Court Ruling Opens Way For Teachers To Return To Their Jobs

A chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on March 16 that a teacher from the northern province of Samsun can return to his job at a private school, a decision seen to be a precedent for almost 100,000 teachers, lawyers representing the educator recently said.

The ruling of 7th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals has enabled teachers who have single-year contracts with private schools and prep schools, to return to their jobs and receive compensation if dismissed.

Hakan Gümüş, a lawyer for the teacher, who was dismissed on June 30, 2014, filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming that his client's one-year contract does not deny him the provisions of job protection. A local court ruled that job protection could not be granted to the teacher, as he had a fixed-term contract. The ruling said that Labor Law No. 4857 prohibits such workers from benefitting from the protection.

The teacher then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Appeals, which has signed a precedent, granting the teacher the right to return to work.

Citing Article 9 of Law No. 5580 on Private Educational Institutions, which regulates the employment of teachers in private schools, the court stated in its ruling that the plaintiff's contract should be considered a minimum-term contract instead of a fixed one.

“Since teaching is an ongoing activity, the ‘minimum term' mentioned in the article can mean two or three years, or more. Therefore, this kind of a contract is considered to be a contract of indefinite duration. The contract does not automatically end with the end of the minimum term defined by the parties,” the ruling stated.

The court determined that if a contract is terminated by an employer in the middle of a semester, the worker can benefit from job safety provisions.

The court's ruling will be a precedent for nearly 100,000 private school teachers who have been dismissed and denied the right to return to work.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)