Employment in Turkey is mainly governed by the Turkish Labor Law and Trade Union Law.
Types of Job Contracts
Based on new Turkish Labor Law, there are four different types of job contracts:
a) Job contracts for “Temporary” and“Permanent” WorkJob contract does not have to be concluded in a specific format. However, if a job contract is signed for a definite period, it must be concluded in writing.
Job contracts are exempt from stamp tax and other duties.
Principle of “Equality” Among Employees
Any kind of discrimination among employees with respect to language, race, gender, political opinion, philosophical approach, religion or similar criteria is prohibited by Law. Discrimination based on the gender of an employee is not allowed when determining the amount of remuneration for employees working in the same or equivalent jobs.
In case of violation of the principle of equality, the employee who is subject to discrimination can request monetary compensation.
Working Hours and Overtime
According to the Labor Law, the maximum normal working hours is 45 hours per week. In principle, 45 hours should be distributed equally to the working days. However, based on the new rules introduced by the new Labor Law, working hours may be distributed unevenly over the working days provided that the total daily working hours do not exceed 11 hours a day and that the parties agree on the uneven distribution of the working hours over the working days.
Hours exceeding the limit of 45 hours per week are to be paid as “overtime hours”. Payment for the overtime hour must be 1.5 times the regular hourly wage/salary. Instead of the overtime payment, employees may be granted a free time of 1.5 hours for each overtime hour worked.
Overtime hour worked during weekends and public holidays is to be paid twice as much as the regular hourly rate. These rates are the minimum set by Law and may be increased based on a collective or bilateral agreement between employees and the employer. Total overtime hours worked per year may not exceed 270 hours.
Annual Paid Vacation
There are five paid public holiday per year (January 1st, April 23rd, May 19th, August 30th, October 29th) plus two paid periods of religious holiday which is eight days in total.
Employees are entitled to paid annual vacation for the periods indicated below, provided that they have worked for at least one year including the probation period: 6. Employment law and practice
| Years of Work | Minimum Paid Vacation Period |
| 1 – 5 years (inclusive) | 14 days |
| 5 – 15 years | 20 days |
| 15 years and longer | 26 days |
These benefits are the minimum set by the Law and may be increased based on a collective or bilateral agreement.
In principle, paid vacation period cannot be unilaterally divided by the employer. However, the total period can be divided into three parts (at most) based on the agreement between the employer and the employee, provided that a part of the vacation period would not be shorter than 10 days.
If a job contract is terminated either by the employer or the employee, the vacation pay earned by the employee as of the date of termination must be paid.
Payment Procedures for Wages and Salaries: According to the Law on the amendments on Turkish Labor Law, wages and salaries are required to be paid in terms of TRL to the bank account of the employee. Unless the wage and salary amounts are paid to the bank account of the employees, an administrative penalty amount of TRL 100 per employee (per month) is charged to the employer. It is possible to denominate wages/salaries in terms of a foreign currency. In this case, wages/salaries shall be paid in TRL calculated on the basis of the related foreign currency rate prevailing as of the payment date.
Wages/salaries cannot be paid in terms of promissory notes or any other forms of negotiable instruments. According to the relevant rules of the new Turkish Labor Law, employees whose salaries are not paid within twenty days following the regular payment date for reasons other than force majeure, are allowed to refrain from work.
Maternity Leave: According to the relevant rules of the new Turkish Labor Law, female employees are now permitted to have a paid maternity leave period of eight weeks prior to and eight weeks after giving birth (i.e. a total paid maternity leave period of 16 weeks). It is also possible to optionally take unpaid maternity leave of up to six months in addition to the paid leave period of 16 weeks.
Obligation to Employ the Disabled, Handicapped and Ex-Convicts: Those employers that have more than 50 employees are required by Labor Law to employ a certain number of disabled and handicapped persons as well as ex-convicts. In private sector, the number of disabled/handicapped persons employed must consist of 3% of the total number of employees while the number of ex-convicts to be employed must correspond to 2% of the total number of employees. In case of failure to comply with this obligation, an administrative penalty of TRL 1.357 per each disabled/handicapped or exconvict person not employed (per month) is charged to the employer.
