Abuse of the employer's right to manage

The right of management, defined as the right of the employer to regulate the conduct of work and employee behaviour through the instructions, is the last among the special sources of labour law. It becomes relevant in cases of gaps in these sources or in matters left to the employer's discretion. The main purpose of the labour law is to safeguard the rights of employees, especially the dignity of employees, who work under an employer's authority dependence, placing them in a less powerful position in the balance of interests between employee and employer. This objective necessitates restrictions on the employer's management rights. The employer's management right is primarily subject to the limitations of all public and private sources of labour law that precede it. Other limitations of the management right include the purpose of the management right, the personal rights of the employee, the principles of equality and proportionality, the principle of good faith and the prohibition of abuse of rights. According to Article 399 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, which is the legal basis of the employer's management right, the basic limit of the employer's management right and the employee's duty of obedience is the principle of good faith. The use of the management right in violation of the principle of good faith constitutes an abuse of the management right if the conditions are met. In such cases, it is necessary to determine the consequences of the abuse of the right, i.e. the sanction. In this context, the employee who is subjected to the employer's abuse of the management right has the right to terminate the employment contract for just cause, to file a lawsuit for reinstatement if he/she has been subjected to dismissal, to claim the rights he/she has been deprived of as a result of the dismissal, and if the conditions exist, to claim pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, to claim trade union and discrimination compensation depending on the extent of the abuse. Meanwhile, the employer will be subject to administrative, criminal and legal sanctions for this abuse. Key Words: Employer's right to manage, principle of good faith, prohibition of abuse of rights, general terms and conditions of employment.