How do asset returns work when an employee leaves in Turkey? Checklist and return record

HR is getting ready to close the file when the phone rings. IT says the departing employee still has their laptop and that their email account is still active; administration adds that the access card was never handed back. The employee’s last working day was yesterday. Nobody has acted in bad faith; there is simply no list showing who holds which item, and no step that checks that list on leaving day. That is where asset return comes in: it is the part of leaving day that is easiest to forget. Below you will find a checklist for return day, what the return record should contain and a summary of the legal framework in Turkey for unreturned assets, drawn from the official texts of Turkish law.

Asset return is when an employee gives back the company assets issued to them during their employment, in the condition recorded, on a change of role or when leaving, and that return is closed with a return record and an entry in the register.

How do you handle an asset return? Return-day checklist

1. Pull the assignment list from the records. Gather every asset registered to the employee, with its assignment number, on a single list. On return day this list is the only thing you will work from.
2. Go through the list with the employee. The employee may mention an item they have that does not appear in the records; add it to the list.
3. Collect the devices. Match laptops, phones, tablets and handheld terminals against their serial numbers.
4. Check the accessories. If chargers, cases, bags, headsets and cables were listed on the handover record, count them at return too.
5. Collect cards and keys. Record the access card, office and locker keys, and any vehicle key and fuel card, each on a separate line.
6. Note the physical condition. Write down any scratches, cracks, missing parts or keyboard keys that do not work at the time of return, and add the note to the record together with the employee.
7. Close accounts and access. IT closes or hands over email, company applications, remote access and shared-folder permissions.
8. Keep company data where it belongs. Files, emails and permissions must not stay on the employee’s device; anything that needs to be handed over goes to the manager.
9. Prepare the return record. It lists the items returned, anything still missing and condition notes; both parties sign it.
10. Close the register entry. Log the return movement; if the item will be assigned again, state its status (Idle, Faulty, In Repair).

Preparation before the last working day

To avoid surprises on return day, a little preparation can be done before the last working day. Once the leaving date is known, these four steps make the day easier:

• On the day notice of the departure comes in, pull the employee’s assignment list and send it to the teams involved (IT, administration, the manager).
• Tell the employee the day, time and place of the return in advance.
• Decide in advance which files and work need to be backed up or handed over to the manager.
• For devices that will go to someone else, plan the new user and the date now.

What does an asset return record include?

Returns are not only for leavers: they also come up when someone changes role or department. When an employee moves to another department, the old department’s equipment is returned and a new assignment is opened for the new one. If the employee refuses to sign the record, note this on the record and decide with your legal adviser how to proceed; the legal weight of an unsigned record needs to be assessed separately.

Asset return form template: text you can copy

ASSET RETURN RECORD — Date: ……… | Returned by (name, department, job title): ……… | Received by (name, department): ……… | Items returned (description, serial/inventory no., condition): 1) ……… 2) ……… 3) ……… | Missing or damaged items and employee’s explanation: ……… | Account and access closure status: ……… | Returned by: ……… Signature: ……… | Received by: ……… Signature: ………

Align the text with your organisation’s own asset handover record: the assignment numbers on the return record must match those on the record drawn up at handover.

What happens if a leaving employee does not return assigned assets?

This is a legal question, and the answer depends on the facts of each case. Below is the general framework under Turkish law as we read it in the official texts; for what to do in an individual case, consult your legal adviser.

• Duty to return: Article 443 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098) states that when an employment contract ends, the parties must return what they received in connection with the work; Article 443(2) specifically mentions the employee’s duty to return motor vehicles.
• Duty of care: Article 396 states that the employee must take care of the tools, equipment and materials handed over for the performance of the work.
• Liability for damage: Article 400 states that the employee is liable for damage caused through their fault, and that the nature of the work and the employee’s skills and qualities are taken into account in determining that liability.
• Criminal law: Article 155 of the Turkish Penal Code (Law No. 5237) covers the offence of breach of trust and contains a separate paragraph for items entrusted in the course of an employment relationship. Whether this provision applies in a specific case is for lawyers and the courts to assess.

These texts show the general framework; steps such as claiming the value of an asset from an employee, setting it off against wages or other amounts owed to them, or filing a criminal complaint each require a separate legal assessment. In particular, always consult your adviser before making any deduction from wages on your own initiative.

What you can do before taking legal action

1. Bring together the assignment record, the handover record and the movement history; document that the item really is with this employee.
2. Notify the employee in writing of the items to be returned and a reasonable return date.
3. Record any objection or explanation from the employee; note whether they have said where the item is.
4. If this produces no result, pass the file, together with the correspondence, to your legal adviser.

Where do Excel and paper-based return tracking break down?

In a small team, an Excel list and a paper record may seem enough for return day. But if not every asset held by the departing employee has been collected in one table, the list will be incomplete: the laptop is in one spreadsheet, the card in another folder, the phone in an email. And because closing accounts runs separately from asset return, one gets done and the other is forgotten. The return record usually ends up in a separate file too, and the register is never updated to show which item came back.

Return movements and the leaving process in the portal

In YazSis KurumsalPortal, the Asset & Assignment Management module records the movement on the asset’s card when an assigned asset is returned, so one record shows who the fixed asset passed from and to, and who has it now. Because items are tracked with the statuses Idle, Assigned, In Repair, Faulty, Scrapped and Lost, the status after the return is recorded too.

In the Onboarding & Offboarding Management module, a departure follows an exit checklist. Asset return, account and access closure and exit documents are assigned as separate steps to the teams concerned: the process moves forward as HR, IT, administration and managers complete their own steps, and closes in a controlled way. A leaving employee’s asset return is closed through the same flow.

If you want to link asset return on leaving day to the same checklist as account closure and exit documents, take a look at the Asset & Assignment Management module.