What Is SGK Termination Code 46 in Turkey? Conditions and Consequences of Dismissal

Yazar: Av. Hüseyin AydınYayın: 28 August 2026Son güncelleme: 19 October 2026

SGK termination code 46 is the official exit code reported to the Social Security Institution (SGK) indicating that the employer has terminated the employment contract for just cause and with immediate effect under Article 25/II-e of the Labour Law No. 4857 (İş Kanunu), on the grounds of the employee’s conduct inconsistent with honesty and loyalty.

This code is applied in particular to serious breaches of loyalty, such as the employee abusing the employer’s trust, committing theft, causing loss to the company or disclosing trade or professional secrets. However, the fact that Code 46 has been reported to the Social Security Institution (SGK) does not in itself mean that the termination is lawful and valid. The employer must prove the alleged act and the justification for the termination with concrete, conclusive and verifiable evidence.

1. What Is the Legal Basis of Code 46?

The statutory basis of Code 46 is sub-paragraph (e) of paragraph II of Article 25 of the Labour Law No. 4857. Under that provision, the employer may terminate the employment contract in the following case:

“the employee engages in conduct inconsistent with honesty and loyalty, such as abusing the employer’s trust, committing theft or disclosing the employer’s professional secrets”

In that case, the contract may be terminated immediately, without waiting for the notice period.

In past practice, all terminations based on breaches of the rules of morality and good faith were reported under a single heading as Code 29. However, in order to clarify the nature of the act, a regulatory amendment divided Code 29 into sub-categories, and Code 46 was created specifically for “conduct inconsistent with honesty and loyalty”. With this distinction, the reason for the employee’s dismissal is now expressly specified in the SGK records.

2. In Which Situations Can Code 46 Be Applied?

For Code 46 to be used, the employee’s act must be more serious than a simple breach of workplace discipline and must fundamentally undermine the relationship of trust between the parties.

Conduct That May Fall Under Code 46

Depending on the particular circumstances, the following acts may be assessed under Code 46 (the examples in the Law are not exhaustive):

• Taking money, goods or property belonging to the employer, the business or co-workers (theft),
• Causing direct or indirect financial loss to the company by abusing the employer’s trust,
• Using company resources, vehicles or powers for personal purposes,
• Carrying out unauthorised transactions on behalf of the employer, or issuing false or misleading documents,
• Using customer or company information for personal gain,
• Disclosing the employer’s trade or professional secrets to third parties or competitors,
• Seriously damaging the employer’s commercial reputation or economic interests,
• Engaging in similar conduct that seriously breaches the duty of loyalty and fidelity.

Situations That Cannot Be Assessed Under Code 46

The following conduct is, as a rule, not sufficient on its own to justify Code 46, since it cannot be regarded as a serious fault contrary to honesty and loyalty:

• Simple underperformance and failure to meet targets,
• Exceeding break times or arriving late for work a few times,
• Simple carelessness and negligence in not performing duties properly,
• Working below the employer’s subjective expectations,
• Ordinary disciplinary problems that involve no breach of trust.

Indeed, the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) clearly emphasises in its settled case law that conduct such as failing to observe break times or simple carelessness cannot, on its own, be regarded as equivalent in gravity to theft, abuse of trust or disclosure of secrets.

3. Legal Requirements for Termination with Code 46

1. There Must Be a Concrete and Serious Act

The employer must specify the accusation made against the employee. Using only general and abstract expressions such as “abuse of trust” or “conduct inconsistent with honesty and loyalty” in the termination notice may render the termination unjustified. As far as possible, the termination notice should state:

• What exactly the act was,
• When and where it took place,
• What kind of loss the employer suffered,
• Which duty or obligation the employee breached,
• Which concrete evidence the reason for termination is based on.

2. There Must Be Proportionality Between the Act and the Termination

Not every faulty act is a just cause for termination. The employer must assess the gravity of the act and its effect on the employment relationship. For example, using Code 46 directly in respect of conduct involving a small amount, without intent, and which does not fundamentally undermine the relationship of trust, may be considered unlawful. By contrast, an employee intentionally taking the employer’s money or passing trade secrets to a competing business constitutes just cause for termination when proven with concrete evidence.

3. The Employer’s Burden of Proof

The burden of proving that the termination was based on just cause lies with the employer. The employer may prove its allegations with legal evidence such as:

• Lawfully obtained camera and security recordings,
• Cash register, accounting and stock records,
• Bank records and account transactions,
• Corporate e-mail and messaging records,
• Computer system and log records,
• Witness statements,
• Disciplinary investigation documents,
• Expert or internal audit reports,
• The employee’s written statements and defence,
• Delivery and equipment-receipt (zimmet) documents.

Reports drawn up unilaterally by the employer alone, which do not specify how the incident occurred, may not be considered sufficient on their own, especially if they are not supported by other evidence.

