Turkiye HR Information

Updated on: 2025/01/20 13:00 (UTC)

Overview

The Constitution, the Labor Law and the Code of Obligations govern individual labor relations. The Labor Law does not apply to all workers, and some categories of workers are subject to special laws. The Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law governs collective labor relations.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security and its regional directorates are responsible for labor issues. Legal disputes arising from individual and collective employment relations fall under the jurisdiction of the Labor Courts.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

Employment contracts for a definite term of one year or more must be in writing.

Probationary periods are generally limited to two months but can be extended to four months under the terms of a collective agreement.

Remote work. On March 10, 2021, Turkey enacted the Remote Working Regulation, which allows existing contracts to be converted to remote work arrangements by mutual agreement between the employer and employee. Employees must submit requests for remote work in writing, and employers must respond to the request within 30 days. Employers generally need an employee’s consent to convert the employment contract contract to a remote arrangement, except where there is a compelling reason for the remote work as specified in the law.

Restrictions on Hiring

The Turkish Employment Agency, which is attached to the Ministry of Labor but has autonomous financing and administration, regulates the recruitment of workers.

Under the Labor Law, the minimum working age is generally 15, although children who are age 14 and have completed their primary education may be employed in light work, provided this work does not hinder their health, development, schooling or vocational training. Time spent at school is considered part of the workday. When school is in session, children still enrolled cannot work more than two hours a day or 10 hours a week. Children who have finished their primary education and are 14 or 15 years old cannot work more than seven hours a day or 35 hours a week. Those age 16-18 can work up to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. Before starting their employment, children must be examined by a physician, and they must be reexamined at least every six months until they reach the age of 18.

The Labor Law requires private-sector employers with 50 or more workers to allocate 6 percent of their jobs to “socially assisted” groups, which are defined as ex-convicts, disabled people and victims of terrorist attacks. These workers must be assigned to work according to their occupational skills, as well as their physical and mental capacities.

Recordkeeping

The Labor Law requires employers to keep a personal file of each employee that contains all required documents and records. If requested, employers must present the file to the relevant authorities upon request. Employers are also obliged to keep the information confidential and use it in good faith.

Employers must keep worker health and safety records for 15 years from the date of separation.

Background Checks

Turkey’s labor code does not address background checks.

Noncompetition Agreements

Post-termination noncompete clauses cannot exceed two years in duration.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), arts. 8-15

Restrictions on Hiring: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 71

Recordkeeping: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 75

Background checks: Labor Law, 2002 (as amended), § 36

Noncompetition Agreements: Code of Obligations, 2011, No. 6,098, art. 396 (Turkish)

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

To hire a foreign worker, employers must employ at least five Turkish citizens, pay foreign workers at certain rates and ensure that all foreign workers have proper work and residence permits. If a work permit is requested for more than one foreigner at the same workplace, five Turkish citizens must be employed for each additional foreigner after the work permit for the first foreigner at the company is granted. Work permit procedures vary depending on the employer’s sector and business type and the expatriate’s profession. In certain exceptional cases, including citizenship in the European Union and marriage to a Turkish citizen, a foreigner is automatically eligible for a work permit.

Visas and Work Permits

To hire a foreign worker, employers must employ at least five Turkish citizens, pay foreign workers at certain rates and ensure that all foreign workers have proper work and residence permits. Additionally, the employer must satisfy one of the following financial conditions:

• paid-in capital of at least 100,000 lira,
• gross sales of at least 800,000 lira or,
• export sales of at least $250,000.

Under the Law on Work Permits for Foreigners, there are certain jobs that can only be filled by Turkish citizens.

Work permit procedures vary depending on the employer’s sector and business type and the expatriate’s profession. There are three types of work permits:

• Work permits for a defined period of time are granted for up to one year, unless otherwise dictated by a bilateral or multilateral agreement, and for specific workplaces and jobs. Employers must show that the foreign applicant has the necessary skills and qualifications for the desired job in order to be granted a work permit. After one year of employment, the permit may be extended up to three years provided it is for the same job with the same employer. It may then be extended for a further three years and is valid for work with any employer provided the profession remains the same.
• Work permits for an indefinite period of time are granted to foreign workers who have resided in Turkey for an uninterrupted period of eight years and have worked for at least six of those years. These individuals may be granted a permanent work permit without being restricted to any specific workplace, enterprise, profession or civil or geographical area.
• Independent work permits are granted to foreign workers who intend to provide independent professional services in Turkey. To be eligible to apply for this type of work permit, the foreign national must have legally resided in Turkey for at least five continuous years.

In certain exceptional cases, including citizenship in the European Union and marriage to a Turkish citizen, a foreigner is automatically eligible for a work permit.

Spouses are not automatically allowed to work in Turkey and must apply for a separate work permit.

