Employer's right of management and limitations in the regulation of working and resting hours

Working hours, which express the period of time that employees are at the disposal of their employer in order to fulfill their obligation to work, have been regulated in the Labour Laws by both absolute and relative compulsory law rules and alternative law rules. However, it is not possible to regulate all kinds of probabilities or working manners that may arise in an employment relationship by law. For this reason, starting from the principle that the labour law is a contract law, the employment relations outlined in the law will be embodied by the contractual resources and the right of management, which is at the bottom of the hierarchy among these resources. According to the prevailing view on the source of the management right, this right arises from the employment contract. By agreeing with their fictious will, the parties have decided that one party enter into the service of and act upon the instructions of the other party who has right to manage. With the Labour Law No. 4857 and other legislation enacted afterwards, the regulations that provide flexibility regarding working hours and resting periods have expanded the boundaries of the employer's right to manage. However, the Law kept flexibility to a minimum for certain groups of workers. At the beginning of these groups are underground mine workers, young workers, female workers and workers who are protected on the basis of the maximum daily working hours due to the health inconvenience of their work. As in the regulation of working hours, limitations regarding the management right of the employer will also apply in the regulation of resting periods. The instructions given by the employer in contrast to legal or contractual sources will not bind the employee. However, when it comes to the authority that can be given to the employer by mutual agreement of the parties, an authority given with the contractual sources of the labour law will be sought. After the limitation of the employer's right of management as a result of the regulation of the employment, it will be possible to expand the right of management with the authority to be given to the employer in this regard. However, if such an authorization has not been given, or if it is wanted to give instructions that exceed the employer's extended management authority, a fundamental change in working conditions may be mentioned. At the beginning of these changes is the length of working hours, since it affects the wage, which creates the synallag of the worker's job performance. Key Words: Working hours, Resting periods, Employer's Right of Management, Regulation of the Employment