Under Article 417 of The Turkish Code of Obligation, the employer is obliged to take measures to protect and respect the personality of the employee in the employment relationship and maintain an order under the principles of honesty in the workplace; in particular to prevent further psychological suffering. We believe that the employer cannot force the employee to go out of the city in cases where it is understandable that traveling out of the city will psychologically harm the employee.

However, in the case that all necessary precautions are taken by the employer and the employee does not fulfill the requirements of the job in a way that cannot be accepted as well-intentioned, despite being warned; the employment contract of the employee can be terminated by applying subparagraph (h) of Article 25/2 of The Turkish Labour Law ("If the employee refuses, after being warned, to perform his duties").

We believe that employers should evaluate carefully whether there is any risk for the employee according to the current situation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.