Dear Mr. Çektir, my husband was employed as an expatriate here in İstanbul on Aug. 18, 2008. He was on a three-year contract. Since our arrival in Turkey, he has been very badly treated by his employer. He is never paid on time, and the company makes endless promises which they have never followed through on. … We have only just managed to survive every month on the salary he has been paid and have unfortunately not managed to save any money. His allowance basically just covers food for our family of two adults and three children.
We are now in a situation where the company he is working for has run out of money and have now put his contract on hold indefinitely. They are refusing to pay him out as per his contract and are not sticking to the contract as per termination of employment. Their argument is that they are not canceling the contract -- when they have money again and the operation starts up, he will have his position back. But I don’t know how they expect us to survive until then. He is in senior management within the company. Do they have some sort of retainer policy here in Turkey? We unfortunately do not have any money to seek legal advice, and they are aware of this. Our residence permits expired on Oct. 10 this year, and they have promised that they were working on renewing it, which they have not done, so this means we are here illegally. They were also meant to fly us back home for our annual family holiday this December, and the tickets were meant to be purchased by them, which they also have not done. ... I really have no idea what to do or who to turn to. We do not speak the language, which is a huge problem. We have given them an option which we think is suitable for all parties as some sort of a retainer package, but they are not meeting us halfway. Is there some sort of a council that we can talk to that can help us? We are penniless in a foreign country where we don’t speak the language or know the law and are basically staying here illegally. Please could you suggest something? Many thanks.
I can’t imagine how stressed you must be feeling. You are in a foreign country, you don’t speak the language and you, your husband and family have been abandoned by his employer. Some people are bad, that’s for sure.
Writing an article and responding to legal questions usually means that we lawyers need to ask more questions before we make an outline of the legal problem. In most cases, the client, or in this particular column, the readers, leave out some details that may be crucial for the sake of legal assistance. Here I don’t have any chance to ask questions but rather to make assumptions.
I assume that the company is not well established and there is no written contract between the company and your husband.
The first thing you should do is to make it clear whether there is any written contract or not. If there is a written contract, then you have the means to enforce it. If there is no written contract, then your husband should find some evidence to prove that he has been working for this company. What may be classified as evidence in such a case? Bank statements or receipts showing that the company has paid your husband, your husband’s e-mails with respect to his position in the company and whatever else proves his employment and its terms and conditions.
I am afraid that it is very difficult to write a solution in this column without this information. Collect all these documents and come to my office; my colleagues and I will do our best to assist you. I would like to inform my readers about matters of employment law, but this should be covered by a full article in the coming days. How do you make a good employment contract? I will focus on this matter next week.
Having said that, one should note that the employment tribunals act quickly in Turkey compared to some other countries. Never enter into employment without ensuring a certain level of reliance and trust. Don’t forget to have a good employment contract showing the terms of employment.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner.
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