The Action for an Undetermined Claim Has Been Abolished: How Will Employee Claims Be Brought Now?

What Has Changed?

Law No. 7589 on Amendments to Certain Laws for the Effective and Efficient Functioning of the Judiciary (Yargının Etkin ve Verimli İşlemesine Yönelik Bazı Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun), publicly known as the 12th Judicial Package, was published in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) No. 33326 of 31 July 2026 and entered into force. Article 19 of the Law repealed Article 107 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu, HMK), which governed the action for an undetermined claim (belirsiz alacak davası).

This change directly affects workers who cannot know the exact amount of their claim when filing a lawsuit. The main changes are as follows:

• As of 31 July 2026, an action for an undetermined claim can no longer be brought.
• In a partial action (kısmi dava), the claim may be increased once in the same proceedings, up to the end of the evidentiary stage (tahkikat), without being subject to the prohibition on expanding the claim (iddianın genişletilmesi yasağı); for the increased portion, the limitation period is also deemed to have been interrupted as of the filing date (HMK Art. 109/4).
• Actions for undetermined claims filed before this date will continue to be heard under the repealed Article 107.
• As a rule, the interval between hearings may not exceed three months (HMK Art. 147/3).

What Was the Action for an Undetermined Claim and Why Did It Matter to Workers?

The action for an undetermined claim was a type of action available where the amount or value of a claim could not reasonably be expected to be, or could not possibly be, determined fully and precisely at the time of filing. The claimant could file the action by stating a minimum amount and then increase the claim once the evidence had been gathered and, in particular, once the expert report had been obtained.

This type of action was frequently used for employment claims. Claims such as overtime pay, weekly rest day pay, and national holiday and public holiday pay often cannot be calculated without timesheet records, witness statements and an expert examination. The action for an undetermined claim enabled workers to protect their rights without having to make this calculation when filing the lawsuit. In practice, which claims were genuinely to be regarded as undetermined was also a matter of debate in the decisions of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay).

Which Route Now? The Partial Action and HMK Article 109/4

With the abolition of the action for an undetermined claim, the partial action is now the main route for employment claims whose amount cannot be finalised at the time of filing. In a partial action, only part of the claim is sued for. The fourth paragraph added to Article 109 of the HMK by Law No. 7589 has brought the partial action closer to the possibility previously offered by the action for an undetermined claim:

• The claim may be increased only once in the same proceedings.
• The increase may be made up to the end of the evidentiary stage; it is therefore possible to make it after the expert report has been obtained.
• The prohibition on expanding the claim does not apply to the increase; there is no need to resort to an amendment of claim (ıslah).
• For the increased portion, the limitation period is deemed to have been interrupted as of the filing date. Thus, even if the limitation period expires while the proceedings are pending, the increased claim is not deemed time-barred.

It should also be noted that a partial action cannot be brought in every case: under the second paragraph of Article 109 of the HMK, a partial action cannot be brought where the amount in dispute is undisputed between the parties or is clearly determined. In addition, in practice it is advisable to state expressly in the statement of claim that the right to claim any excess amount is reserved. Although amendment of claim remains available, a limitation objection may be raised against the portion increased by amendment; the new possibility of increasing the claim in a partial action is therefore a safer option for the worker.

What Happens to Actions for Undetermined Claims Already Filed?

Under the tenth paragraph of provisional Article 1 (geçici 1. madde) of Law No. 7589, the repealed Article 107 continues to apply to actions filed before the date of its repeal. Accordingly, if you filed an action for an undetermined claim before 31 July 2026, the action will be heard under the former provisions, and you may increase your claim within the framework of those provisions.

If you have not yet filed a lawsuit or are still at the mediation stage, your action will need to be brought under the new rules, either as a partial action or for the full amount. It is therefore important to settle the litigation strategy before the action is filed.

Mandatory Mediation Before Filing a Lawsuit

Under Article 3 of the Labour Courts Law No. 7036 (İş Mahkemeleri Kanunu), in actions concerning employee or employer receivables and compensation based on the law or on an individual or collective employment agreement, and in actions for reinstatement, applying to a mediator before filing the action is a precondition for bringing the action. If no agreement is reached in the mediation talks, the action may be filed together with the final mediation report (son tutanak).

• State clearly in the mediation application all the heads of claim you will seek; for items not included in the report, the action may be found to lack a procedural precondition.
• From the application to the mediator until the date on which the final report is drawn up, the limitation period is suspended and the statutory time limit (hak düşürücü süre) does not run.
• A settlement agreement signed in mediation binds the parties with respect to the matters agreed; check that the calculations are correct before signing.

Limitation Periods for Employment Claims

With the abolition of the action for an undetermined claim, keeping track of limitation periods has become even more important. The limitation periods for the main employment claims are as follows:

• Severance pay, notice pay, bad-faith termination compensation and other compensation linked to the termination of the employment contract, as well as pay for unused annual leave: 5 years from the termination of the employment contract.
• Wages, overtime pay, weekly rest day pay, and national holiday and public holiday pay: 5 years from the date on which each individual receivable became due.
• The limitation period is suspended during mediation; however, time elapsed outside that period counts. It should be remembered that, particularly for periodic claims such as overtime pay, a separate limitation period runs for each month.

Documents to Prepare Before Filing a Lawsuit

To determine the amount of the claim as accurately as possible when filing the lawsuit, it is useful to gather the following documents in advance:

• The employment contract and any supplementary protocols
• Payslips and bank statements showing salary payments
• Social Security Institution (SGK) record of service
• Timesheet, entry and exit, or shift records
• The termination notice, formal notices (ihtarname) and correspondence with the employer
• E-mails, messages or task records showing working hours and duties
• Contact details of people who can testify about the working conditions

Other Changes: Statutory Interest and Intervals Between Hearings

The same Law also amended Article 1 of the Law No. 3095 on Statutory Interest and Default Interest (Kanuni Faiz ve Temerrüt Faizine İlişkin Kanun). Where it has not been set in the contract, statutory interest is now calculated at eighty percent of the rediscount rate applied by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye to short-term lending transactions on 31 December of the previous year. This change may also affect the statutory interest applied to employment claims.

In addition, a paragraph added to Article 147 of the HMK provides that, as a rule, the interval between hearings may not exceed three months. In compelling circumstances, such as a prolonged expert examination, the judge may set a longer period by stating the reasons. This rule is expected to help employment cases be concluded more quickly.

Conclusion

The abolition of the action for an undetermined claim has changed the litigation strategy for employment claims. In the new period, the partial action and the possibility of increasing the claim under the fourth paragraph of Article 109 of the HMK come to the fore; however, it should be borne in mind that this possibility may be used only once and must be exercised before the end of the evidentiary stage.

If you have left your job or believe that your receivables have not been paid, it is important to gather your documents without missing the limitation periods and to identify your heads of claim correctly before applying for mediation. You may seek legal support from a lawyer for an assessment of your specific situation.