Employment and labor laws vary from country to country. This guide is intended to provide the most up to date information available. We will update this guide as needed when changes are made to the laws.
Employment Contracts
Employers are legally required to provide formal written contracts for all employees that include salary/wage, termination terms, job title, etc. The contracts must be written in Turkish and use the Turkish Lira currency (TRY).
Working Hours
The standard working week in Turkey consists of 45 working hours. These hours can be distributed in any way over the week, provided an employee does not work for more than 11 hours in one single day. The average working day can be 7.5 hours for 6 days a week or 9 hours for 5 days a week.
Overtime
If work time limits are passed, overtime compensation is compulsory. The maximum number of overtime hours is 48 hours per working week.
Overtime is due after working the maximum 45 hours in one week and is paid at the statutory rate of 150% of the employee’s regular pay if the overtime is worked on a weekday and 200% of the employee’s standard pay rate if the work is carried out on the weekend. Overtime can also be given as time off in lieu.
There is an overtime limit of up to 270 hours per year, along with the requirement to obtain employees’ consent for overtime work.
Public Holidays
Public holidays falling on weekends are lost.
Religious holidays are determined by the lunar cycle and will show as ‘tentative’ until they are confirmed nearer the date of the holiday.
Written consent from the employee is required to request the employee work on public holidays. Employees shall be entitled to the full day’s wage of the holiday day, without any work obligation in return. If they work instead of observing the holiday, regardless of how many hours they worked, they shall be paid an additional full day’s wage for each day worked.
For the year 2024:
- Jan 1: New Year
- Apr 9: Ramadan Eve (Half Day)
- Apr 10: Ramadan Holiday
- Apr 11: Ramadan Holiday
- Apr 12: Ramadan Holiday
- Apr 23: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day
- May 1: Labor and Solidarity Day
- May 19: Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
- Jun 17: Feast of Sacrifice
- Jun 18: Feast of Sacrifice
- Jun 19: Feast of Sacrifice
- Jul 15: Democracy and National Unity Day
- Aug 30: Victory Holiday
- Oct 28: Republic Holiday
- Oct 29: Republic Holiday
Annual Leave (vacation)
Paid leave in Turkey is set in the employment contract as a minimum of 14 working days of paid leave a year (following completion of 1-year service) in addition to public holidays. This increases to 20 working days of paid leave when the employee has completed between five- and fifteen years of service, and subsequently, employees with fifteen or more years of service are entitled to 26 working days of paid leave per year.
The length of annual leave with pay may be increased by employment contracts and collective agreements, except for employees below the age of eighteen and above the age of fifty, where the length of paid annual leave must not be fewer than twenty days.
The employer must pay the annual leave entitlement as a lump sum or as an advance payment before the beginning of the leave. Annual Leave allowance is accrued from each worker’s individual service date, not according to calendar year.
Sick Days
There is no mandatory obligation for the employer to pay the employee during sick leave, however, in general, employees are paid by Social Security after 3 days of sickness and upon production of the confirmative medical reports. In practice, many employers pay regular salary for the first 2 days (which are not covered by Social Security) or for the entire period of sick leave (and get a partial refund when paid by Social Security).
If sick leave exceeds six weeks beyond the notice periods determined in labor law. In that case, an employment contract may be terminated without notice, as in accordance with Article 46(c) of the Turkish Labor Code.
Maternity and Paternity
Maternity Leave
Working mothers are entitled to 16 weeks (extended to 18 weeks in cases of multiple/complicated pregnancies) of maternity leave at full pay, usually taken eight weeks before the due date and eight weeks after. Employees can request to work up until three weeks before the due date with all remaining leave moved to post-delivery.
Payment during maternity leave comes from social security, according to the regular contributions of the employee.
Also, employees may be allowed to work part-time following the birth of the child, with the amount of leave dependent on how many children the employee has (in total):
- One child – 60 days of leave
- Two children – 120 days of leave
- More than two children – 180 days of leave
- In case of disability or adoption, the leave period is up to 360 days.
