Secondment to Turkey Ends but Repatriation Is Refused: Home and Host Obligations

Quick summary

The issue and the legal distinction

An expatriate may be told that a Turkish assignment has ended but neither group company accepts responsibility for return costs or continuing employment. Corporate affiliation does not establish a single employer for every purpose. Examine the tripartite agreement, payroll arrangements, reporting line and suspension or continuation of the home contract without treating any one factor as decisive.

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What changes the assessment

Distinguish return travel from guaranteed re-employment and from immigration status. A travel booking does not resolve a termination claim, and a work authorisation does not itself guarantee continued employment.

Preserve communications before accepting a new role or signing a broad release. Urgent practical travel arrangements can be agreed while expressly leaving disputed employment rights for separate resolution.

Legal framework

Provisions to examine: TCO Article 112; applicable employment and conflict rules.

First identify the actual employer, any separate plan issuer and the applicable employment regime. A foreign parent’s policy and a Turkish employer’s contract do not automatically create identical obligations. Mandatory employment protections and conflict-of-laws rules require particular care in international assignments.

A TCO provision should not be applied as though special employment legislation did not exist. Contractual benefits, repayment obligations and deductions from wages also need separate analysis. Keep the employee’s lawful records and payment evidence, while avoiding unauthorised access to colleagues’ personnel data or the employer’s systems after departure.

Evidence to preserve

1. Home employment and secondment agreement.
2. Host assignment and payroll records.
3. End-of-assignment notice.
4. Repatriation and return-role promises.

Keep the original documents, identify their source and record when they were received. Preserve the version effective when the promise was made. Where a document is held by the opponent, request lawful preservation and consider the appropriate procedural route rather than trying to obtain it through unauthorised access.

A hypothetical example

Suppose the secondment letter promises return flights but says nothing about a guaranteed home-country role. Travel entitlement should not be confused with job continuity.

If the home contract expressly remained active, that document changes the employment inquiry. A practical agreement to book flights can reserve both sides’ positions on the separate termination and future-role dispute.

This illustration explains the distinction; it is not a reported case or a prediction of an outcome.

Practical next steps

Prepare an obligation map by entity and request a clear travel and employment position while preserving applicable procedural deadlines.

Build the first notice around the particular evidence: home employment and secondment agreement, the relevant date, the alleged failure and the requested response. Keep proof of delivery. A preservation request, a demand for performance and a final election of remedies can have different consequences; choose them with the contract and deadlines in view.

Remedies and financial loss

Itemise promised travel, relocation and employment entitlements separately. Avoid double recovery from home and host entities for the same expense.

Procedure for a client outside Turkey

Nationality alone does not decide governing law or forum. Review the parties, place of performance, contractual choice, any arbitration provision and applicable mandatory rules. Consumer and employment matters can require protected-forum analysis. Turkish proceedings may also require a mediation step or security analysis depending on the dispute; neither should be assumed applicable to every case.

For a Turkish civil case, counsel can consider whether evidence preservation under HMK Articles 400 onward or interim relief under Articles 389 onward is justified. These are different measures with specific conditions, possible security and follow-up duties. A general fear of nonpayment does not establish entitlement to every injunction. Calculate the actual notice and filing calendar before waiting for a voluntary reply.

Primary legislation and official sources

• Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098
• Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100
• International Private and Procedural Law No. 5718
• Labour Law No. 4857

Apply the wording and amendments effective for the relevant transaction and procedural step. A historical enactment text does not by itself establish the current rule.

Related English guides

• Unpaid Wages in Turkey: A Practical Guide for Foreign Employees
• Employment Releases in Turkey: Ibraname, Bank Payments and Employee Claims
• Foreign-Currency Salary Paid in Lira in Turkey: Exchange Rates and Payroll Shortfalls
• Unfair Dismissal and Reinstatement in Turkey: A Guide for Foreign Employees

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