The employee can challenge the existence of justified grounds by initiating a lawsuit against the employer and in such law case, the employer is required to prove that the termination was with just or valid ground if s/he claims so. The employee who alleges that no reason was given for the termination of his employment contract or who considers that the reasons shown were not valid to justify the termination shall be entitled to file a case against employer before the labour court within a month of receiving the notice of termination. The burden of proving that the termination was based on a valid reason shall rest on the employer.
Disputes are usually handled in Labour Courts, however if there is an arbitration clause in the collective agreement or if the parties so agree, the dispute may also be referred to private arbitration within the same period of time. (Within one month of receiving the notice of termination.)
According to Article 20/3 of the Labour Code, the court must apply fast-hearing procedures and conclude the case within two months. In the case the decision is appealed, the Court of Appeal must issue its definitive verdict within one month. However, due to the workload neither the first instance nor the Appeal Court conclude their examination and render decision within the stipulated timespan. According to our experiences, we can inferentially say that, about 1 year first instance court proceedings and 1 year Court of Appeal examination, the finalization of such case may usually take approximately 2 years.