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Turkey – Employer of Record

EWS helps you to hire an international workforce quickly and compliantly, without setting up a legal entity locally. If you’d like to get in touch about our employer of record solution in Turkey, click here

Country Introduction

Capital – Ankara
Currency – Turkish Lira (TRL)
Population – 82 million
GDP – $761.40 billion
Language – Turkish
Major Religion(s) – Islam
Dialling Code – +90

Turkey occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Throughout its history it has acted as both a barrier and a bridge between the two continents. Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. It is among the larger countries of the region in terms of territory and population, and its land area is greater than that of any European state.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and is situated partially in Asia and partially Europe. Before Istanbul was known as Turkey’s famous city, it was the ancient metropolis of Constantinople. As a center for arts and trade. The Kapali Carsi also known as Istanbul Grand Bazaar began in 1455. To this day, it’s one of the world’s most-visited tourist spots, attracting over 90 million local and international visitors per year.

Every year, around 50 million international tourists visit Turkey. The tourists take part in Turkey’s cuisine, culture, and nature. The Mediterranean climate provides the country up to 6 months of summertime in its southern parts, which makes the weather ideal for travel

Contract of Employment

Employment contracts may be concluded either for a fixed or an indefinite period. An employment contract is deemed to have been concluded for an indefinite period when the employment relationship is not based on a fixed term. On the other hand, the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract is exceptional in labor law, which is only possible if the work or the contract is subject to an objective condition such as cases where the work has a fixed duration or will be completed within a fixed period or when a certain event occurs.

Turkey has four types of employment contracts:

1. Temporary and Permanent Employment contracts
2. Definite and Indefinite contracts
3. Part-time and full-time employment contracts
4. Work on-call employment contracts

An employment agreement must be drafted in the Turkish language.

Probation Period

Up to a maximum of 2 months.

Termination

Notice is determined by the length of service:

0 – 6 months 2 weeks
6 – 18 months 4 weeks
18 – 36 months 6 weeks
More than 36 months 8 weeks

The employer is required to provide a reason in writing for terminating an employee’s employment.  The reason must relate to the capacity or conduct of the employee or based on the operational requirements of the undertaking.

There are exclusions to such obligations, including:

Fixed term contract: employees who worked less than 6 months; an employer who employs less than 30 employees; employer’s representatives and his assistants authorized to manage the entire enterprise. In such cases there is no need to provide a just reason for dismissal. In the event there is no cause justification, employers are required to comply with the mandatory termination notice periods (mentioned above).

Working Hours

Standard working week is 45 hours. Hours can be distributed as desired over the workdays provided no single day lasts longer than 11 hours.

Overtime

If working hours exceed 45 in a week, employees are entitled to overtime pay. This includes increasing the employee’s regular hourly rate by 50% during the working week and by 100% during the weekend.  The total number of overtime hours must not exceed 270 hours per annum.

Annual Leave

Paid time off increases in line with service:

1-5 years’ service –    14 days
6-14 years’ service – 20 days
15+ years’ service –   26 days

Employees over 50 years old automatically get 20 days.

Sick leave

There is no mandatory obligation for the employer to pay the employee salary during sick leave. After 3 days of sick leave, the Social Security will pay the employee. After 6 weeks of sick leave, the employer is entitled to terminate the employee’s employment.

Maternity Leave

Working mothers are entitled to up to 16 weeks of maternity leave at full pay. A maximum of 8 weeks out of this leave may be used prior to their child’s birth. A minimum of 3 weeks must be taken before the due date. In the case of premature or multiple births, the total maternity leave will be 18 weeks.

Paternity leave is 5 days.

During paternity leave the employee receives regular salary from the employer.

VAT / GST:

18% Standard VAT rate

Income Tax (2022)

Minimum Maximum %
0 32,000.00 15%
32,000.01 70,000.00 20%
70,000.01 250,000.00 27%
250,000.01 880,000.00 35%
880,000.01 and more 40%

Employer/Employee SSI Contributions (2022)

SSI Premium – Employer 20.5% & Employee 14%
SSI Unemployment Premium – Employer 2% & Employee 1%

Monthly SSI Base 5,004.00 TRY
Monthly SSI Base Ceiling 37,530.00 TRY

Public Holidays

–  New Year’s Day
–  National Sovereignty and Children’s Day
–  Labor Day and Solidarity Day
–  Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day
–  Ramadan (Religious Holiday for 3.5 days)
–  Victory Day
–  Eid Al Adha (Religious Holiday for 4.5 days)
–  Republic Day

 Severance Pay

Employees who worked more than 1 year and were unfairly dismissed (or resigned due to just cause) are entitled to severance pay. The maximum amount of such payment varies according to the specific salary and up to a maximum of 6,730.15 TRL per year, multiplied by the number of years that the employee worked for the employer.

Work and Residence Permits (Expatriates)

EWS can support expatriate work permits.

Expatriates are required to file an application at a consulate of the Republic of Turkey in the country of which they are a citizen or a permanent resident. The application should be accompanied by a labour contract, letter of assignment, or a document stating company partnership. They will be issued a reference number.

The employer in Turkey is required to file an online application using the same reference number and submit the required information and documents to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services, either in person or via mail, within ten business days following the date of the first application to a consulate. The consulate of the Republic of Turkey and the Ministry will approve the work permit applications.

Work visas holders in Turkey cannot exceed 90 days stay within 180 days. Anyone staying over 90 days will need to apply for a short-term residence permit at the Directorate General of Migration Management. Work permits in Turkey are initially valid for one year but can be extended to two years, then three years after a second extension. Once employees live and work in Turkey for eight consecutive years, they can apply for an indefinite work permit that does not require renewal.

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