Bonuses and Profit Sharing
Bonuses equal to one month's salary are usually paid four times a year, in March, June, September, and December. There is no obligation as to the number of times of bonus payment during a year. Timing for bonus payments can be decided between employees and the employer. Profit sharing is optional. There is no obligation for employers to distribute a share of profits to their employees.
Social Security Premium Payments: Social security premiums (as a percentage of employee's gross earnings) are payable by both employers and employees. Table 6.02 shows the rates that apply in the case of office employees in the private sector. Rates for employees working in specific sectors (like mining, oil/gas exploration) may vary depending on the risk category of the work performed.
Maximum and minimum bases for calculation of monthly social security premium are TRL 4,329 and TRL 666 respectively, for the first half of the year 2009. Foreigners making social security contributions in their home countries do not have to pay the Turkish social security premiums if there is a reciprocal agreement between the home country and Turkey.
Table 6.02 Social Security Premiums (Office Employees)
| Type of Risk | Employer's Share (%) | Employee's Share (%) | Total (%) |
| Short-term risks | 1-6.5(a) | - | 1-6.5(a) |
| Long-term risks | 11 | 9 | 20 |
| General Health Insurance | 7.5 | 5 | 12.5 |
| Contribution to Unemployment Insurance | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 21.5(a) | 15 | 36.5(a) |
(a) The rates change with respect to risk categories of jobs. Depending on the risk category, the employer's share varies between 1% and 6.5%.
Compulsory Contributions to Unemployment Insurance Plan (Unemployment Insurance Premium Payments):
Employees, employers and the State are required to make a compulsory contribution to the Unemployment Insurance Plan at the rates of 1%, 2% and 1%, respectively of gross salary of the employee (subject to a maximum base). The current monthly maximum base is TRL 4,329 which is the same as the maximum base applied in calculating social security premiums.
Like the social security premium payments, unemployment insurance premiums are also to be paid on a monthly basis. Employers are able to deduct such contributions from their taxable income. On the other hand, employee’s contributions are deductible from the income tax base of the employee.
A foreign individual who remains covered under the compulsory social security system of his home country that has a social security agreement in effect with Turkey is not liable for insurance payments to the Turkish social security. The proof of foreign coverage is to be filed with the local social security office. If the employee is not subject to a foreign social security, full contributions would generally be imposed.
Turkey has bilateral Social Security Agreements currently with the following countries:
Unemployment insurance premiums are declared and paid to the Social Security Organization together with social security premium contributions.
Based on the relevant provisions of the Labor law, employers and employees are required to give specified notice periods prior to terminating employment, as summarized in Table 6.03, below.
| Length of Service | Length of Notice Period |
| 0 –6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 –18 months | 4 weeks |
| 18–36 months | 6 weeks |
| More than 36 months | 8 weeks |
There are two types of termination for a job contract:
1) Termination with notification
2) Termination without notification based on justifiable reasons
Termination with Notification
Both the employee and the employer may terminate a job contract concluded for an indefinite period based on the notice periods indicated in Table 6.03, above. The Employer may terminate job contract by paying the salary of the employee corresponding to the notice period.
Termination without Notification Based on Justifiable Reasons
Both the employer and employee have the right to terminate job contract without notice under the following conditions:
Termination Indemnity (Severance Pay)
A lump-sum termination indemnity is to be paid to employees whose employment is terminated due to retirement or for reasons other than resignation or misconduct. Such indemnity pay is calculated on the basis of thirty days' pay per year of employment at the gross rate of pay applicable at the date of retirement or leaving. However, the thirty days’ payment per year of employment may not exceed a semi-annually determined limit which is TRL 2,260.05 for the first half of year 2009. Indemnity may be agreed to be paid at an amount higher than the limit indicated above if there is a provision in the contract of employment. Termination indemnity paid within the limit specified is exempt from income withholding tax. However, the amounts of indemnity paid in excess of the limit shall be subject to income tax.