4. Peremptory Time Limits for Termination with Code 46

The Six-Working-Day Period

Under Article 26 of the Labour Law No. 4857, the employer must exercise its right of termination within 6 working days of learning of the conduct contrary to the rules of morality and good faith and of the employee who committed it.

This period does not always start on the date on which the act was committed. What matters is the point at which the body authorised to terminate:

• Learns of the act,
• Identifies the person who committed it,
• Obtains concrete information sufficient to take a termination decision.

If the employer learned of the act earlier but let the 6-working-day period pass and waited for a long time, a later termination loses its character as an immediate termination for just cause.

The One-Year Period

As a rule, the right of termination must be exercised within 1 year of the date on which the act was committed. However, this one-year upper limit does not apply if the employee obtained a financial benefit from the incident. Even so, the employer must always observe the 6-working-day period from the date it learned of the act.

5. Procedure for the Termination Notice and Taking the Employee’s Defence

When terminating under Code 46, the employer must observe the following procedural rules:

• The termination notice must be given in writing.
• The reason for termination must be stated clearly and precisely.
• The specific incident and date should be explained as far as possible.
• It should be stated which conduct of the employee is assessed under Article 25/II-e of the Labour Law.
• The right of termination must be exercised within 6 working days of the date of learning.
• The notification of termination must be submitted to the SGK within 10 days following the date of leaving.
• There must be full consistency between Code 46 in the SGK notification and the actual reason for termination, without any contradiction.

Is Taking the Employee’s Defence Mandatory?

The obligation to take the employee’s defence under Article 19 of the Labour Law relates mainly to the regime of termination for valid reason. In immediate terminations for just cause under Article 25/II of the Labour Law, failing to take the employee’s defence does not automatically render the termination invalid in every case.

Nevertheless, taking the employee’s defence helps clarify the incident, allows the employee’s explanations to be assessed, strengthens the evidence and makes the termination decision proportionate and verifiable. For this reason, taking a defence and conducting a disciplinary investigation are an important legal safeguard for the employer in practice.

6. Legal Consequences of Code 46 for the Employee

Severance Pay and Notice Pay

If the termination is genuinely based on just cause under Article 25/II-e of the Labour Law, the employee, as a rule, is not entitled to severance pay (kıdem tazminatı). Since in an immediate termination for just cause the employer has no obligation to give a notice period, no notice pay (ihbar tazminatı) is paid to the employee either.

However, if the court finds that the Code 46 notification was unjustified or untrue, that the conditions for termination for just cause were not met, or that the 6-working-day termination period had expired, the employee may claim both severance pay and notice pay together with statutory interest.

Unemployment Benefit

An employee dismissed under Code 46, as a rule, cannot receive unemployment benefit from İŞKUR (the Turkish Employment Agency), because the termination is based on a breach of the rules of morality and good faith. If the employee shows that the termination did not in fact fall under Code 46 and has the exit code corrected, they may benefit from unemployment benefit retroactively in accordance with social security rights and legislation.

Effect on Job Applications

In SGK records, Code 46 is associated with serious allegations such as theft, abuse of trust or disclosure of secrets. This may lead to the employee being viewed negatively in new job applications. Nevertheless, Code 46 is not a final criminal conviction; it is an administrative notification made by the employer, and it can be proven untrue through lawsuits that may be filed before the labour court.

Non-Pecuniary Damages

An employer making serious allegations such as theft or abuse of trust against the employee without concrete evidence and reporting an untrue Code 46 harms the employee’s personality rights. Court of Cassation decisions accept that untrue and unjustified Code 46 allegations may cause serious harm to the employee’s reputation in society and future working life, and non-pecuniary damages may be awarded in favour of the employee.

7. Consequences and Risks of a Code 46 Termination for the Employer

• Right of Immediate Termination: If just cause exists and is proven, the employer terminates the contract immediately without waiting for the notice period.
• Payment of Accrued Entitlements: Even if the termination is accepted as justified, the employee’s previously earned unpaid wages, pay for unused annual leave, overtime, bonuses and other employment receivables must be paid immediately. A termination for just cause does not extinguish receivables that accrued up to the date of termination.
• Burden of Proof and Litigation Risk: If the employee files a lawsuit, the employer must prove that the act was committed, its gravity and that the time limits were observed. If the employer fails to prove this, it may face severance and notice pay, wages for the idle period under reinstatement (up to 4 months), compensation for non-reinstatement (4–8 months’ wages), interest and litigation costs.
• Correction of the Code: If it turns out that Code 46 was untrue, the employer may correct it via e-Bildirge within the 10-day period following the date of leaving; after that period, it may apply to the relevant SGK directorate with supporting documents.

8. What Legal Remedies Are Available to the Employee?

An employee unjustly dismissed under Code 46 should first obtain the following documents:

• The SGK notification of termination,
• The employer’s written termination notice,
• Disciplinary and defence records,
• The records and documents relied on by the employer,
• Payslips and records showing the period of employment.

