Turkish employment law rests on Labour Law No. 4857, and its most important feature for a foreign employer is that it applies whether or not anything was signed. The relationship exists on the statutory terms from the first day; the contract decides only what can be proved beyond them.
This page sets out the framework. Each section links to a fuller treatment.
Employment Contracts
A contract may be indefinite or fixed term, full time, part time, on call or remote. The default is indefinite: a fixed term requires an objective reason and must be in writing.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Written form | Required for contracts of one year or more, and for fixed-term, part-time, on-call, remote work and team contracts whatever their length |
| Where there is no written contract | The employer must provide written terms within two months |
| Chained fixed-term contracts | Without a substantial reason, the contract is treated as indefinite from the outset |
| Probation | Two months; four by collective agreement. It displaces notice and severance and nothing else |
| Part-time work | May not exceed two thirds of comparable full-time hours; overtime may not be required |
| On-call work | Where no period is agreed, twenty hours a week applies; four days’ notice is required |
See: employment contracts
Working Time
Weekly working time is a maximum of 45 hours, distributed across the days as agreed. The eleven-hour daily ceiling cannot be exceeded by agreement, by averaging or with the employee’s consent.
Overtime
- When it arises
- Weekly hours exceed 45
- Rate
- Hourly rate plus 50%
- Time off instead
- 1 hour 30 minutes per hour
Extended hours
- When it arises
- Contracted hours below 45 are exceeded, up to 45
- Rate
- Hourly rate plus 25%
- Time off instead
- 1 hour 15 minutes per hour
Both count toward the same annual limit of 270 hours, and that limit attaches to each individual employee rather than to the workplace. Written consent to overtime is obtained once — at contract stage or when the need arises — and the employee may withdraw it on thirty days’ written notice. The annual renewal requirement was repealed.
See: working hours
Rest Days and Public Holidays
| Situation | Daily-paid | Monthly-paid |
|---|---|---|
| Rest day, not worked | 1 day’s pay | Included in salary |
| Rest day, worked | 2.5 days’ pay | Additional 1.5 days |
| Public holiday, not worked | 1 day’s pay | Included in salary |
| Public holiday, worked | 2 days’ pay | Additional 1 day |
A continuous rest of at least 24 hours must be given within each seven-day period, and it need not fall on a Sunday. Whether the employee works on national and public holidays is agreed in the contract; without such a clause it requires their consent.
A clause stating that the wage includes overtime is recognised for overtime only, and only up to 270 hours a year.
It does not cover weekly rest day pay or national and public holiday pay; those arise under separate provisions and are calculated separately. Employers relying on the clause usually discover the position when a claim covering five years has already accumulated.
Annual Leave
- Entitlement arises after one year of service
- At least 14 days for one to five years of service
- At least 20 days for five to fifteen years
- At least 26 days above fifteen years
- Weekly rest days and public holidays within a leave period are not counted against it
- The periods may be increased by contract but not reduced
- The entitlement cannot be waived while the employment continues
- Unused leave is paid on termination
Sickness and Incapacity
Sick days are paid by the social security institution rather than the employer. In case of illness the benefit runs from the third day of the absence; the first two days are unpaid and the legislation does not oblige the employer to cover them. For work accidents and occupational diseases payment begins on the first day.
The employer’s obligation is not to pay but to notify on time that the employee did not work, and to show the missing days in the monthly return. Where the absence exceeds the employee’s notice period by six weeks, the employer may terminate for just cause; severance remains payable on that termination.
See: sickness reports
Termination
| Length of service | Notice period |
|---|---|
| Under 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 months – 1.5 years | 4 weeks |
| 1.5 – 3 years | 6 weeks |
| Over 3 years | 8 weeks |
Notice periods may be increased by contract but not reduced. At workplaces with thirty or more employees, dismissing an employee with at least six months’ service must rest on a valid reason, and the claim passes through mandatory mediation before any court proceedings.