Employers have 10 days to file domestic work permit applications online after a prospective foreign worker files his or her work visa application abroad. Within six days of the online filing, employers must submit originals of any necessary supporting documentation to the Ministry of Labor, which must decide on work permit applications within 30 days of filing.

To apply for a work permit, employers must send an application, a balance sheet and a profit-and-loss statement for the past year certified by the tax authorities to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Employers intending to employ foreign experts in the fields of engineering, construction, contracting or consultation services must send pay slips of Turkish citizens working in the same positions and the contract between the foreign expert and the employer to the ministry.

Foreign workers must be paid at rates equivalent to their Turkish counterparts and at least equivalent to:

• 6.5 times the minimum wage for senior executives, pilots and engineers and architects,
• four times the minimum wage for unit or branch managers,
• three times the minimum wage for jobs requiring expertise and proficiency and for teachers; and
• 1.5 times the minimum wage for home service occupations.

If a work permit is requested for more than one foreigner at the same workplace, five Turkish citizens must be employed for each additional foreigner after the work permit for the first foreigner at the company is granted. The 5:1 ratio is not required with regard to:

• applicants who have been married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years;
• citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus;
• persons who are granted a residence permit based on Turkish heritage and family links;
• persons who are granted a residence permit based on humanitarian considerations;
• persons who are granted a residence permit as victims of human trafficking;
• persons whose mother, father or child holds Turkish citizenship; and
• persons who are granted a residence permit based on their status as stateless persons.

There is no obligation to advertise a position locally. In practice, however, the Ministry of Labor checks the on-line database connected to the local labor market provided by the Turkish Labor Placement Office before processing the work permit request and can also ask for feedback from the Turkish Labor Placement Office, which can be used to determine whether a similarly qualified Turkish national can be found for the work permit position within four weeks.

Foreigners whose passport validity is not at least 60 days beyond the expiration date of the work permit will not be allowed to enter/re-enter Turkey.

Penalties

If foreign nationals are found to be working in Turkey without necessary immigration permits, individuals and potentially employers can be fined up to 3,350 lira (employee) or 8,381 lira (employer). Penalties can also be levied for failure to make social security contributions.

Immigration authorities have the right to expel foreign nationals from Turkey.

Reference Citations

Visas and Work Permits: Law on Work Permits for Foreigners, 2003, No. 4,817, arts. 4-8

Nondiscrimination

In General

Employers may not discriminate on the basis of language, race, color, sex (including pregnancy), disability, union membership, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion or sect.

The Constitution establishes the principle of equality, regardless of language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion or sect. Other constitutional provisions recognize fundamental rights and freedoms—such as the right to work and conclude contracts, the right to organize unions and bargain collectively and the right to a fair wage—which are guaranteed to every person without distinction.

Disability Discrimination

The Labor Law requires private-sector employers with 50 or more workers to allocate 3 percent of their jobs to people with disabilities. For the public sector, the required level is 4 percent. These workers must be assigned to work according to their occupational skills, as well as their physical and mental capacities.

Priority in hiring people with disabilities must be given to those who became disabled during their previous employment with the same employer. If positions are available and they wish to resume their old employment, the employer must give them priority over other applicants. An employer that fails to comply with this obligation must pay the former employee compensation equal to six months’ wages.

Gender Discrimination

The Labor Law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. Additional provisions regarding the employment of pregnant women and nursing mothers, including rooms for nursing, are set forth by regulation.

Pay Discrimination

The Labor Law prohibits paying different wages based on gender to workers performing jobs of the same value.

Other Forms of Discrimination

The Labor Law also provides that, unless essential reasons justify a different treatment, no distinction can be made between full-time and part-time workers or permanent and temporary workers.

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Constitution of Turkey, 1995 (as amended), art. 10

Pay Discrimination: Constitution of Turkey, 1995 (as amended), art. 5

Religious Discrimination: Constitution of Turkey, 1995 (as amended), art. 10

Race Discrimination: Constitution of Turkey, 1995 (as amended), art. 10

Other Forms of Discrimination: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 30

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

Personal data cannot be processed without the employee’s explicit consent unless the processing is:

• required by law or
• necessary for the legitimate interests of the employer and does not infringe on the employees’ rights.

Employers must ensure that personal data are:

• processed fairly and lawfully;
• accurate and up to date;
• processed for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes;
• relevant, adequate, and not excessive; and
• kept for a term that is no longer than necessary.

Employees who are subject to personal data collection must be informed about:

• the purpose of the data processing,
• how the data will be collected,
• whether the data will be transferred to third parties and the reason for the transfer, and
• their rights as data subjects.

Employees have the right to:

• correct their personal data if it is incomplete or inaccurate or
• delete their personal data if the reasons that justified the processing no longer exist.

