The right to refrain from the obligation to work in the Turkish Labor Law

In this study which is prepared as a master degree thesis, ?The Right to Refrain from the Obligation to Work in the Turkish Labor Law? was analyzed. Two conditions granting employees the right to refrain from obligation to work are specially regulated with the Labor Act 4857 which entered into force at June 10th, 2003.According to the 34th clause of the Labor Act the employee to whom wages were not paid within 20 days after due date has the right to refrain from obligation to work in case of realization of special conditions. In this case, to refrain from obligation to work will not be specified as a strike even though refraining from work has gained a collective action nature; will not be the basis for termination of labor contracts.Although refraining of employee from obligation to work is being defended by a large part of the discipline based on the 81st clause of the Law of Obligations regulating the prevention of failure to payment before the Act 4857, the applications of the Court of Appeal was formed on contrary. Although discussions whether employees will gain the right to be paid for the refraining period are going on, the 34th clause is being evaluated as a progressive step to protect the wages. The Court of Appeal is in sight that the wages will not be merited for this un-worked period.The second case that the Act 4857 allows employee to refrain from obligation to work is based on employer?s failure to take measures about health and safety at work. For the use of the right regulated at 83rd clause, the closeness, emergency and vitality of danger and failure to take measures in spite of objective determination of danger will be required. Payment of wages and other benefits for the refraining period is envisaged in case of occurrence of these cases. This regulation having the capacity to protect the employee is in a nature making the use of refraining right difficult since it gives more initiative rights to employer.In the study comprised of three parts, the concept of right to refrain from obligation to work, the obligation of employee to work and cases in the Turkish Labor Law releasing the employee from work obligations was analyzed in the first part.In the second part, issues about right to refrain from obligation to work based on failure of wage payments, the legal features, conditions, scope, use of the rights, provisions, consequences and being over was discussed.In the third part, right to refrain from obligation to work depending on failure of taking measures for health and safety at work, employer?s obligation to guard, employer?s obligation to take measures for labor health and labor safety, legal feature of right to refrain from obligation to work, conditions, limits, provisions and conclusions was analyzed.Keywords :1. Wage2. Obligation to Work3. Failure to Pay Wages4. Labor Health and Labor Safety5. Refraining from the Obligation to Work