The reasons on the basis of which employees are entitled to receive termination indemnity are as follows:
a) Leaving workplace due to the compulsory military service (for males)
b) Retirement (in order to receive old age, retirement pension or disability allowance from the relevant insurance institutions)
c) Voluntary termination by female employees within one year from the date of marriage.
d) Death of the employee
In practice, employees' influence on management is not strong in Turkey.
Unionization of labor is permitted under the general framework of Turkish Labor Law.
Collective bargaining agreements are negotiated by the Unions on behalf of employees.
In Turkey, all foreign nationals to be employed by resident companies need to obtain a work permit to be issued by Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Besides the work permit, a working visa and a residence permit has to be obtained from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to work and reside in Turkey.
The first requirement for both working and residing in Turkey is to obtain a work permit. A foreigner intending to stay in Turkey is also required to obtain a residence permit from the authorities at his or her place of residence. Generally, the residence permit is a formality, provided that the foreigner is able to support himself or herself financially. If financial support is to come from earnings from employment in Turkey, the permit will only be issued if the foreigner possesses skills not available in the Turkish labor market.
Work Permits
For companies established in accordance with Law No. 4875 (governing foreign investments in Turkey), an application has to be made to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to obtain work permit for each foreign employee. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security reviews and approves such work permits without imposing restrictions.
Enterprises that seek to employ foreign personnel must apply to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to obtain work permits. Work permits are given to technical and administrative personnel provided that the applicants have sufficient technical and administrative skills for the vacancies they wish to fill. Work permits can also be issued to foreign representatives of branch offices to carry out the establishment procedures of branch.
The application for work permit should be made prior to the arrival of the foreign employee in Turkey. Since the processing of an application by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security may take a few months, it is advisable that the application be filed by the local employer a few months before the planned commencement of employment of the foreign individual concerned.
The documents and information to be submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for the work permit are listed below:
Documents to be submitted by the Employee:
1) Petition requesting the work permit, addressed to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour
2) Foreign Personnel Application Form,
3) Notarized and apostilled copy of the passport - first three pages and the pages on which the visas are issued,
4) Notarized and apostilled copy of diplomas (graduate and post graduate),
5) Curriculum Vitae Form,
6) 10 passport sized photographs,
7) Power of Attorney (to be notarized and apostilled)
Documents to be submitted by the Employer:
1) Petition requesting the working permit, addressed to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour,
2) Balance sheet and profit/loss statement of the preceding year that are approved by the relevant tax office,
3) For legal entities which will employ foreign expert in the scope of engineering, architecture, contractor and consultancy services; the copy of the contract executed with the foreign personnel, and payroll evidencing that a Turkish engineer/ architect has been employed for the same profession. It should be noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security may request additional documents to issue the work permit.
If the applicant is an engineer / architect, a "diploma equivalency certificate", documents from the professional institution (chamber) evidencing the membership, and that the applicant has not been prohibited to work as an architect / engineer, are also required. If the applicant is an engineer / architect but will not work in this position, then an undertaking of the employer stating this will be required.
After receiving the work permit, foreign national has to apply himself or herself for a residence permit together with the work permit and residence registration slip obtained from the district office.
Working Visa
To obtain the authorisation to work in Turkey depends on securing a work permit. After the work permit is issued, the foreign individual is required to apply to the Turkish Consulate in his/her home country so as to obtain a working visa. In case of application from abroad, application for a working visa should be made to the relevant Turkish Consulate within at most 30 days from the date of obtaining the work permit.
Residence Permit
Following the issuance of a work permit and a working visa, the foreign individual must apply for a residence permit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs within 30 days from the date of entry into Turkey. This application is made in practice to the relevant Security Department of the Police together with the work permit and working visa.
Foreign nationals who remain in the employment of a parent company resident abroad do not need residence permits, provided that they do not receive emoluments from the company resident in Turkey and that they are in Turkey on a temporary basis (for example, to assist in negotiations or the commencement of operations).