Obligation to Employ Disabled Persons and Former Convicts

Obligation to Employ Disabled and Former Convicts | Lawyer in Izmir

While our labor legislation mandates the employment of ex-convicts, it does not provide a legal definition of an ex-convict. The term "convict" is a fundamental concept in Criminal Law and is defined as follows: A convict is someone who has been found guilty of a crime and whose sentence has been finalized, and who is serving their sentence in a correctional institution. An ex-convict, on the other hand, is the name given to a convict who has been released.

It is a social reality that employing individuals with a criminal record leads to insecurity, anxiety, and hesitation, especially in the workplace and in employer-employee relations. However, despite all the negativity, these individuals, who have difficulty finding employment, will strive to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way and fulfill their duty of loyalty and diligence better than other employees in order to overcome the prejudices against them. On the other hand, the participation of ex-convicts in working life will contribute to the national economy, and providing such an opportunity will relieve them of being a burden on society.

It is important to note that Law No. 4857 Labor Law |’Article 30 of the Law has been significantly amended by Law No. 5763. This amendment removes the obligation for private sector employers to employ former convicts and victims of terrorism, who are considered disadvantaged groups in the labor market. Specifically, the article, previously titled "Obligation to Employ Disabled Persons, Former Convicts, and Victims of Terrorism," has been changed to "Obligation to Employ Disabled Persons and Former Convicts." However, the new provision completely eliminates the obligation for private sector workplaces employing 50 or more workers to employ former convicts and victims of terrorism, only stipulating a % 3 ratio for employing disabled workers. In contrast, public sector workplaces are required to employ disabled workers at a ratio of % 4 and former convicts at a ratio of % 2. Consequently, the obligation to employ former convicts is entirely left to public institutions and organizations.

Following the changes, according to Article 30 of the Labor Law,

Public employers employing 50 or more workers in public institutions and organizations (public workplaces) are obligated to employ former convicts in jobs suitable to their professions, at a rate of % 2. For employers with multiple workplaces within the same province, the number of workers they are obligated to employ under this scheme is calculated based on their total number of employees.

Special arrangements:

• Priority is given to those who were injured while working at the workplace, former convicts, or victims of terrorism.
• Employers obtain the workers they are obligated to employ through the Turkish Employment Agency.
• Within this scope, the qualifications of the workers to be employed, the types of jobs they can perform, the specific working conditions they will be subject to in the workplace in addition to general provisions, their vocational training, how they will be hired by the employer in terms of their profession, and the Ministry of Justice will be involved.
• This will be regulated by a regulation to be issued jointly by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
• Disabled workers cannot be employed in underground and underwater work, and those working in underground and underwater work are not included in the calculation of the number of workers in workplaces in accordance with the above provisions.

Employment of Persons with Disabilities: As the definition indicates, in order for a person with a disability to benefit from the mandatory employment quota as a worker in either the public or private sector, they must have at least a forty percent loss of total body function due to the disability conditions listed in the article, and this must be documented by a medical board report.

“Article 4/c of the "Regulation on the Selection Examination for Disabled Public Personnel and the Recruitment of Disabled Persons to State Civil Service" defines disabled persons to be employed as public personnel as: "Those who, due to congenital or acquired physical, mental, psychological, sensory, and social disabilities, have a disability rate of forty percent or more and who are able to work, as documented by a health board report obtained in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.".

Workers to be employed in public institutions and organizations must be Turkish citizens who have reached the age of 18, must not have been convicted of certain crimes even if they have been pardoned, and must meet the conditions stipulated in the special laws of the public institution or organization (Public Institutions and Organizations Regulation, Article 4).

Individuals with disabilities who will be employed in private workplaces must register with the Turkish Employment Agency and submit their disability-related documents. For public workplaces, the Disabled Public Personnel Level Examination is also administered. According to the "Regulation on the Disabled Public Personnel Selection Examination and the Recruitment of Disabled Persons to State Civil Service," disabled individuals to be employed as civil servants will be placed in civil service positions either through the EKPSS or by lottery. For placement in state civil service positions, the EKPSS score will be used for disabled individuals who are graduates of secondary education, associate degree programs, and bachelor's degree programs; for disabled individuals who are graduates of primary, secondary, elementary, and special education work application centers or schools, a lottery system will be applied (Regulation Article 13).

When the aforementioned articles are considered together, both the Labor Law and the Maritime Labor Law stipulate that private sector employers with fifty or more employees are required to employ three percent disabled workers in their workplaces. Public sector employers with fifty or more employees are required to employ four percent disabled workers in their workplaces. Furthermore, public institutions and organizations are also required to employ three percent disabled individuals in civil servant status.

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