.
Ministry Circular on Mobbing (2011)
The 2011 Prime Ministry Circular No. 2011/2 provided an administrative definition and mandated that employers establish mechanisms to prevent, address, and report mobbing incidents within the workplace, further cementing its legal recognition.
Common Examples of Mobbing Behavior
Mobbing can manifest in countless ways, but the following are frequently cited in Turkish court cases:
- Professional Isolation: Consistently excluding an employee from important meetings, withholding necessary information, or relocating their workspace to an isolated area.
- Attacks on Reputation: Spreading malicious rumors, publicly humiliating the employee, or unjustly slandering their personal life.
- Unjustified Criticism: Subjecting the employee to constant, unfounded, or excessive criticism and scrutiny of their work performance.
- Excessive/Degrading Workload: Assigning tasks that are impossible to complete on time or assigning work far below their qualifications, effectively reducing them to menial tasks.
- Threats and Intimidation: Verbal threats, shouting, aggressive body language, or constantly threatening job status, pay, or position.
To delve deeper into related employer obligations, you may review our comprehensive guide on Turkish Labor Law and Employee Rights.
The Employee’s Rights and Legal Recourse
An employee who is a victim of mobbing has several crucial legal avenues under Turkish law.
1. Right to Terminate with Just Cause
The victim may terminate their employment contract immediately based on just cause (as per Labor Law Article 24) and demand their severance pay and other accrued employee receivables, such as annual leave pay. This is a critical right that prevents the victim from having to resign and lose their entitlement to severance.
2. Compensation Lawsuit
The employee can file a lawsuit against the employer in the Labor Court, seeking two types of compensation:
- Moral Compensation (Manevi Tazminat): Compensation for the psychological suffering, emotional distress, and violation of personality rights caused by the mobbing. This is awarded to compensate for non-pecuniary damage.
- Material Compensation (Maddi Tazminat): Compensation for any financial losses directly resulting from the mobbing, such as loss of income, future economic damage, or costs of psychological treatment.
3. Criminal Complaint
In cases where the mobbing actions also constitute a crime under the Turkish Criminal Code (TCC), such as insult (hakaret), threat (tehdit), or violation of the peace of individuals (kişilerin huzur ve sükununu bozma), the victim can file a criminal complaint against the perpetrator(s). This is a separate process from the civil compensation lawsuit. For an overview of how civil and criminal cases can interact, consider reading about Litigation in Turkey.
The Burden of Proof: A Critical Factor
The process of proving mobbing in a Turkish court is challenging. The legal burden of proof lies primarily with the employee. However, Turkish courts have developed precedents to ease this burden:
- Prima Facie Evidence: The employee must present evidence that strongly suggests or raises a strong suspicion that mobbing occurred.
- Shifted Burden: Once a strong suspicion is established, the burden shifts to the employer to prove that the alleged hostile and systematic behavior did not happen, or that their actions were justified and within the scope of legitimate managerial authority.
- Types of Evidence: Evidence is crucial and includes: witness testimonies, emails, text messages, documented performance reviews, medical records (especially psychological reports), and reports to HR.
International Dimension of Mobbing in Turkey
For international employees working in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey, Turkish labor law applies regardless of the nationality of the employee or employer. Multinational companies operating in Turkey are held to the same high standard of protecting employee dignity.
Turkish courts will look at the entire context of the employment relationship, including any company policies, but the legal remedies granted by Turkish legislation, such as severance and compensation, remain the primary means of recourse for expatriate workers.
For more information on legal rights for foreign employees, refer to the Turkish Labor Law provisions regarding contracts and termination on the Ministry of Labor and Social Security website.
FAQs About Mobbing in Turkey
1. What is the typical duration required to prove mobbing?
While there is no fixed legal period in the statute, Turkish Supreme Court precedents often look for a pattern of systematic hostile behavior lasting for at least six months. The key is the systematic and repetitive nature, not just the duration.
2. Can an employee claim severance pay if they resign due to mobbing?
Yes. If the mobbing is proven to be a just cause for the employee’s termination of the contract (as per Labor Law Article 24), the resignation is treated as a forced termination by the employer, entitling the employee to severance pay and other receivables.
3. Who can be held liable for mobbing: the perpetrator or the employer?
The employer is directly liable for not fulfilling their duty to protect the employee’s personality rights (TCO Article 417), even if the perpetrator is a colleague or a subordinate. The employee can sue the employer for compensation. In some cases, the individual perpetrator may also be sued for criminal or civil damages.
4. What kind of evidence is most effective in a mobbing case?
The most compelling evidence includes medical reports (especially from a psychiatrist or psychologist linking the distress to the workplace), witness statements from co-workers, and documented communication (emails, texts, official memos) that demonstrate the systematic nature of the harassment.
5. Is a single, severe act of harassment considered mobbing?
Generally, no. Mobbing requires a systematic and continuous pattern of abuse. However, a single, extremely severe act of harassment, such as a physical assault or grave insult, could still be grounds for just cause termination and compensation under different articles of the law, but would not typically meet the judicial definition of mobbing.
6. Where can I find the official Turkish legal texts?
Official Turkish legislation, including the Labor Law and the Code of Obligations, can be accessed through the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey.
Contact us for Mobbing Under Turkish Law
Mobbing in the workplace is a serious issue that demands proactive measures from employers and employees alike. Turkish labor law provides comprehensive protection against mobbing, ensuring a fair and respectful work environment.
If you find yourself facing mobbing or harassment at your workplace, seeking the guidance of an experienced labor lawyer can significantly strengthen your case and help you assert your rights under Turkish law.
If you or someone you know is experiencing the distressing effects of mobbing at your workplace don’t suffer in silence and contact our expert labor lawyers for compassionate guidance and legal representation.
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