Mobbing and Legal Remedies: Protection of Employee Rights

Defined as systematic psychological harassment in workplace, mobbing is a violation type that can cause serious damage to employee's work life, health, and personal rights. In Turkish law, mobbing is evaluated under both labour law and general obligations law; various legal remedies are granted to employee. This guide examines legal framework of mobbing and routes to be followed.

What Is Mobbing

Mobbing is, in workplace:

• Systematically and repeatedly,
• For specific period,
• In way that will harm employee's personality, professional reputation, health

applied psychological pressure, intimidation, and exclusion behaviour. A single negative event doesn't constitute mobbing; mobbing has elements of continuity and planning.

Types of Mobbing

Mobbing can manifest in various forms:

1. Communication Blocking

Not sharing information with employee, not inviting to meetings, removing from email distributions.

2. Social Exclusion

Isolating employee from colleagues, not inviting to work meals, not contacting publicly.

3. Professional Attacks

Conscious assignment of impossible targets, assigning to tasks where will fail, constant criticism.

4. Personal Attacks

Insult, ridicule, gossip, intervention in private life.

5. Health Threat

Excessive workload, not granting rest periods, working in physically forcing conditions.

Legal Dimension of Mobbing

In Turkish law, mobbing:

• Constitutes attack on employee's personal right within scope of employment security,
• Within general obligations law, breach of employer's obligation to protect employee,
• Violation of personal rights in Constitution,
• May contain behaviours falling within criminal law scope (insult, threat) in specific situations.

Employee's Legal Routes

1. Termination of Employment Contract on Justified Reason

Employee not wanting to remain in mobbing environment:

• Can terminate employment contract on justified reason,
• Earns severance pay,
• If definite-term contract exists, can claim wage for remaining period.

For justified-reason termination, mobbing must be proven with concrete documents.

2. Compensation Lawsuit

Employee can file compensation lawsuit against employer for:

• Moral compensation — violation of personal rights,
• Material compensation — health expenses, loss of earnings, damages from inability to find another job,

3. Reinstatement Lawsuit

If employee was forced to resign or dismissed due to mobbing, can file reinstatement lawsuit. In lawsuit, mobbing claim is strong evidence regarding invalidity of termination.

4. Criminal Complaint

If mobbing behaviours include offences like insult, threat, sexual harassment, criminal complaint can be filed with Public Prosecutor's Office.

5. KVKK Complaint

If employee's personal data is unlawfully processed under mobbing scope (secret recording, unilateral monitoring, gossip spreading), complaint to Data Protection Board is possible.

Proof of Mobbing

Mobbing claim is among most difficult-to-prove labour law disputes. Proof methods:

Written Documents

• Email correspondence,
• Messages (WhatsApp, intra-company messaging),
• Performance evaluation reports (unfair evaluations),
• Disciplinary letters,
• Unjustified changes in job description.

Witness Statements

Coworkers' statements are very valuable evidence; however, coworkers often fear employer and don't want to testify. Former employees can be called as witnesses.

Health Reports

Medical reports showing psychological or physical illnesses suffered as result of mobbing:

• Psychiatric/psychologist reports,
• Hospital admission documents,
• Medication prescriptions,
• Sick reports.

Recordings

Audio recordings of employer's or managers' verbal expressions — under Turkish law, a person recording their own conversation produces admissible evidence; however, secret third-party recordings are limited.

Social Investigation

Court may request mobbing assessment report from court experts or psychiatry specialists.

Obligations and Risks from Employer's Perspective

Employer has obligation to protect employee's personal rights. Against mobbing claims:

1. Preventive Measures

• Establishing anti-mobbing policy in workplace,
• Setting up complaint mechanism for employees,
• Training managers,
• Performance evaluation processes being objective.

2. When Complaint Comes

• Investigate claims,
• Protect complainant,
• Conduct impartial investigation,
• Take appropriate measures based on result.

3. Risk: Compensation and Image Loss

Decisions against employer in mobbing lawsuits:

• Can give rise to high compensation,
• Company's employer brand can be seriously damaged,
• Sets precedent for other employees.

Mobbing-Management Style Boundary

Not every difficult management style is mobbing. Holding accountable, performance tracking, criticism are natural part of management right. Boundary between mobbing and management right:

• Continuity — one-time event isn't mobbing,
• Systematic — planned and repeated behaviour,
• Attack on dignity — personal attacks exceeding professional limit,
• Not granting employee opportunity to adapt.

Labour courts carefully evaluate this boundary in concrete situation.

Special Topics for Foreign Employees

Foreign employees can be:

• More open to mobbing due to language barrier,
• Subject to behaviours exploiting cultural differences,
• Silent due to reasons like not knowing what their rights are,
• Unable to complain fearing work permit cancellation.

Therefore, additional sensitivity is needed in mobbing files for foreign employees; language and cultural support must often be provided.

Complaint Mechanisms

Internal and external complaint routes employee can apply to:

• Company HR department,
• Ethics committee (if any),
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security affiliated supervisory mechanisms,
• Turkey Human Rights and Equality Institution,
• Public Prosecutor's Office (for criminal-constituting acts),
• Labour Court (for compensation and termination).

In first stage internal complaint routes should be tried; if no result obtained, external mechanisms should be applied.

Legal Support

In Antalya, for employees suffering mobbing and employers facing mobbing claims, MONA HUKUK provides legal support. For employees, structuring proof process, claiming earned compensations, and lawsuit follow-up; for employers, preventive policy development, internal investigation, and lawsuit defence — we exhibit professional approach in these areas.

Contact us at contact@monahukuk.com or call +90 (242) 606 14 32 to schedule a consultation in Antalya.