Paternity Leave
The father/partner is entitled to 1 week of paid paternity leave after the child’s birth.
Parental Leave
If both parents are employed, they are entitled to work part-time until the child starts primary school. The employee is required to provide an employer with written notice of the request at least a month in advance.
Parents are also entitled to up to 10 days of leave to attend treatment/medical appointments for a child with a disability or chronic disease.
Other Leave
Depending on the collective agreement/employment contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave, once approved between the employer and employee, for the following:
- Bereavement Leave: Employees are entitled to three days of paid leave in the event of the death of an immediate family member.
- Military leave: Employees are entitled to up to 90 days of paid leave per year when called up for military exercises or the performance of a statutory obligation, other than compulsory military service.
Employee Severance and Terminations
Termination Process
The termination process varies according to how the employment agreement and collective agreement are in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination.
Notice Period
In Turkey, the notice period is dependent on the employee’s length of service as below:
- 0 – 6 months of service – 2 weeks’ notice
- 6 – 18 months of service – 4 weeks’ notice
- 18 – 36 months of service – 6 weeks’ notice
- More than 36 months – 8 weeks’ notice
Severance Pay
Generally, employees who worked more than one year and were unfairly dismissed (or resigned due to just cause) are entitled to severance pay. Under Turkish Labor Law employees are entitled to severance pay upon completing one year with the same employer.
Severance pay is calculated as the monthly wage multiplied by each completed year of employment. Any remaining months and days are also included in the severance pay calculation. The wage considered in this calculation is the gross wage. A ceiling amount has been determined for the gross wage, including the seniority basis wages. The severance pay ceiling, which is determined as the retirement bonus of the highest civil servant, is updated every year with the salary hike of civil servants twice a year.
Severance pay for the employees who have been terminated and deserved severance pay should be calculated considering the seniority ceiling determined as gross 35,058.58 TRY (effective from 01.01.2024 – 30.06.2024).
Probation Period
Probation or trial periods are generally set within the employee’s employment contract, however, standard practice in Turkey is two months. During probation, no notice is required.
Payroll Cycle
In Turkey, the payroll frequency is monthly. Work between the first and last day of the month is typically paid on the last day of the month.
The Gross minimum wage in Turkey is now 20,002.50 TRY a month (17,002.12 TRY net minimum wage).
13th Salary
In Turkey, there is no legal requirement for 13th-month payments.
Contributions
Employer Payroll Contributions
VISA
A Turkish Work Visa provides authorization for foreigners to move to Turkey for employment purposes. A work visa must be obtained alongside a work permit, without which foreigners cannot work in Turkey. Aside from nationals of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, all citizens need a work visa and a work permit to work in Turkey.
Applications cannot start without having a definite job offer in Turkey.
The application needs to be filed to the Turkish embassy or consulate in the foreigner’s country of residence. Within ten days of the application, the new employer should submit additional documentation to the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS).
Depending on the field of employment in Turkey, a different type of work visa is required:
- Employment Purpose/Special Employment Purpose
- Assigned Lecturers/Academics
- Assigned Sportsperson
- Assigned Artists
- Assigned Free Zone Workers
- Assigned Journalists
- Montage and Repairman Purposes
Remote Work
The Turkish Remote work legislation defines this as work performed outside the employer’s workplace using technology.
There is an obligation to establish a written remote work agreement including the location where the job will be performed, the working hours, the communication methods between the employer and the employee, any additional compensation related to the telework, the equipment that will be provided, etc.
The employer is required to provide teleworkers with the necessary tools and equipment to perform the job. Expenses related to telework should be reimbursed by the employer to the employee. Compensation for such expenses should be agreed upon between the employee and reflected in the employment contract.
Employees can start working remotely upon hiring or may be hired to work on-site and agree with the employer to be converted to remote work at a later date and the employment contract should reflect this change when applicable.
Mutual consent of both the employee and the employer is needed to switch from on-site work to remote work unless unforeseen circumstances. In such cases, employers can unilaterally decide that employee should work remotely.
VAT
The standard rate of VAT in Turkey is 18%.