Author: İdil Uz
Introduction
The dominant position of the employer due to the nature of the employment relationship, the dependency of the employee, and the obligation to work constitute the basis of the employer's right to manage. The right to manage refers to the right to regulate the conduct of the work and the behavior of the employees in the workplace with the instructions given by the employer, provided that it is not contrary to the law, the employment contract and, if any, the collective bargaining agreement.[1] This right is basically regulated under Article 399 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (“TCO”). Accordingly, the employer may make general regulations regarding the conduct of the work and the behavior of the employees at the workplace and give them special instructions; employees, on the other hand, are obliged to comply with these instructions to the extent required by good faith. As can be understood from the wording of the article, the employer's right to manage may be in the form of regulating the execution of the work, for example, where, when, how and in what order the work is to be done. This is also often accomplished by setting out rules for the behavior of the employees in the workplace; for example, the procedures to be followed at the workplace, policies for the supervision of the employees or disciplinary rules.
Although this right of management is based on legal regulations, the boundaries of this right are drawn by the employer's responsibilities towards the employee and the employee's fundamental rights and freedoms. With its two decisions published in 2022, the Constitutional Court decided that certain activities carried out by the employer within the scope of the right to manage violated the rights of the employees to protect personal data, privacy and freedom of communication, and drew the limits of this management right.
