Frequently Asked Questions About Service Determination Lawsuits
In this article, I will try to provide information to you, my dear readers, about the questions I receive most often: the conditions for a service determination lawsuit, who should file the lawsuit, the statute of limitations, which court has jurisdiction, and what should be taken into consideration in a service determination lawsuit.
An employer is required to register every employee they hire for social security by issuing an employment entry declaration within the scope of the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law. This is an obligation imposed on the employer. If the employer fails to fulfill this obligation, the employee gains the right to file a service determination lawsuit. An employee may file a service determination lawsuit in cases such as the employer failing to pay insurance premium debts to the SSI, failing to pay the support insurance premiums of retired citizens in full, or failing to make any premium payments at all. The most common cause for service determination lawsuits we encounter in practice is the failure of the employer to pay the employee's insurance premiums or paying them partially. In practice, we also encounter situations where the employee, of their own free will, wants to work without insurance and demands that the premium payment that should be paid to the insurance be paid to them instead. This does not prejudice the employee's right to file a service determination lawsuit, even if there was a subsequent agreement. The court determines the unpaid premium debts of the employee who filed the service determination lawsuit and orders them to be paid by the employer. Service determination lawsuits may be filed by persons considered insured and, if these individuals have passed away, by their heirs. If the employee dies after the statute of limitations for the lawsuit has expired, their heirs do not have the right to file a lawsuit. However, in the event that the employee dies while having the right to file a lawsuit, the heirs have the right to file a service determination lawsuit within 5 years from the date of death. This period is a statute of limitations, and if the period is exceeded, the right to file a lawsuit automatically expires.
Applying for mediation is not stipulated as a requirement for a service determination lawsuit. The employee has the right to file a service determination lawsuit directly without applying for mediation. The employee must file the service determination lawsuit in the Labor Court, which is the competent court. In cases where there is no Labor Court in the district where the employee resides, the Civil Court of First Instance hears the case in the capacity of the competent court.
In the service determination lawsuit to be filed by the employee, the defendant is the employer who has paid the premiums partially or has not made any premium payments at all. During the lawsuit stage, the SSI is included in the service determination lawsuit in the capacity of an notified party.
Attorney Gizem GONCE
