No nursery at the workplace

Does your workplace have no nursery service?

In Article 24 of Labour Law No. 4857, which regulates the cases in which an employee may terminate for just cause, the last sentence of sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph (II) reads “or if the working conditions are not applied”; thus, failure to apply the working conditions is among the employee’s grounds for termination for just cause.

For a mother, the greatest priority is knowing that her child is safe and well cared for. The lack of a nursery at the workplace both prevents a mother with no one to look after her baby from focusing on her work and makes her life harder. A mother who is left without support to meet her child’s needs because working conditions are not provided is caught up every day in the rush to find a place to leave her child and cannot concentrate enough on her work. In such a case, since it is not possible for the mother to continue working, ending the employment contract becomes a justified necessity.

Article 13 of the “Regulation on the Working Conditions of Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women and on Nursing Rooms and Child Care Centres”, published in the Official Gazette of 16 August 2013, placed an obligation on employers to open nursing rooms and nurseries at workplaces. Under the provision:

Regardless of age and marital status,

• Where there are 100–150 female employees, a nursing room must be set up,

• Where there are more than 150 female employees, the employer is obliged to open a nursery for leaving and caring for children aged 0–6 and for breastfeeding employees to nurse their children. Employers are obliged to provide a nursing room separate from the workplace and at most 250 metres away. If the nursery is more than 250 metres from the workplace, the employer is obliged to provide transport.

Relevant court decisions are to the same effect.

According to the decision of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), File No. 2015/5175, Decision No. 2016/19971, dated 14.11.2016: “In Article 24 of Labour Law No. 4857, which regulates the cases in which an employee may terminate for just cause, the last sentence of sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph (II) reads ‘or if the working conditions are not applied’; thus, failure to apply the working conditions is among the employee’s grounds for termination for just cause. According to Article 15 of the Regulation on the Working Conditions of Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women and on Nursing Rooms and Child Care Centres, No. 25522, published in the Official Gazette of 14.07.2004, in all workplaces of the employer within municipal and adjacent area limits, if the employer has more than 150 female employees in total, regardless of age and marital status, the employer must establish a facility, separate from the workplace and close to it and meeting certain conditions, for leaving and caring for children aged 0–6 and for breastfeeding employees to nurse their children. Under the regulation, the employer is obliged to open a nursery, and an employee has the right to terminate her employment contract for just cause against an employer who does not fulfil this obligation.”

In conclusion, the lack of nursery service at the workplace disregards not only an employee’s but also a mother’s basic needs. This deficiency makes it impossible for the mother to balance her working life and private life sustainably. Where the working conditions are not provided, the mother’s termination of the employment contract for just cause is an understandable and well-founded decision, both legally and humanly. It is a necessity for every workplace to create a more inclusive and supportive environment that takes its employees’ needs into account.

To protect your legal rights and conduct the process properly, it is important to consult a lawyer. Assessing with a lawyer whether the grounds for just termination comply with the legislation, and what to watch out for in the process, will prevent loss of rights later on.