Determination Of The Benchmark Wage
If it is determined during inspections conducted by public institutions or in claims/determination lawsuits filed by employees that employees’ wages have not been reported based on their actual wages,
The employer will be subject to an administrative fine of two minimum wages for each month that wages were paid in cash.
If the situation is determined as a result of an audit, the payroll records and the company’s daily logbook will be deemed invalid, and an administrative fine of half a minimum wage (not exceeding 12 minimum wages) will be imposed on the workplace for each instance of invalidity.
The “Minimum Wage Support” received by the workplace for the years in which cash payments to workers are determined will be canceled, and the relevant amounts will be returned to the Social Security Institution (SGK) with legal interest.
The employer will be required to pay the underreported premiums and taxes, along with late payment interest, to the relevant institutions.
Following a claim that the cash payment was not made, the employee may be paid again.
Considering these consequences, paying wages in cash causes significant loss of rights for the employee and poses a serious risk for the employer.
The Supreme Court of Appeals 9th Civil Chamber’s decision dated 11.12.2017, with case number 2017/7955 and decision number 2017/20925, also sets a precedent in this regard. Accordingly;
“In the workplace, it is sometimes observed that the wages shown in employment contracts or pay slips do not reflect the actual amount in order to pay less tax or insurance premiums. In this case, determining the actual wage becomes important. When factors such as the employee’s seniority, job title, actual work performed, workplace characteristics, and wages paid to comparable employees are taken into account, and there is suspicion that the wages stated on the signed payrolls do not reflect the actual wages, witness statements on this matter should be considered, and the employee’s length of service in the profession, dates of employment at the workplace, job title, and actual work performed should be reported to unions and relevant employee and employer organizations to investigate what the comparable wage might be. All evidence should then be evaluated together to reach a conclusion.
It is ‘contrary to the normal course of life’ for a skilled worker to work for the minimum wage according to the nature of the job.
A young man and his friends, who worked as forklift operators in the packaging department of a company in Çifteler, filed a declaratory action with the Çifteler Civil Court of First Instance, stating that they received the portion of their wages shown on their insurance base from the bank and the remaining portion in an envelope given to them in a room at the workplace after lining up. The local court dismissed the lawsuit filed by the employee.
The workers also submitted a CD containing camera footage from the workplace showing the payment of cash in envelopes. The footage showed workers waiting in line in front of a room door, and those leaving the room were seen holding thin, long envelopes.
The 21st Chamber of the Court of Appeals overturned the local court’s decision, stating that “it is contrary to the normal course of life for a skilled and experienced worker to work for the minimum wage according to the nature of their work.”
In its decision, the High Court emphasized that it is contrary to the normal course of life for a qualified and experienced worker to work for the minimum wage according to the nature of their work, and stated that the documents prepared by the employer based on the minimum wage could be proven otherwise.
The decision recalled that a CD containing camera footage from the workplace showing the payment of cash in envelopes in similar cases had been submitted to the file. It stated that the footage showed workers waiting in line in front of a room door and those coming out holding thin, long envelopes. The Supreme Court decision pointed out that witnesses also stated that such a practice existed at the workplace and that the workers’ pay slips were unsigned.
It was recorded that the Eskişehir Chamber of Commerce had informed the worker, who was employed as a forklift operator, that those performing comparable work between 2007 and 2010 could receive wages within a range of 30% above the minimum wage.