Employers are required to ensure that appropriate technical and organizational measures are taken to prevent all illegal processing and to ensure the data are not destroyed, lost, amended, disclosed, or transferred without authority.

Monitoring and Surveillance of Employees

Turkish courts have held that employers can monitor employees’ use of company e-mail and the internet during work hours as long as the monitoring is based on legitimate reasons, such as the security of the workplace.

Reference Citations

Employee Data: Law on the Protection of Personal Data, No. 6698, arts. 4-12 (Turkish)

Compensation

Hours of Work

Under the Labor Law, the maximum workweek is generally 45 hours divided into workdays of equal length. If the parties agree, however, the employer can exceed the 45 hours in some weeks without having to pay overtime, provided no workday is longer than 11 hours and that within a two-month period the average length of the workweek does not exceed 45 hours. Under collective bargaining agreements, this balancing period may be lengthened to four months.

Employers may require different workers to start and end their workdays at different times. The starting and closing hours of work and the hours of rest periods must be posted at the workplace.

Workers are entitled to a break of not less than one hour at noontime and an uninterrupted rest period in the middle of the workday of between 15 and 60 minutes depending on the workday’s length.

Under the Law on Rest at Noon, workers are entitled to a break of not less than one hour at noontime. In addition, workers must be allowed an uninterrupted rest period in the middle of the workday for a minimum period as follows:

• 15 minutes when the work lasts four hours or less,
• 30 minutes when the work lasts more than four hours but fewer than 7 and one-half hours and
• 60 minutes when the work lasts 7 and one-half hours or more.

Rest periods can be split up by collective agreement or by contract. Rest periods are not included in the calculation of working hours.

The Law on Weekend Holiday requires that employers give workers who complete a regular workweek a minimum of one full 24-hour period off from work with pay. The weekly day of rest may be any day of the week.

Night work is defined as employment between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. A night shift may not exceed 7 and one-half hours and workers can only be assigned to a night shift for a week at a time. Before assigning an employee to a night shift, the employer must get a health report certifying his or her suitability for night work; biannual medical examinations are required thereafter. Workers under the age of 18 may not be employed in industrial night work.

“Work on call” is part-time work that an employee is called on to perform on an as-needed basis. Such work must be agreed upon in a written employment contract. Unless specified otherwise in the contract, the law sets the limit on on-call work at 20 hours per week. If other arrangements are not laid out in the contract, the employer must give a worker four days’ advance notice of the need to work and a minimum four consecutive hours’ work each day. The worker is entitled to wages during the period he or she is on call, regardless of whether any work is performed during that period.

In cases where time worked has been considerably lower than the normal working time or where operations are stopped entirely for reasons of suspending work due to force majeure, the employer has the right to ask its employees to make up unworked time within four months in order to compensate for the lost time. Compensatory time cannot exceed three hours daily and cannot be carried out on weekends or holidays.

Minimum Wage

Effective from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024, the monthly minimum wage is 20,002.50 lira. Effective June 2023, the monthly minimum wage was 13,414.50 lira.

Minimum wages are determined by the minimum wage board at the Ministry of Labor. Decisions of the board are final and the minimum wage must be determined at least once every two years. During recent years, the minimum wage has been set at six-month intervals.

Workers must be paid a full wage for the declared public and religious holidays if they do not work, while those who do work get double the regular wage on those holidays.

Overtime

Overtime pay at time and a half the regular rate is required when an employee works more than 45 hours in a week. Workers can choose to take one and one-half hours of compensatory time off for every hour of overtime worked rather than premium pay.

If the regular workweek is less than 45 hours, employees who work more than the set hours per week—up to 45 hours—are deemed to have performed work “at extra hours” and are entitled to be paid time and a quarter or to get one and one-quarter hours of compensatory time off for every extra hour worked.

Overtime and extra hours must not exceed 270 per year. Comp time earned by working overtime can be used within a six-month period.

Workers must consent to overtime and extra hours except in cases of emergency.

Wage Payment

Wage payments must be made at least once per month. For each wage payment, the employer must issue a slip showing date of payment and the wage calculation, including base wage, overtime, weekly rest days, national and general holidays, and deductions for taxes, insurance premiums, reimbursement of advance payments, alimony and attachments.

Mandatory Bonuses

There are no provisions in the labor code governing bonuses.

Reference Citations

Hours of Work: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), arts. 63-69

Overtime: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 41

Wage Payment: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 32

Benefits

Vacation

Workers who have completed a year of service with an establishment, including any probationary period, are entitled to annual leave with pay as follows:

• 14 workdays of leave for service of one year to five years,
• 20 workdays of leave for service of more than five years but less than 15 years, and
• 26 workdays of leave for service of 15 years or more.

