Within the scope of labor law, employers have obligations toward employees such as paying wages, providing equal treatment, ensuring occupational health and safety, recognizing rest rights, and employee care. Similarly, employees have obligations toward employers including acting with loyalty, honesty and commitment, fulfilling work duties, complying with workplace rules, and non-competition. When parties act in accordance with these mutual obligations, the employment relationship can be maintained in a balanced and harmonious manner, while contrary situations bring about legal responsibilities.
Today, social media has become an indispensable communication area where individuals actively participate, socialize, communicate, and share their private lives to express their opinions. Employees also share posts about their workplaces and employers where they spend a large part of their daily lives, which can sometimes raise certain legal issues for employers. As such, social media goes beyond being merely a personal usage area and becomes a factor directly affecting people’s professional lives.
Employers evaluate whether their employees’ social media posts harm the business and, in some cases, may terminate the employment contract due to these posts. So under what circumstances would termination of an employee’s employment contract be lawful? We will address these issues in the following sections:
- What Kind of Social Media Posts by Employees Can Be Considered Just Cause for Termination and to What Extent?
In today’s world, it should be considered that employment relationships are not limited to physical workspaces alone, and digital platforms have also become part of this relationship. Employees should particularly remember that they must act in accordance with their obligations under labor law in their social media posts. Indeed, posts made on social media can damage the employer’s reputation, as well as negatively affect the work order and reliability of employment relationships. In this context, the situations mentioned as examples can often be considered just cause for termination by employers within the framework of Labor Law No. 4857 and the basic principles of labor law.
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- Negative Posts Targeting Colleagues or Superiors
Creating a peaceful working environment is a requirement of employees’ obligation to comply with workplace rules. An employee’s posts that are degrading, threatening, or gossipy targeting colleagues or managers may constitute just cause for termination for the employer under Article 25/II-(d) of Labor Law No. 4857 on the grounds of “Employee’s assault on the employer or their family or another employee of the employer.”
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- Breach of Confidentiality and Trade Secrets
The disclosure of the employer’s trade secrets, customer information, or corporate strategies through an employee’s social media posts can cause material or moral damage to the employer. This situation constitutes a violation of the employee’s duty of loyalty and can be considered one of the just causes for termination under Article 25/II-(ı) of Labor Law No. 4857 within the scope of “Employee endangering the security of work due to their own will or negligence.”
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- Posts Demeaning the Employer or Workplace and Containing Insults
Within the framework of legislation, the employee’s duty of honesty and loyalty requires showing loyalty to the employer. An employee’s social media posts that damage the reputation of the employer or the workplace, containing insults, slander, or unfounded allegations, may be considered just cause for termination under Article 25/II-(b) of Labor Law No. 4857 within the scope of “Making statements touching on the honor and dignity of the employer or making unfounded allegations about the employer.”
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- Posts Contrary to Company Policies or Conflicting with the Corporate Values of the Workplace
Social media posts that are incompatible with the employer’s corporate identity and reputation; racist, discriminatory, violent, or contrary to ethical rules constitute a violation of the employee’s obligation not to harm the workplace. If such posts damage the reputation and reliability of the workplace, they may lead to termination of the employment contract with just or valid cause. At this point, it should be evaluated whether the relevant post falls within the scope of freedom of expression. Indeed, the Supreme Court has decisions in this direction. (Republic of Turkey Supreme Court 7th Civil Chamber, Case No: 2014-6519, Decision No: 2014-12285, Decision Date: 03.06.2014)
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- Posts Supporting Competitor Companies or Harmful to the Employer
An employee’s posts praising competitor companies against their workplace or making posts that put the employer in a difficult position clearly violate the employee’s duty of loyalty. Since employees have an obligation to protect the employer’s interests, such posts can weaken the employer’s competitiveness and be considered a valid reason for termination under Article 25/II-(h) of the Labor Law.
1.6 Inappropriate Social Media Use During Working Hours
An employee’s constant use of social media during working hours may mean a violation of the duty to perform work. Especially if the employee deliberately delays their main work obligations by engaging with social media, depending on the circumstances of the concrete case, it can be evaluated under Article 25/II-(h) of Labor Law No. 4857 as “Employee’s persistence in not performing the duties they are obliged to perform despite being reminded.” and may grant the employer the right to terminate with just cause.
At this point, the extent to which the employee’s social media use is intense and to what extent it affects their performance should be taken into account. In many decisions of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court, it is seen that if the use of social media is proven to be so intense as to affect performance and the employer proves that the employee’s social media use causes the performance decline, this situation does not give the employer the right to terminate without compensation, but gives the right to terminate with valid cause (with compensation) under Article 18 of Labor Law No. 4857.
These situations are the most common just causes for termination encountered in practice, but they are not limited to these. It should not be forgotten that each concrete case must be carefully evaluated according to its own special conditions in line with the obligations that the employee bears towards the employer.
- Can Employees’ Posts Outside Working Hours Constitute Just Cause for Termination?
Whether an employee’s social media posts outside working hours can give rise to the employer’s right to terminate is a frequently encountered question. At this point, what matters is whether the employee’s social media post harms the employer. If the post damages the employer’s reputation, negatively affects the employment relationship, or harms the interests of the workplace, the employer’s right to terminate with just cause may arise regardless of whether it was made during or outside working hours. At this point, factors such as the content of the post, its negative impact on the employer, and the relationship between the employee and the employer should be evaluated to reach a conclusion.
In conclusion, employees’ social media posts can cause serious damage to the workplace, and this may constitute just cause for termination for the employer. However, for the employer to exercise the right to terminate, the post must seriously damage the interests of the workplace, contain content that disrupts workplace peace, and create negative effects on the reputation of the workplace. Each concrete case needs to be evaluated separately within the framework of labor law’s fundamental principles such as the employee’s loyalty, non-competition, and confidentiality obligations toward the employer in the context of valid termination. In this context, termination of the employment contract can be made with just or valid reasons depending on the specifics of each situation.
Helin Kızılkaya