09.06.2026 21:22
Bad news came from the Court of Cassation for a worker who resigned from his workplace of three years citing 'personal reasons'. The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the Regional Court of Appeal's decision, finding it erroneous to grant severance pay on the grounds that wages were unpaid, despite the resignation letter including the phrase 'personal reasons'.
A worker named K.L., employed at a construction company's overseas construction site, resigned citing 'personal reasons.' Upon returning to the country, the worker's first action was to file a case with the Labor Court.
CLAIMED COMPENSATION AND RECEIVABLES
Alleging that wages were not paid on time or in full during the service period, and that wage receivables existed, the worker claimed entitlement to severance pay, notice pay, annual leave pay, overtime pay, weekly holiday pay, national holiday and general holiday pay, and wage receivables, requesting their collection from the defendant.
The defendant company's lawyer argued that the employment relationship ended with the plaintiff's resignation, thus no compensation right arose, that annual overtime up to 270 hours was included in the salary as per the contract, that the plaintiff's work did not exceed 8 hours daily, and that the plaintiff was not employed on weekly holiday days in the country of work, seeking dismissal of the case.
LOCAL COURT REJECTED COMPENSATION, APPEAL ACCEPTED
The Labor Court, noting that the plaintiff's handwritten petition requested termination and acceptance of resignation due to 'personal reasons,' rejected severance and notice pay. The plaintiff's lawyer appealed the decision. The Regional Court of Appeal ruled that despite the phrase 'personal reasons' in the resignation letter, this separation should be considered a justified termination due to unpaid wages, awarding severance pay.
THE FINAL WORD FROM THE COURT OF CASSATION
The Court of Cassation's 9th Civil Chamber, intervening upon the employer's appeal of the decision, delivered a landmark ruling. It was noted that the plaintiff left employment citing personal reasons, did not mention unpaid labor receivables in the resignation letter, and failed to prove that their will was vitiated by employer officials. In its decision, the Court of Cassation stated: 'The phrase personal reasons in the resignation letter does not indicate a reason stemming from the employer or workplace but expresses a personal situation of the plaintiff. Therefore, the claim for severance pay by the plaintiff, who left employment citing personal reasons that cannot be considered a justified termination ground, must be rejected. The court's acceptance of the claim based on a written justification not consistent with the case file is erroneous and warrants reversal. It was unanimously decided to reverse the appealed Regional Court of Appeal decision.'