Employment Law

Employment Contracts in Türkiye

Turkish law requires a written employment contract, so you should always provide your employees with a written employment contract when you hire them. Your contract should be written in Turkish, use the local currency Turkish Lira, and clearly state all relevant details such as salary, working hours, benefits, etc.

Fixed Term

Indefinite

Working Hours in Türkiye

The maximum working week in Türkiye is usually 45 hours. In addition to this, the employer must pay overtime pay, which is 150% of the regular wage. Alternatively, employees can receive 1.5 hours of future time off for every overtime hour worked.

Holiday Policy

Türkiye Vacation

Employees in Turkey are entitled to paid leave after one year of working for their employer. After working for one to five years, employees can enjoy 14 days of vacation. If they are 5 to 15 years old, they will get 20 days. Those with more than 15 years of service are entitled to 26 days of leave.

Turkish Sick Leave

Employers are not required to provide paid sick leave. However, employees are entitled to social security benefits when absent from work due to illness, and many employers also contribute to social security benefits. The specific terms of your sick leave benefits should be clearly detailed in your employment contract.

Parental Leave in Türkiye

Female employees in Turkey are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, 8 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth. During this leave period, they are entitled to two-thirds of their normal salary.

Male employees are not legally entitled to paid paternity leave, but many employers do provide an allowance for a few days. The exact terms should always be set out in the employment contract.

Termination and Demobilization in Türkiye

Generally speaking, employees in Turkey are entitled to receive notice of termination. The exact notice period depends on the length of time the employee has been with the employer:

• Service less than six months = two weeks’ notice
• 6 to 18 months = four weeks notice
• 18 months to three years = six weeks notice
• Over three years = eight weeks notice.

Alternatively, the employer may pay severance equal to the mandatory notice period.

Additionally, any employee who has been with the employer for at least one year is also entitled to severance pay. This is equivalent to last month's salary multiplied by length of service.

The probation period in Turkey is usually limited to two months, but can be extended to four months in some cases.

Taxes in Türkiye

Employers and employees in Turkey are required to contribute a certain percentage of their wages to social security. Employee contributions should be withheld by the employer and transferred to the social security agency. The contributions are:

• Long-term insurance: 11% from employers, 9% from employees
• Short-term insurance: between 1% and 6.5%
• Unemployment insurance: Employer contributes 2%, employee contributes 1%

Turkey's income tax system is a progressive tax system, and employees with higher income levels pay a higher proportion of payroll taxes. Tax rates range from 15% to 40%.

The corporate tax in Turkey in 2020 is 22%.

health Insurance in Türkiye

Turkey combines private and public healthcare, so many employers choose to offer private health insurance as part of their benefits package.

Salary and Benefits

Compensation Law in Türkiye

In 2020, the national minimum wage for full-time employees in Turkey is 2,943 lire per month.

Welfare Management in Türkiye

Many employees in Turkey choose to offer benefits packages to their employees, including additional pension contributions, company car allowances, paid vacations, holiday bonuses, and more. However, setting up a benefits system in Turkey can be difficult if you are not familiar with Turkey's complex labor laws, language, and administrative regulations.

Outsourcing your benefits administration processes to Remoly ensures you can maintain compliance and significantly speeds up the process. Our Turkey employment experts will help you find and arrange your benefits, advise you on your strategy and ensure compliance with the law, potentially saving you significant time and money