Paid annual leave for workers younger than 18 or older than 50 may not be less than 20 workdays. Employees who work underground receive four additional days of paid leave.

Leave periods may be increased by individual employment contracts or collective agreements. Other leave coinciding with annual leave may not be deducted from the period of paid annual leave.

Paid annual leave does not apply to workers employed in seasonal jobs or in other jobs that last less than one year.

Paid annual leave earned in one calendar year must be used by the end of the following year of employment.

Employers must permit a worker to take all of his or her annual leave in one increment. If both the worker and the employer agree, however, leave may be divided into parts, though no more than three, and one part must be at least 10 days long. When a worker will travel while on leave, the worker can request—and the employer must grant—up to four additional days of leave without pay to cover travel time. Before a worker starts a period of annual leave, the employer must pay the worker for the leave period.

If a worker is found to have done work for another establishment while on paid annual leave, the employer may request reimbursement of the advance leave payment.

Employers must maintain records of paid annual leave for each worker.

Holidays

The Law on National Holidays and General Holidays establishes six public holidays:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• April 23: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day
• May 1: Labor Day
• May 19: Commemoration of Ataturk and Youth and Sports Day
• Aug. 30: Victory Day
• Oct. 28-29: Republic Day, 1 ¹ / ₂ days starting at 1 p.m. on Oct. 28

In addition, two religious holidays must be observed:

• Feast of Ramadan, 3 ¹ / ₂ days starting at 1 p.m. on the day before the holiday
• Feast of Sacrifice, 4 ¹ / ₂ days starting at 1 p.m. on the day before the holiday

The actual dates of the religious holidays are determined by the Lunar Calendar and vary year to year.

Employment contracts and collective agreements determine whether employees work on these holidays. Employees who are required to work on public holidays must get double their regular wage.

Holidays that fall on a weekend are not moved to a weekday.

Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees in general may not work during the eight-week period before birth or the eight-week period after birth. The eight-week periods are increased to 10 weeks for women carrying more than one child. The mandatory leave period may also be extended upon doctor’s orders if the health of the mother or the nature of the work requires it. If a pregnant employee wants to use less leave before the birth and can provide a medical report documenting her fitness to work, she can keep working until three weeks before the birth and take more of the mandatory leave after the birth.

When adopting a child under three years of age, one of the adopting parents is entitled to eight weeks’ maternity leave. Employees on mandatory maternity leave are paid by the Social Security Institution and receive two-thirds of their regular wages.

Mothers also have the right to six months of unpaid leave as part of their maternity leave entitlement. If a mother dies during or after child birth, maternity leave is granted to the father.

After the end of the mandatory maternity leave, the new mother also has the option to take unpaid leave for up to half of her weekly working hours. Male or female workers adopting a child under three years old are also entitled to the extra unpaid leave. The extra unpaid leaves are available for:

• 60 days for the first delivery,
• 120 days for the second delivery, and
• 180 days for the third delivery.

Both parents also can request to work part-time for the period when the maternity leave ends up until the child’s compulsory education begins. Part-time work is defined as work equivalent to up to 2/3 of the full-time work in a workplace.

Paternity Leave

Fathers are entitled to five days of paid paternal leave.

Male workers adopting a child under three years old also are entitled to take unpaid leave for up to half their working hours. The unpaid leaves are available for:

• 60 days for the first delivery,
• 120 days for the second delivery, and
• 180 days for the third delivery.

Fathers can also request to work part-time for the period when the maternity leave ends up until the child’s compulsory education begins. Part-time work is defined as work equivalent to up to 2/3 of the full-time work in a workplace.

Sick Leave

Employees with a minimum of 90 days of contributions to the social security system are entitled to paid sick leave for a maximum of one week in the case of sickness or in order to recover as long as they provide a medical report. Employees with a minimum of 30 days of contributions are entitled to medical benefits. Sick leave can be extended on an unpaid basis. The employee, the employer and the government make contributions into the social security system for sick leave benefits.

Other Leave

Military Leave. A worker who has been with an establishment for at least a year and is called up by the military or leaves the job to perform statutory labor service cannot have his or her employment contract terminated until two months have passed. For workers who have been employed for more than one year, the two-month period is extended by two additional days for each additional year of service to a maximum 90 days. Priority in filling vacancies must be given to workers who left their employment to carry out military or statutory duties and made application within two months after completion of those duties.

Pensions and Social Security

Employers must automatically enroll Turkish employees under the age of 45 in a private pension plan. Employers must withhold the employee contribution and remit it to the pension administrator no more than one business day following the salary payment. Employees seeking to opt out of the private pension plan must do so within two months of receiving notification of their automatic enrollment. Employers failing to automatically enroll their employees in the new private pension plan will be subject to a fine.

