The Republic of Turkey lies partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Stretching over 780,580 square kilometers, Turkey consists of Asia Minor (Anatolia), eastern Thrace (Turkey in Europe), and offshore islands in the Aegean Sea. It lies at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey is an emerging market economy and is often classified as a newly industrialized country. The Turkish industry continues to grow regularly, thanks to its geopolitical position, its young and dynamic workforce, and State incentives for local and foreign investors. Turkish industry employs around 20% of the labor force. Its major industries are Automotive, Chemical, Construction, Technology & Electronics, Food Processing, Furniture & Decoration, Iron & Steel & Metallurgy, Textile & Apparel & Ready Wear, Packaging & Logistics, Defense, Energy & Natural Resources, Industrial Machinery & White Goods, Gold & Jewellery process.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Turkey.
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Capital :
Ankara
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Currency :
Turkish lira (₺, TRY)
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Languages spoken :
Turkish
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Population :
85.04 million (2021 est.)
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Minimum wage 2023 :
TRY 17,002
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Cost of Living index :
$ (130 of 139 countries)
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Payroll Frequency :
Fortnighly/Monthly
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VAT - standard rate :
18%
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GDP - real growth rate :
11% (2021 est.)
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The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Turkey is 7 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The maximum weekly working time is 45 hours. Unless decided otherwise, working time is divided equally by the number of weekdays worked at the establishment.
Through the agreement of the employer and the employee, the working time may be distributed over the days of the week in different ways, on the condition that the daily working time must not exceed 11 hours.
Work exceeding the 45-hour weekly maximum is classified as overtime work. The maximum overtime permitted per year is 270 hours.
Overtime work can only be performed with the consent of the employee and an employee is free to ask for time off in lieu of overtime pay.
Wages for each hour of overtime are remunerated at one and a half times the standard hourly rate. Where the weekly working hours are set below 45 hours, for work that exceeds the set time but is not more than 45 hours per week, each extra hour is remunerated at 1.25 times the normal hourly rate.
If the parties have agreed to include a trial clause in the employment contract, the duration of the trial term is not to exceed two months. The trial period may be extended up to four months by collective agreement.
During the trial term, the parties are free to terminate the employment contract without having to observe the notice period and without having to pay compensation.
The employee’s entitlement to wages and other rights for the days worked is reserved.
The applicable notice period is based on an employee’s period of service with the employer (regardless of the form of contract) and ranges between two and eight weeks:
| Period Served | Applicable Notice |
| Probation period (maximum 4 months) | None |
| Less than 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 months to less than 1.5 years | 4 weeks |
| 1.5 years to less than 3 years | 6 weeks |
| 3 years or more | 8 weeks |
Annual leave entitlement is based on the length of service. The qualification period for annual leave is one year of service. The one-year excludes employee periods of absence.
| Period of Service | Leave Entitlement |
| Less than 1 year | Nil |
| 1 to 5 years | 14 days |
| More than 5 years to less than 15 years | 20 days |
| 15 or more years | 26 days |
| Workers less than 18 or over 50 years old (regardless of period of service being less than 5 years) | 20 days |
An employee is entitled to up to one week of paid sick leave, provided there is a medical report. Beyond the one week, the employee is entitled to unpaid sick leave.
Following the birth of a child, an employee may be allowed to work part-time as follows:
In the case of multiple births, an extra 30 days is added to each of the above periods.
After maternity/adoption leave either parent may, by written application to the employer at least a month before, claim to work part-time until the child starts compulsory schoolin. Such requests are met by the employers.
Female employees are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. Eight weeks of the leave have to be taken before and the other eight weeks have to be taken after the birth of the child.
In the event of multiple pregnancies, an extra two-week period is added to the eight weeks before confinement. Where a woman’s health permits, as confirmed by a physician’s certificate, she may work until three weeks before delivery and have 13 weeks’ leave after delivery.
An employee whose spouse has given birth to a child is entitled to five days of paid leave. In the case of an adoption, three days of paid leave is provided. The leave is paid for by the employer.
Adoptive parents of a child that is under three years enjoy the same rights as those given to biological parents in terms of maternity and paternity leave after the adoption date.
The following leave is paid by the employer:
| Reason | Days | |
| Marriage | Up to 3 days | |
| Bereavement (Parent, spouse, sister, brother, or child’s death) | Up to 3 days | |
| Union work | Duration of the event being attended | |
| Force majeure* | Not specified | |
| Statutory obligations | Maximum of 90 days per year |
*Any period during which the employee has not worked because of the temporary but interrupted suspension of operations for longer than one week owing to force majeure, on condition that they have subsequently resumed work.
Upon the request of an employee, the employer must grant up to four days’ unpaid leave to facilitate an employee’s round-trip travel time to and from their annual leave destination. The employee is to produce documentary evidence of spending the annual leave at a place other than that where the establishment is located.
The employer’s contribution consists of 20.5% social security payment. The minimum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions are the gross legal monthly minimum wage. The maximum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions are 7.5 times the gross legal monthly minimum wage.
| Insurance Category | Premium Rate |
| Short-term insurance | 2% |
| Invalidity, Old-age, and Survivors Insurance | 11% |
| Universal Health Insurance | 7.5% |
| Unemployment Insurance | 2% |
| Employer’s total contribution to social insurance | 22.5% |
Healthcare services are provided in accordance with the Law No. 5510 and/or the conventions signed between the Institution and domestic and foreign health service providers by means of refunding the expenses of healthcare services purchased by universal health insurance holders and their dependants from non-contracted healthcare service providers. The Social Security Institution finances the expenses made for healthcare services provided by health service providers through the premiums collected from the universal insurance holders.
Universal health insurance premium are 12.5% of earning subject to premiums for individuals subject to short and long term insurance branches. 5% of this premium is the insurance holder’s share and 7.5% is employer’s share.
Employees are covered against work-related injuries. The employer’s contribution is included in the 7.5% of gross monthly payroll paid towards medical benefits. To qualify, an employee must be assessed with a work injury or an occupational disease. Accident insurance benefits include temporary and permanent disability benefits.
Turkey provides an unemployment benefit based on a contributory insurance scheme. The employer pays 2% of the unemployment premium.
The following benefits and services are provided for the unemployed insured persons by İŞKUR (Turkish Employment Agency):
The normal retirement age is 60 years for men and 58 years for women with at least 7,200 days of paid contributions or age 61 with at least 5,400 days of paid contributions. Mothers of children with disabilities who require constant attendance may receive credit to retire before the normal retirement age.
Pensions may be deferred indefinitely (in the private sector).
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
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