What Should an Employee Do If the Employer Does Not Pay the Salary?

Failure to pay an employee's wage on time generates both economic and legal consequences. An employee with an outstanding wage claim does not need to content themselves merely with demanding payment from the employer; the law grants the employee various rights under certain conditions.

Attorney Gizem Gonce stated that paying the wage on time and in full is one of the employer's fundamental obligations, drawing attention to the importance of substantiating the wage claim with documents and records.

After how many days of non-payment of salary can an employee take action?

Pursuant to Article 34 of the Labour Law No. 4857, an employee whose wage is not paid within 20 days from the payment due date, except for reasons of force majeure, may refrain from working under the conditions set forth in the law. This does not mean that the employee's right to abstain from work due to non-payment of wages is unrestricted; the conditions of the provision and the concrete situation of the employee must be assessed with care.

The law provides that the contract of an employee who refrains from working for this reason cannot be terminated on this ground, nor can a new employee be hired to replace them. In respect of unpaid wages, the highest interest rate applied to bank deposits may also be claimed.

What steps can an employee take?

First, it must be determined which period the unpaid wage belongs to and what the amount is. The employment contract, payslips, bank account statements, wage-related correspondence, and working records should be preserved. If a portion of the wage has been paid, the remaining deficient amount must be calculated separately.

The employee may demand their claim in writing from the employer. In the event of non-payment, the mandatory mediation process must be applied for prior to filing a lawsuit for the collection of the wage claim. If an agreement cannot be reached, a debt collection lawsuit may be brought before the competent and authorized court.

Can an employee who leaves their job due to unpaid salary receive severance pay?

Non-payment of wages may grant the employee the right of termination for just cause depending on the circumstances of the incident. However, whether an entitlement to severance pay arises is determined by evaluating the employee's length of service, the manner and duration of the non-payment of wages, the mode of contract termination, and other legal conditions. It is important for the employee to document their decision to leave and the ground for termination.

Gonce stated: “Rather than submitting a hasty resignation letter in the face of unpaid wages, the legal framework of the claim and the ground for termination should be evaluated first. An erroneous or deficient procedure may make it more difficult to prove rights in the future.”

The statute of limitations should not be forgotten

The general statute of limitations for employee wage claims is five years. Which periods may be claimed and the calculation of the limitation period must be determined according to the particularities of the concrete case.