Comprehensive social insurance coverage is provided by the state, including unemployment benefits. The Social Insurance and Universal Health Insurance Law provides payments in case of accidents at work, occupational illness, sickness, maternity, disability, retirement and death. The Social Security Institution is the government agency responsible for implementing the Social Insurance law. Under the law, all employees are automatically insured.

Both employers and employees are required to contribute to the social insurance system.

Old age pension. Men aged 60 and women aged 58 who have at least 7,200 days of contributions to the social security system may retire. The retirement age will increase gradually to 65 for men by 2044 and for women by 2048. Employees, employers and the government make contributions to the fund. The pension is based on 2 percent of the employee’s last salary and the coverage period. Special conditions apply to those who were first insured prior to October 2008, who work in mines and who are aged 50 or older and cannot work until the full pensionable age. Workers may defer the pension, but once they take retirement they must cease all gainful employment.

Survivor pension. If, at the time of death, the insured met the requirements for the old age or disability pension, was a pensioner or was insured for at least five years and had at least 900 days of contributions, his or her eligible dependents are entitled to receive a pension.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers who have lost at least 60 percent of their capacity to work and who have 1,800 days of contributions over a period of 10 years are entitled to a pension from the Social Security Institution. The benefit is calculated as 2 percent of average earnings for each 260 days of contributions up to a maximum 90 percent.

The employer is obliged to pay the worker until the SSI takes charge of the case and the related expenses. If a worker suffers injury because an employer failed to comply with safety and health measures, the employer will be liable to the SSI for the expenses it incurred.

When a work accident or occupational illness is attributable to a third party, the third party is liable for damages.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), arts. 53-58

Holidays: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 49; Law on Holidays, 1981, No. 2,429, art. 1-4 (Turkish)

Maternity Leave: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 74; Law Amending the Income Tax Law, No. 6,663, arts. 21-22 (Turkish)

Sick Leave: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 48

Other Leave: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 31

Pensions and Social Security: Social and Health Insurance Law, No. 26,200, 2006; Law on Changing the Individual Pension Saving and Investment System, 2016 (Turkish)

Labor Relations

In General

The Turkish Constitution grants workers the freedom to organize unions and employers the right to form associations. When employers and employees (or their representatives) are unable to reach an agreement within 60 days of beginning negotiations, compulsory mediation is initiated. If an agreement cannot be reached, a strike or a lockout may begin.

The right to strike applies to all workers under private labor contracts. A strike may be engaged in only during the collective bargaining process, and the decision to call a strike can only be made after attempts to settle the dispute by legal mediation have failed. Notice of the starting date of a strike must be provided to the employer. A worker who takes part in a strike may not be dismissed for having participated, and the employer cannot recruit, employ or assign anyone to perform the work normally done by those on strike. Picketing is allowed but highly regulated.

Lockouts are legal when notice has been given to the employer by the authorized trade union that a decision to strike has been made.

If a business is sold or transferred, the successor employer becomes responsible for its predecessor’s rights and duties under an existing collective agreement.

Right to Organize

The Turkish Constitution grants workers the freedom to organize unions and employers the right to form associations. The Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law confirms the freedom of association of workers and employers and regulates the functioning and activities of unions. The law applies to all workplaces and prohibits discrimination based on union membership or activity. Employees who are discriminated against for union activity and work for an employer with at least 30 employees are entitled to compensation of no less than a year’s wages.

To engage in collective bargaining in a particular workplace, a union must be recognized as the bargaining representative of workers in the sector of the economy in which the establishment is involved. Under the Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law, the union must represent at least 3 percent of the workers in the sector nationally and a majority of the workers in the workplace in question.

Unions are organized within an industry as a corporate association. Membership is fully voluntary. Under the Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law, a worker may join more than one union if the employee works for different employers. Employees can apply online, and the application is deemed approved if the trade union does not decline within 30 days. Any union member has the right to withdraw from the union. The employer is informed of union memberships at two stages of the recognition process: when the union seeking authorization sends member registration forms to the Ministry of Labor and to the employer and when the union gives a list of members to the employer for the purpose of deducting membership and solidarity dues from wages.

Dispute Resolution

Mandatory mediation is required for the following types of disputes:

• compensation claims arising from labor contracts, and
• reemployment lawsuits.

Mediation proceedings must be completed within three weeks, although a one-week extension is possible. If the parties cannot reach consensus following mediation, the employee may bring a suit to a regional court.

The statute of limitation on claims for severance payments, notice payment, and compensation for unequal treatment is five years.

Strikes and Lockouts

The right to strike is guaranteed by the constitution and is subject to a detailed set of legislative rules. The Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law and other legislation regulate collective bargaining and industrial action. The right to strike applies to all workers under private labor contracts, including agricultural, maritime and press workers, who in many areas of employment are covered by different laws than other workers.

