The severance fund became a source for employers

In the first 5 months of the year, double the money paid to the unemployed became a resource for the employer. The unemployment fund, which is considered a guarantee for employees in case of unemployment, continues to flow to the employer. According to the May 2023 Unemployment Insurance Fund Bulletin of the Turkish Employment Agency (İşkur), a total of TL 8.432 million was paid to the unemployed in the first 5 months of the year, while incentive payments and support for employers reached TL 16.4 billion in the same period.

According to the data for the period January-April 2023 included in the İşkur monthly newsletter, 243,607 out of 574,940 people who applied for unemployment benefit were entitled to receive the benefit. While in 2020 8.4 billion liras were paid for unemployment benefits, incentives and support payments to employers amounted to approximately 18.1 billion liras. In 2021, 5.5 billion lira for the unemployed, 21.7 billion lira for employers; In 2022, 12.2 billion lire was paid to the unemployed and 28.6 billion lire to employers.

21 YEARS OF PAYMENT 5 MONTHS AGO

In the period January-May 2023, the payment made to employers within the framework of support and incentives reached 16.4 billion lira in 5 months. While the minimum wage support for the employer was 100 lira in 2022, it was increased to 400 lira this year. By the end of 2023, the amount of support provided to the employer is expected to double compared to previous years.

The amount paid to the unemployed in the 21 years that the fund was in force fell 26.6 billion lira below the amount paid to the employer in the 5 months of 2023. While 9.9 million of the 18 million unemployed who have requested since the Unemployment Fund was launched in March 2002 could receive benefits, the payment made to these people was 58.2 billion lira. Incentive payments made to the employer in 2020, 2021, 2022 and the first 5 months of 2023 reached 84.8 billion lira.

The fund’s total assets exceeded 135 billion lire.

According to the Turkish Employment Agency (Iskur) Unemployment Insurance Fund Bulletin, the fund’s total assets as of May 2023 were 135.1 billion lira. Of the revenue, it consisted of 6 billion lira of employee and employer bonuses, 2 billion lira of state contribution, 2.6 billion lira of interest income, and 3.8 billion lira of other items. While total revenue was 14.4 billion lira in May, total spending was 11.1 billion lira.