The following legal remedies may then be considered:

1. Mandatory Mediation: In reinstatement and employment receivable claims, mediation is a statutory precondition to litigation. For a reinstatement claim, the mediation application must be made within 1 month of service of the termination notice.
2. Reinstatement Lawsuit: Employees covered by job security (those with at least 6 months’ service at workplaces with 30 or more employees) may file a reinstatement lawsuit within 2 weeks if mediation ends without agreement.
3. Severance and Notice Pay Lawsuit: All unpaid compensation and receivables are claimed on the ground that the termination was unjustified. With regard to procedure, the procedural provisions introduced by the 12th Judicial Package and the rules on partial claims should be taken into account.
4. Correction / Determination of the SGK Exit Code: Correction is made before the SGK and İŞKUR on the basis of a court decision or a valid mediation settlement document. In lawsuits seeking correction of the exit code, it is accepted that the SGK code alone does not prove the termination and that the actual reason for termination is to be investigated on the basis of the evidence in the file.
5. Non-Pecuniary Damages Lawsuit: An employee whose personality rights have been violated by untrue allegations may file a claim for non-pecuniary damages.

9. Checklist for Employees and Employers Regarding Code 46

Checklist for the Employee	Checklist for the Employer
✓ Check the SGK exit code and termination date via e-Devlet.	✓ Establish the alleged act with concrete and lawful evidence.
✓ Be sure to obtain the written termination notice.	✓ Formally document the date on which the incident and the perpetrator became known.
✓ Investigate whether the 6-working-day period from the employer’s knowledge of the incident was exceeded.	✓ Never let the 6-working-day peremptory period expire.
✓ Assess whether the alleged act really reaches the gravity required for Code 46.	✓ Prepare the termination notice in writing and in detail; take the employee’s defence if possible.
✓ Do not miss the 1-month deadline for applying to mediation for reinstatement.	✓ Ensure that the reason for termination and the SGK exit code are consistent.
✓ Examine the options of severance pay, notice pay, non-pecuniary damages and SGK code correction.	✓ Submit the notification of termination within the 10-day statutory period.

10. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is SGK Code 46?

Code 46 is the exit code indicating that the employment contract was terminated by the employer for just cause and with immediate effect under Article 25/II-e of the Labour Law No. 4857 because of the employee’s conduct inconsistent with honesty and loyalty (abuse of trust, theft, disclosure of professional secrets, etc.).

Can an employee dismissed under Code 46 receive severance pay and notice pay?

If the termination is based on just cause, the employee is not entitled to severance pay or notice pay. However, if it is established that the termination was unjustified, that the allegations could not be proven, or that the 6-working-day period was exceeded, the employee may obtain severance pay and notice pay through the courts or mediation.

Can an employee reported under Code 46 receive unemployment benefit?

Since the exit is based on a breach of the rules of morality and good faith, unemployment benefit is not granted directly. However, if the code is proven to be unjustified and the exit code is corrected, unemployment benefit can be collected retroactively.

What is the time limit for the employer’s right to terminate under Code 46?

The employer must exercise its right of termination within 6 working days of learning of the act and the employee who committed it. In addition, the right of termination lapses once 1 year has passed since the act was committed (except where the employee obtained a financial benefit).

How is the SGK exit code corrected?

The employer may make a correction via e-Bildirge within 10 days of the exit date. If this period has passed or the employer is unwilling to agree, the employee may have the code corrected by applying to the SGK directorate with a mediation settlement document or a Labour Court decision.

11. Conclusion and Legal Assessment

SGK Code 46 is a serious termination code that comes into play where the employee abuses the employer’s trust, commits theft, discloses professional secrets or engages in conduct of equivalent gravity inconsistent with honesty and loyalty. However, a Code 46 notification does not on its own mean that the termination is valid. For the termination to be lawful, there must be a concrete and serious act, the employer must prove that act, the 6-working-day and 1-year time limits must be observed, the termination notice must be clear and the correct code must be used in the SGK notification.

An employee who believes the termination was unjustified should pursue mediation and litigation without missing the deadlines. The employer, for its part, should use Code 46 only in concrete, proportionate and provable cases; otherwise, it should bear in mind that it may face sanctions such as severance and notice pay, reinstatement, non-pecuniary damages and correction of SGK records.

For employment disputes in Alanya, Antalya and Gazipaşa — including reinstatement, severance and notice pay claims and code correction proceedings against an unjustified Code 46 termination — it is advisable to seek professional legal advice from a lawyer.

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Legal Notice: This text has been prepared for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. sophoshukuk.com makes no referral, guarantee or promise of outcome. Each case must be assessed on its own particular circumstances; for your specific dispute, please obtain professional advice from a lawyer.