A strike may be engaged in only during the collective bargaining process. A decision to call a strike can only be made after attempts to settle the dispute by legal mediation have failed. When the parties fail to reach an agreement, the authorized trade union can call a strike on the seventh day after receiving the record from the mediator and for six days thereafter. Notice of the starting date must be provided to the employer, and the strike must begin within 60 days of the notice.

The law allows employers to suspend work temporarily for those who do not take part in the strike. In this case, the workers’ employment contracts are suspended, whether they are taking part in the strike or not, and the employer is not required to pay wages. Workers whose labor contract is suspended may not engage in other work during the strike.

Lockouts are legal when notice has been given to the employer by the authorized trade union that a decision to strike has been made. The effect of a legal lockout is the suspension of the obligation to pay wages, and the termination of a strike does not automatically end a lockout. If a lockout is illegal, the employer is still required to pay wages and all other worker benefits.

When the strike or lockout begins, striking workers must leave the workplace and cannot obstruct entrances or exits. Those who do not join the strike cannot be barred from working. During a strike, the employer cannot recruit, employ or assign anyone to perform the work normally done by those on strike. Violations of this provision are punishable by fines.

A strike or lockout may be suspended if the right is misused or when a strike or lockout becomes harmful to society or endangers national security.

Strikes and lockouts are prohibited in certain jobs and workplaces, including rescue work; water, electricity and city gas utility work; exploration, production, processing and distribution of natural gas and petroleum; petrochemical work; banking; firefighting; and public transportation services. Workplaces that cannot be struck or locked include health centers and hospitals, vaccine and serum manufacturing establishments, pharmacies and establishments run by the Ministry of National Defense, the General Command of Gendarmerie or the Coast Guard Command.

A worker who takes part in a strike may not be dismissed for having participated in the decision to strike or the strike itself. During the strike, the obligation to work and the obligation to pay wages and benefits are suspended.

The employer may terminate the labor contracts of those who plan or participate in an illegal strike, without any period of notice or compensation. The Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law imposes penal sanctions for some forms of illegal collective actions. During a strike, any party can apply to a labor court to determine whether the strike or lockout is illegal. The court’s decision is binding on the parties.

The Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Agreements Law and a bylaw issued by the Ministry of Labor regulate picketing. Picketers are designated by the union and limited to four at each door of the workplace. Picketers may not make threats against or try to stop those entering and leaving the premises. Signs can only state: “This workplace is on strike.”

Sucessorship Clauses

If a business is sold or transferred, the successor employer becomes responsible for its predecessor’s rights and duties under an existing collective agreement.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Constitution of Turkey, 1995 (as amended), art. 50

Dispute Resolution: Journal of Employment, Oct. 25, 2017 (Turkish)

Strikes and Lockouts: Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements, 2012, No. 6,356, arts. 58-62

Successorship Clauses: Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements, 2012, No. 6,356, art. 38

Safety, Health and Security

In General

Employers are required to protect workers’ health and safety and must warn them of safety risks in the workplace and inform them of protective measures available. Employers must make a written report to a regional labor board of any accidents occurring in the workplace no later than two business days following the date of the accident.

Industrial employers with at least 50 workers hired for more than six months must establish a work health and safety board for each workplace. Employers with a workforce of 50 or more permanent workers must employ one or more doctors and set up a health unit at the workplace to implement occupational health and safety measures and provide medical treatment and preventive health services.

Employees cannot be present in the workplace while under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

Workplace Safety and Health

Under the Labor Law, every employer is obliged to protect workers’ health and safety. Employers must warn workers of workplace dangers and inform them of available protective measures. Employers must make a written report to a regional labor board within two business days of any accident occurring in the workplace.

The Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work requires an employee to submit a health certificate before engaging in these activities, prohibits children younger than age 16 from being employed in these jobs and establishes special requirements for children 16 to 18 years of age and for women.

When a safety or health risk endangers workers’ lives, operations may be stopped totally or partially until the threat is eliminated. The stop-work decision is made by a committee consisting of the regional labor director, two health and safety inspectors, one worker representative and one employer representative. An appeal of the committee’s decision may be made to a labor court within six workdays.

Employers are expected to monitor the health of their employees, which includes the administration of a health exam at the time a worker begins employment, when changing jobs, as directed by the authorities and on returning to work following an absence due to a work accident, work illness or other health reason.

Industrial employers with at least 50 workers hired for more than six months must establish a work health and safety board for each workplace. Employers with a workforce of 50 or more permanent workers must employ one or more doctors—depending on the number of employees and the risk factors involved—and set up a health unit at the workplace to protect the health of the employees, provide medical treatment for workers not covered by the Social Insurance Institution, take occupational health and safety measures and provide first aid, urgent care and preventive health services. Multiple employers may share a common health unit.

