Can a Specialist Sergeant Claim Compensation Upon Termination of Contract?

The contracts of specialist sergeants may be terminated under the following circumstances:

• Failure to adapt to duty within the first 5-month period of the contract,
• Ascertainment that the specialist sergeant cannot be effectively utilized in duty,
• Inability to achieve rank progression based on their performance record,
• Conviction for crimes against the personality of the State, or for disgraceful crimes or crimes against honor and dignity such as simple and aggravated embezzlement, extortion by public officials, defamation, bribery, theft, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, perjury, false oath, fabrication of crime, rape, sexual harassment, abduction of a girl, woman, or man, incitement to prostitution, unnatural sexual intercourse, fraudulent bankruptcy, or for smuggling (excluding smuggling for use and consumption), collusion in public tenders and procurements, disclosure of state secrets, desertion, physical assault on a superior officer, insistence on disobedience to orders, insulting a superior officer, resistance, sedition, rebellion, even if the sentence is deferred or a decision of deferment of the pronouncement of the verdict is rendered,
• Conviction for crimes specified in Article 148 of the Military Penal Code No. 1632,
• Determination that the individual cannot be utilized due to health issues,
• Conviction by courts for crimes other than negligent offenses, resulting in a sentence restricting liberty for more than thirty days,
• Conviction for a negligent offense, resulting in a sentence restricting liberty for six months or more,
• Restriction of liberty for a total of more than thirty days within the last year, counting back from the date of receiving a disciplinary penalty from at least two disciplinary superiors,
• For those who marry foreign nationals; if such marriages are not approved by the General Staff in accordance with the principles specified in the regulation,
• Loss of Turkish citizenship or deprivation of Turkish citizenship for various reasons by the specialist sergeant.

For a specialist non-commissioned officer to be entitled to compensation due to termination, their contract must be terminated without their own fault. A specialist sergeant at fault will not be paid compensation after contract termination. A specialist sergeant whose contract term has expired and who does not renew it will also be entitled to compensation. Specialist non-commissioned officers who believe their contract was unfairly terminated may file an annulment lawsuit to return to duty, or they may claim compensation.

How is Specialist Non-Commissioned Officer Contract Termination Compensation Calculated?

For specialist non-commissioned officers who leave due to non-extension of their term of duty despite not being at fault, or after completing their contract term: those with less than five years of service will receive a gratuity in an amount found by multiplying twice their last net salary by their total years of service. For those with more than five years of service, a gratuity will be determined by adding the amount found by multiplying their last salary by the total years of service exceeding five years, to the aforementioned calculation. However, the upper limit for the gratuity to be paid to specialist sergeants cannot exceed twenty times their last net salary.

How Much Compensation Does a 3-Year Specialist Sergeant Receive?

Salaries for specialist non-commissioned officers vary according to their duty stations and ranks. If we base it on the 2026 specialist non-commissioned officer salary amount; a specialist sergeant who has served in the East for 3 years, if we multiply their net salary by two and then by their three years of service, will be entitled to approximately \[Price Information Removed\] in compensation. A regular specialist sergeant, on the other hand, will be entitled to approximately \[Price Information Removed\] in gratuity.

Is a Health Report Required for Specialist Sergeant Contract Renewal?

To renew a contract, it is mandatory for specialist non-commissioned officers to possess the health qualifications specified in the regulation according to the duty characteristics of the cadre they are or will be employed in. A non-commissioned officer wishing to renew their contract must apply to a fully-equipped military hospital, undergo examination under the required conditions, and obtain a health report.

Council of State Decisions on Specialist Sergeant Contract Termination

Council of State, 12th Chamber, File No. 2020/4583, Decision No. 2021/968, Date 24/02/2021

Regarding the plaintiff; although a decision was rendered by the ... Criminal Court of First Instance on ... with File No. E:..., Decision No. K:... to sentence him to 1 year and 3 months imprisonment for the crime of "Violation of the inviolability of the domicile," and the said decision became final without appeal, it was subsequently determined by the Sarıoğlan Criminal Court of First Instance's supplementary decision dated 21/07/2016 that the aforementioned conviction was unlawfully finalized due to irregular notification to the plaintiff. It was definitively decided to suspend the execution of the judgment and to send the file to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation for review, as the decision had not become final due to irregular service and the appeal request was accepted. Considering this, no conformity with law was found in the action concerning the termination of the plaintiff's contract based on a criminal court decision that had not yet become final.

Council of State, 12th Chamber, File No. 2019/5662, Decision No. 2022/1346, Date 22/03/2022

In the case at hand, the plaintiff, a specialist sergeant serving at the ... Commando Brigade ... Commando Battalion Command, had received a salary deduction penalty by the Company Command's decision dated 02/03/2016 for the act of "short-term desertion." Although an action for contract termination was initiated on the grounds that he could not be utilized due to his inability to demonstrate the desired level in upholding the values of the military profession, with the allegation of repeatedly committing the same act as recorded in a report dated 14/02/2018, it is observed that the alleged act of the plaintiff was not subjected to a disciplinary investigation, and no disciplinary penalty was imposed for the said act. Furthermore, the plaintiff possessed an incapacity for work certificate issued by the Adana Governorship, Yüreğir District, Cumhuriyet Community Health Center, Yamaçlı Family Health Center, covering the period from 14/02/2018 to 23/02/2018, which is the same date as the report. Additionally, the plaintiff was not penalized with room confinement or restriction to duty station for a total of thirty days or more within the last year; nor did he receive a total of eight or more disciplinary penalties from at least two disciplinary superiors within the last year counting back from his last disciplinary penalty; there was no conviction for any of the crimes specified in Article 13 of the Regulation; and there were no circumstances such as "inability to reach the desired level in demonstrating military professional values in shooting, sports, training, operations, and assigned cadre duty stations and conduct, despite warnings, excessive indebtedness, and absence from duty without excuse for seven days or more within a contract year." Therefore, it is understood that it was legally not possible to assess the plaintiff as personnel who "cannot be utilized," and consequently, the conditions requiring the termination of his contract under Article 13 of the Specialist Non-Commissioned Officers Regulation did not materialize in the concrete case.

Council of State, 12th Chamber, File No. 2021/3055, Decision No. 2021/7199, Date 29/12/2021

Article 10 of the Specialist Non-Commissioned Officers Law stipulates that the total duration of convalescence leave and rest leave for specialist non-commissioned officers, excluding the treatment period, cannot exceed three months in the last year. As clearly understood from the provision of the Law, convalescence leave and rest leave granted for treatment purposes shall not be counted in the calculation of the three-month period. It is clear that a contrary interpretation would put specialist non-commissioned officers, who are constantly at risk of injury and illness due to their profession, in a situation where their contracts are terminated as a result of reports given for treatment purposes. In this case, it is clear that the plaintiff was hospitalized on 21/03/2019, and the 44 and 35-day reports he received starting from 23/03/2019 were given for post-operative treatment; it is indisputable that expecting a soldier who underwent knee surgery to return to his unit and perform duty the day after the surgery would be contrary to the ordinary course of life. In this situation, it is concluded that the plaintiff's 44 and 35-day reports, starting from 23/03/2019, should be considered part of the post-operative treatment process and cannot be included in the three-month period specified in Article 10 of Law No. 3269. Therefore, no conformity with law was found in the contested action taken in the opposite direction.

Any questions you may have regarding specialist sergeant contract termination

Av. Mehmet Yücesoy

İzmir Attorney & Legal Consultancy