Where termination rests on conduct contrary to rules of morality and good faith, the right must be exercised within six working days of the body authorised to terminate learning of that conduct. There is an outer limit of one year from the act — but where the employee gained a material benefit, that one-year limit does not apply.
The period starts when the authorised body learns of the conduct, not when a colleague notices something. That allows a proper investigation to be conducted; what it does not permit is knowing the facts and waiting while deciding how to proceed.
Mutual termination is an agreement rather than a dismissal. Where valid it removes the reinstatement claim, but validity depends on the employee receiving a reasonable benefit, and it does not give entitlement to unemployment benefit.
See: mutual termination
Severance
Severance is 30 days’ pay for each year of service. Two points are regularly got wrong, and in opposite directions.
The base
- Calculated on
- The all-inclusive gross wage
- Includes
- Meals, transport, fuel and regular bonuses provided on a continuing basis
- Common error
- Provisioning on the bare salary
- Result
- Under-provision
The ceiling
- Applied
- To each year of service separately
- Updated
- Every January and July
- Common error
- Ignoring it entirely
- Result
- Over-provision for senior staff
- Arises on dismissal without just cause attributable to the employee
- Arises on resignation by the employee for just cause
- Arises on leaving for compulsory military service
- Arises on leaving to draw a retirement or old-age pension
- Arises where a woman leaves within one year of marriage
- Paid to the heirs where the employee dies
- Does not arise where the employer terminates for conduct contrary to good faith
- Does not arise where the employee has less than one year of service
Social Security
| Party | Item | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Social security | 14% |
| Employee | Unemployment insurance | 1% |
| Employee total | — | 15% |
| Employer | Social security | 20.75% |
| Employer | Unemployment insurance | 2% |
| Employer total | Before any reduction | 22.75% |
| Employer total | For employers meeting the conditions | 17.75% |
Premiums are calculated on earnings subject to premium, up to a ceiling set at nine times the gross minimum wage. The entry notification must be made before the employee starts work, and at workplaces with five or more employees wages must be paid through a bank.
See: payroll services
Employee Protections
- No discrimination on grounds of language, race, colour, sex, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion or similar grounds
- Equal pay applies for work of equal value
- A substantial change to working conditions requires the employee’s written consent within six working days of written notification
- A change made without that consent does not bind the employee
- Employment claims are subject to mandatory mediation before proceedings
- Most claims are subject to a five-year limitation period
- The period runs from when each payment fell due
- Occupational health and safety obligations cannot be limited by contract
Common Mistakes
- Assuming the law does not apply without a signed contract. The relationship exists on the statutory terms from day one; the document only provides proof.
- Renewing fixed-term contracts to keep flexibility. Chaining them converts the contract to indefinite from the outset.
- Paying all extra work at the same rate. Overtime carries 50% and extended hours 25%.
- Extending the “included in the wage” clause to holiday pay. It covers overtime only, up to 270 hours.
- Provisioning severance on the bare salary. The base is the all-inclusive gross wage.
- Ignoring the severance ceiling. It is updated in January and July and the difference is large for senior staff.
- Letting the six working days pass. The right to terminate for just cause is lost and cannot be recovered.
- Notifying social security entry on or after the first day. The notification must precede the start of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a written employment contract compulsory in Turkey?
Can the eleven-hour daily limit be exceeded?
Is all extra work paid at the same rate?
How is severance calculated in Turkey?
How long does an employer have to terminate for just cause?
What are the social security rates?
Who is covered by job security?
What is the limitation period for employment claims?
As the Ozbek CPA team, we support employers on the payroll and compliance side of Turkish employment law — reviewing contracts and internal policies, checking working time and shift arrangements against the limits, separating payroll items correctly, calculating severance and leave provisions, and costing termination scenarios. Legal representation and litigation are matters for lawyers and we work alongside them. See also our pages on employment contracts, working hours, payroll services and Turkish social insurance law. Contact us.