Employers must keep worker health and safety records for 15 years from the date of separation. If the worker’s new employer requests the health records, the former employer must send a copy within a month. The employer must also keep a record of the company’s health and safety procedures certified by the director of labor or a notary public.

Drug and Alcohol Use

The labor code prohibits employees from entering work while drunk or under the influence of narcotics, or consuming alcohol or drugs on work premises.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), arts. 77-80

Drug and Alcohol Use: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 84

Termination

Termination by Employer

In workplaces with 30 or more employees, dismissals of workers with indefinite employment contracts who have been employed for at least six months must be made for a legitimate reason. The employer must give written notification clearly stating the cause of dismissal.

If the cause is the worker’s performance or behavior, the worker must be given the opportunity to defend against the claim. If an employee obtains a favorable judgment from a labor court, the termination of the contract is invalid. If the worker then applies to the employer for reinstatement within 10 days, the employer must grant the request within a month or pay the worker between four and eight months’ wages, the exact amount fixed by the labor court in its decision.

In workplaces with 29 or fewer employees, either the employer or the worker may terminate without cause an employment contract made for an indefinite period by giving the other party written advance notice.

After either party receives the written notice, the contract ends after:

• two weeks if the employment lasted less than six months,
• four weeks if the employment lasted more than six months but less than 1 ¹ / ₂ years,
• six weeks if the employment lasted between 1 ¹ / ₂ years and three years or
• eight weeks if the employment lasted three years or more.

The notice periods may be increased by individual employment contract or collective agreement. The employer can make an advance payment equal to the required notice period to terminate the contract immediately. During the notice period, the employer must allow the employee to use at least two paid hours per day to look for other work, although at the worker’s request, the hours may be aggregated and taken at one time. A worker who wishes to use aggregated hours must do so on the days immediately preceding the date of separation and must inform the employer in advance.

During the two- to four-month probationary period, either party may terminate the employment contract without giving notice or paying compensation. The worker is entitled to wages and social insurance benefits for the time actually worked.

The employer may immediately terminate a contract, whether for a fixed or an indefinite period, for reasons stipulated in the Labor Law. In those cases, no severance pay or notice will be required.

Valid reasons for summary dismissal include:

• false statements about qualifications when hired,
• unjustifiable absence,
• sexual harassment of a co-worker,
• dishonesty,
• drunkenness,
• refusal to perform assigned duties,
• disclosure of trade secrets and
• intentional or negligent damage to employer property.

The Labor Law provides the following as just causes for termination:

• the worker has a disease or an injury due to his or her own deliberate act and is absent from work for three successive workdays or a total of more than five working days in one month;
• the worker has a disease that is incompatible with the performance of his or her duties, as determined by a health committee;
• the worker is absent due to illness or accident not attributable to the worker’s fault for more than six weeks beyond the ordinary notice period for dismissal;
• the worker is absent due to pregnancy or birth for more than six weeks beyond the ordinary period granted for pregnancy;
• the worker made false statements about his or her qualifications when hired;
• the worker offends the honor or the dignity of the employer or a member of the employer’s family;
• the worker sexually harasses another worker;
• the worker assaults the employer, a member of the employer’s family or a fellow worker;
• the worker comes to work drunk or under the influence of narcotics or brings alcohol or narcotics to the workplace;
• the worker commits a dishonest act against the employer, such as theft, breach of trust or disclosure of the employer’s trade secrets;
• the worker commits a legal offense on the premises and receives a sentence of seven days’ imprisonment or more without probation;
• the worker is absent without good reason for two consecutive days or twice in one month on the workday after a rest day or on a total of three days in one month;
• the worker refuses to perform his or her duties or
• the worker, either willfully or through gross negligence, imperils workplace safety or damages machinery, equipment or other articles or materials, and the cost of the damage cannot be offset by withholding 30 days’ pay.

The contract must be terminated within six days of the date the employer became aware of the grounds for termination and within one year of the commission of the act.

Workers may also be terminated for cause if reasons of force majeure prevent them from performing their duties for more than one week.

An employee’s duty of loyalty is an inherent and essential obligation in all employment contracts. Employees must perform their work in a manner to protect the honor, interests and security of the employer. The employee has a duty to take necessary measures to prevent damage and risks and to inform the employer of any danger, fraud or theft of equipment or other items in the workplace. Courts have held that employees who discredit the reputation of the employer are in breach of their duty of fidelity and can be fired immediately.

Disclosure of trade secrets is serious misconduct and is cause for immediate termination by the employer without severance or any other payment. The employer can claim compensation in case of damage.

