Supreme Court Decisions Regarding The Statute Of Limitations On Wage Claims
According to the expert report obtained by the court, the plaintiff amended their claim to include overtime, bonuses, child, family, education, transportation, and other allowances. The defendant employer filed a written objection to the amendment within the prescribed time limit, raising the defense of limitation. Pursuant to Article 126/3 of the Code of Obligations, claims relating to workers’ wages are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. Overtime, bonuses, child, family, education, transportation, and fuel assistance payments are among such claims. Therefore, the portion of the overtime, bonuses, child, family, education, transportation, and fuel assistance payments claimed through the amendment that falls outside the five-year period prior to the date of the amendment is subject to the statute of limitations. The court must determine the overtime, bonuses, child, family, education, transportation, and fuel assistance claims requested through the amendment that are not subject to the statute of limitations, obtaining an additional report from an expert witness if necessary, and render a decision on the overtime, bonuses, child, family, education, transportation, and fuel assistance claims in accordance with the outcome. 9th Civil Chamber, 2009/26776 E., 2009/36953 K., 12/24/2009
…The plaintiff has proven that he worked overtime during the period he worked as a seaman before 11/19/2003 and that he was paid a voyage bonus. The plaintiff requested 100 TL for overtime work and 100 TT for voyage bonuses in the statement of claim. The lawsuit was filed on 09.09.2005. Following the calculation of the labor claims by the expert witness, the plaintiff amended the lawsuit on 17.4.2009. Upon this, the defendant raised a statute of limitations defense. According to both Article 126/3 of the repealed Debt Law No. 818 and Article 147/1 of the Debt Law No. 6098, which entered into force on July 1, 2012, lawsuits regarding employee wages are subject to a 5-year statute of limitations. Overtime and travel allowance claims fall under this category. Therefore, the portion of the overtime and travel allowance claim requested in the amendment that exceeds the amount requested in the complaint and falls outside the five-year period prior to the date of the amendment is time-barred. The court’s rejection of the 100 TL overtime and 100 TL travel allowance claims requested in the petition, which are not subject to the statute of limitations, is erroneous. 9th Civil Chamber, 2011/35376 E., 2013/28177 K., 05.11.2013