Recent Amendments to the Regulation on Short-Time Work and Short-Time Work Allowance

New Developments:

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security (the "Ministry") published the "Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding Short-Time Work and Short-Time Work Allowance" (the "Regulation") in the Official Gazette dated June 11, 2024. The Regulation has entered into force with retroactive effect from March 1, 2024. For short-time work applications that commenced before this effective date, the former regulation will remain applicable.

Key Amendments in the Regulation:

Concepts such as sectoral crisis, regional crisis, and general epidemic have been added to the official grounds for implementing short-time work.

Employers are now required to attach a list containing information on the period and duration of short-time work for the employees who will be subject to it.

It is now stipulated that the short-time work period for the employees included in the application cannot be less than 4 weeks.

The eligibility criteria for receiving the short-time work allowance have been updated. Employees must have been subject to an employment contract for the last 120 days prior to the start of the short-time work and must have worked as an insured employee for at least 450 days in the last three years, with unemployment insurance premiums paid.

The daily short-time work allowance will be calculated based on the employee's average earnings subject to premium over the last twelve months, not to exceed 150% of the gross monthly minimum wage.

The short-time work allowance will be paid to the employee on the 5th of each month.

New provisions regarding the suspension of the short-time work allowance have been introduced.

The conditions for the cessation and suspension of the allowance are now regulated in more detail.

Employers with employees on short-time work are now required to keep records of the employees' working hours and to present these records upon request.

A specific sanction has been defined for non-compliance with the employer's obligation to provide notification 6 working days in advance in cases where the short-time work arrangement is terminated early.

Conclusion:

The Regulation has expanded the grounds for requesting short-time work, detailed the assessment processes, and changed the payment conditions. Additionally, new rules regarding audits and suspension have been introduced. It is crucial for employers to carefully review the amendments in the Regulation and ensure that any short-time work applications initiated after March 1, 2024, are fully compliant with these new provisions.