Termination by Employee

The worker may terminate a contract—whether for a fixed or an indefinite period—for cause. The Labor Law enumerates the following as just causes for workers to terminate a contract:

• for health reasons if performing the work endangers the worker’s health or life in a way that was unforeseen at the time the contract was entered into or if the worker is constantly near or is frequently in direct contact with a person who is suffering from a contagious disease;
• the employer misled the worker about the conditions of work when the person took the job;
• the employer offends the honor or reputation of the worker or a member of the worker’s family;
• the worker is sexually harassed by the employer or by another employee and the employer fails to take appropriate action;
• the employer assaults or threatens the worker or a member of the worker’s family;
• the employer urges, instigates or induces the worker or a family member to commit an illegal action or commits an offense that entails imprisonment of the worker or a member of the worker’s family;
• the employer fails to pay wages or reduces a wage payment because less work was assigned to the worker or
• when reasons of “force majeure” cause the suspension of work for more than one week in the workplace.

The contract must be terminated by the worker within six days of the date the worker became aware of the cause and within a year after the cause arose.

If a worker leaves employment before the expiration of the contract or without giving due notice and a new employer hires the worker, the new employer will be liable for damages suffered by the former employer due to the unjust separation of the worker, in the following cases:

• the new employer caused the worker to leave prematurely,
• the new employer knew or should have known the worker acted unfairly or
• the new employer continues to employ the worker after becoming aware of the worker’s conduct.

During the two- to four-month probationary period, either party may terminate the employment contract without giving notice or paying compensation. The worker is entitled to wages and social insurance benefits for the time actually worked.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

The employer must give one-month’s advance notice of a mass layoff due to economic, technological or structural reasons to the Turkish Employment Agency, union representatives, and the regional directorate of labor. This notification must specify the reasons for the mass layoffs and the number and date of the dismissals. The termination becomes effective 30 days after notification of the regional directorate.

A collective dismissal occurs when the following number or percentage of employees are to be laid off in a one-month period:

• in establishments employing between 20 and 100 employees, a minimum of 10 employees are to be terminated;
• in establishments employing between 101 and 300 employees, a minimum of 10 percent of employees are to be terminated, and
• in establishments employing 301 and more workers, a minimum of 30 employees are to be terminated.

In addition to advance notice, workers who are terminated for reasons of redundancy are entitled during the notice period to at least two hours a day of paid leave to seek new employment. Upon termination, employees are due severance pay, and the employer must furnish the worker with a certificate stating the nature and duration of the employment.

For six months after the mass terminations, the employer must give priority to dismissed workers in hiring.

Payment on Termination

Employers are obligated to make severance payments only when the employment contract is terminated:

• by the employer for reasons other than bad faith, immorality or misconduct;
• by a worker for reasons of employer bad faith, immorality or misconduct;
• by a worker called for military service;
• by a worker in order to receive an old age, retirement or disability pension or a lump sum payment from an organization or fund established by law with which the worker is affiliated;
• by a female worker who terminates her employment within one year of the date of her marriage and
• in case of the worker’s death.

Unless an agreement increases the amount, severance pay is equal to 30 days of the worker’s latest wages and supplements for each full year of service from the commencement of the employment contract. For periods less than one year, payment must be prorated. Severance pay provisions are mandatory and except for the 30-day wage rate may not be modified by contract.

The employer must also pay the worker for any leave the worker earned but did not use.

Unemployment Insurance

Workers with at least 600 days of contributions in the three years preceding unemployment (including the 120 days immediately prior to unemployment) are entitled to unemployment benefits. The minimum daily benefit is 50 percent of average daily earnings in the previous four months. The benefit is paid for 180 days to an insured worker with at least 600 days of contributions, for 240 days with at least 900 days of contributions, and 300 days with at least 1,080 days of contributions. The monthly benefit must not be higher than the minimum wage for the industry in which the insured worked, and the insured may receive sickness and maternity benefits simultaneously.

Civil servants, workers in agriculture and forestry, household workers, military personnel, students, self-employed persons and workers under the age of 18 are not covered.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), arts. 17-22

Termination by Employee: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 24

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 29

Payment on Termination: Labor Law, No. 4,857 (as amended), art. 59

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

Individuals residing in Turkey or individuals who do not reside in Turkey but live in Turkey for more than six months within a calendar year are treated as being domiciled in Turkey.

Individuals will not be considered resident in Turkey if their presence is based on a well-defined and temporary job, duty, educational program, medical treatment, vacation or other reason to stay in the country without the intention of residing. These individuals will be taxed as nonresidents.

Taxable Income

Resident individuals in Turkey with full tax liability are taxed on their worldwide income. Nonresident individuals with limited tax liability are taxed only on income earned in Turkey.

Tax Rates

Turkey has a progressive income tax system with increasing tax rates from zero percent to 35 percent depending on income.

Reference Citations

Personal Taxes: Income Tax General Notice (Turkish)

Web References

In English.

Law and Regulation

Constitution of Turkey

Labor Law

Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labor Agreements