A Precedent Set by Türk Sağlık-Sen in the Payment of Duty Duty Pay: Retroactive Payment Right Exceeding 120 Hours Approved at Appeal

Ankara / İzmir / Muğla - Turk Sağlık-Sen has won an important and precedent-setting legal victory on the issue of wages for on-call duty, which health workers have been fighting for their rights for a long time. The Confederation achieved a decisive victory at the Izmir Regional Administrative Court (Appeal) in the legal process initiated by one of its members working in Muğla, after the administration rejected their payments for duty shifts exceeding 120 hours and payments covering a retroactive period of 60 days.

The Legal Process: From Rejection to Victory on Appeal

The incident started when the administration rejected the request of a nurse member working as an organ and tissue transplant coordinator in Muğla for the payment of her on-call wages exceeding 120 hours, as required by the legislation, as well as the payment of her on-call wages for a period of 60 days retrospectively from the date of her application to the administration.

Turk Sağlık-Sen filed a lawsuit at the Muğla Administrative Court over this unfair rejection. The first court decided that the member should only be paid for the call duty wages from the date of the application and did not meet the demand for the payment of the retroactive period of 60 days and the part exceeding 120 hours. The union objected to this incomplete decision and appealed the case to The Fifth Administrative Case Chamber (Appeal) of the Izmir Regional Administrative Court.

Court of Appeal: Monetary Loss Due to Unlawful Transaction Must Be Paid

The Court of Appeal reviewed the case and issued a precedent-setting decision confirming the rightness of Türk Sağlık-Sen. In the court decision, it was clearly stated that the administration's rejection was illegal.

The decision particularly emphasized the following points:

1. The monetary loss suffered by our member due to the unlawful transaction should also cover the duty shifts within 60 days after the application to the administration.

2. The fees for the on-call shifts exceeding 120 hours should also be paid to the plaintiff by the defendant administration.

Izmir Regional Administrative Court accepted the union's appeal on these grounds and lifted the part of the first court decision regarding the dismissal of the case and ruled that the administration shall pay the full amount of the fees that the member deserves.

Call from General President Kahveci to the Administration: "All Victims Must Be Eliminated"

Making an assessment of the precedent-setting decision, Türk Sağlık-Sen President Önder Kahveci stated that all the victimizations experienced regarding the duty shifts should now be eliminated with a general regulation.

Başkan Kahveci said, "The courts have shown that the employee is right in the case of on-call shifts. Administrations should stop trying all kinds of ways to avoid paying on-call duty and all health workers on call duty should be paid on-call duty with a general regulation and the issue should be closed" and invited administrations to find a solution without legal struggle. This achievement constitutes an important hope for thousands of health workers on call duty and a strong reference for the search for their rights.