An employment contract in Turkey does not have to be written to be valid, but the cases where writing is optional are narrower than employers assume — and in several of them an unwritten contract is not merely risky, it is void. The starting position is that the relationship exists on the statutory terms whether or not anything was signed, and the document decides only what can be proved.
This page sets out which contracts must be in writing, what goes in them, the fixed-term rule that catches employers most often, remote and on-call arrangements, and the restrictive covenants that are enforceable only within limits.
When Writing Is Required
| Contract | Written form | If not written |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite term, under one year | Not required | Valid; the employer must give written terms within two months |
| Any contract of one year or more | Required | The written terms obligation applies; proving the agreed terms becomes difficult |
| Fixed term | Required | The fixed term cannot be relied on; the relationship is treated as indefinite |
| Part-time | Required | The part-time arrangement cannot be established against the worker |
| On-call | Required | The default of twenty hours a week applies |
| Remote work | Required | The arrangement is not established; the ordinary workplace regime applies |
| Team contract | Required | Each worker’s identity and wage must be stated separately |
| Temporary employment through an agency | Required | Separate rules apply and a licence is needed |
Where no contract is signed, the employment relationship still exists and the statutory terms apply in full: notice periods, severance, annual leave, working time limits and the whole of the Labour Law. What is lost is the employer’s ability to prove anything that departs from the default.
The obligation to provide written terms within two months applies wherever there is no written contract, except for fixed-term contracts of one month or less. Where the relationship ends before two months, the terms must be given in writing on the termination date at the latest.
What the Contract Should Contain
- The identity of the parties and the date work begins
- The job description and the workplace
- General and special working conditions
- Daily or weekly working hours and how they are distributed
- The base wage, its supplements, and when it is paid
- The term of the contract where one is agreed
- The obligations of each party on termination
- Where applicable: probation, confidentiality, restrictive covenants, intellectual property and personal data provisions
Fixed Term or Indefinite
Successive fixed-term contracts may not be made without a substantial reason. Where they are, the contract is treated as having been indefinite from the outset — not fixed, and not indefinite only from the renewal.
The consequence runs backwards through the whole relationship. The worker acquires job security rights, notice entitlement and severance calculated from the original start date, and a termination treated as the natural expiry of a term becomes a dismissal requiring a valid reason. Employers who renew annually to keep flexibility usually achieve the opposite.
Working Arrangements
The worker works normal weekly working hours. Hours may be distributed unevenly across the days by agreement, subject to the eleven-hour daily ceiling and the adjustment rules.
Weekly hours are significantly shorter than those of a comparable full-time worker, and may not exceed two thirds of the comparable full-time hours. Wages and divisible benefits are paid in proportion. The contract must be in writing, and neither overtime nor extended hours may be required.
A form of part-time work where the worker performs the job when needed. Written form is required. If no period is agreed, twenty hours a week is deemed agreed and is payable whether or not the worker is called. The worker must be called at least four days in advance and, unless otherwise agreed, employed for at least four consecutive hours.
Work performed outside the workplace using technology, within the scope of the employer’s work organisation. The contract must be in writing and address the work’s definition and method, duration and location, pay and its components, equipment and their supply, communication and the general and special conditions.
Equipment and materials are supplied by the employer unless agreed otherwise, and where they are supplied the employer provides a list of their cost. Obligations relating to production costs arising from the work are set out in the contract. Data protection and the rules on protecting the employer’s information are explained to the worker and the necessary measures taken.
A worker already employed at the workplace may move to remote work by request or agreement, and may ask to return. Remote work cannot be applied in work that the legislation identifies as involving hazardous substances or radiation risks.
Probation, Confidentiality and Restrictive Covenants
Probation period
- Maximum
- Two months
- By collective agreement
- Up to four months
- During the period
- Either party may terminate without notice or compensation
- What survives
- Wages and other rights for days worked
- Common error
- Treating it as a period in which the Labour Law does not apply
Non-compete
- Requirement
- Written, and only where the worker has access to customers or trade secrets
- Duration
- Limited; exceptional circumstances aside, not more than two years
- Scope
- Limited by place, time and type of work
- Judicial control
- An excessive covenant may be reduced rather than enforced as written
- Falls away
- Where the employer terminates without a justified reason attributable to the worker
Confidentiality obligations continue during employment as part of the duty of loyalty and may be extended by contract after it ends. Unlike a non-compete, a confidentiality clause does not prevent the worker from earning a living and is not subject to the same limits, which is why it is often the more useful provision of the two.
Common Mistakes
- Renewing fixed-term contracts to keep flexibility. Chaining without a substantial reason makes the contract indefinite from the outset, with notice and severance running from the original start date.
- Using a fixed term with no objective reason. The term does not stand simply because both parties signed it.
- Leaving a fixed-term, part-time, on-call or remote contract unwritten. Writing is a condition of the arrangement itself, not evidence of it.
- Treating probation as outside the Labour Law. Only notice and severance are displaced; everything else applies from day one.
- Not providing written terms within two months where there is no contract. The obligation applies whether or not anything was signed.
- Writing a non-compete without limits. An unlimited covenant invites reduction and may be unenforceable as drafted.
- Calling an on-call worker without notice. At least four days’ notice is required, with a minimum period of continuous work.
- Moving employees to remote work by email. The arrangement requires a written contract covering equipment, costs and data protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Must an employment contract in Turkey be in writing?
What happens if fixed-term contracts are renewed repeatedly?
Can a fixed-term contract be used for any job?
How long can a probation period be?
What are the rules for part-time contracts?
How does an on-call contract work?
Does remote work need a separate contract?
Is a non-compete clause enforceable?
As the Ozbek CPA team, we prepare and review employment contracts in Turkey — selecting the right contract type for the role, drafting fixed-term, part-time, on-call and remote work arrangements so the form requirements are met, setting probation, confidentiality and restrictive covenants within enforceable limits, and reviewing existing contract templates against current legislation. See also our pages on working hours, weekend pay, payroll services and Turkish labour law. Contact us.
