Employer of record in Turkey: costs, rules and how to hire

Use a written agreement identifying the employer, the role, the location, gross pay, the payment cycle, hours, leave and the termination terms. Contracts for one year or more must be written, and where no written contract is required or used the employer generally has two months to provide statutory written information, with shorter-contract exceptions. Temporary agency employment and remote work carry their own written-contract requirements, and a client service agreement replaces none of them.

Identify the employer and write down the terms

Changing those terms later has its own procedure, and it favours the employee. The employer must notify a material change to working conditions in writing, and a change the employee does not accept in writing within six working days does not bind them. If the employee refuses, the employer needs the statutory basis and notice to terminate, because the proposal itself is not consent. Changes cannot be applied retrospectively, so agree with the EOR who checks, explains and records proposed changes.

Probation and fixed-term work

A probation clause can last up to two months, or up to four months under a collective agreement. During valid probation either party can end employment without the normal notice or termination compensation, while the employee keeps the pay and other rights earned for the work performed. Probation suspends neither minimum pay, insurance, safety nor discrimination protections.

A fixed-term employment contract needs an objective reason, such as work of a specified duration, completion of a particular job or a specific event, and successive fixed terms need a substantial reason, without which the relationship can be indefinite from the start. There is no universal one-year or two-year maximum that makes a fixed-term contract lawful, and the employee's employment term is a separate question from an agency assignment's statutory limits.

Restrictions and ownership of work

A post-employment non-compete must be written and meet the statutory tests concerning access to customers or business secrets and the risk of substantial harm, and it must be proportionate in geography, type of work and duration, with a usual maximum of two years subject to special circumstances. A court can reduce an excessive restriction, no statutory requirement makes every non-compete paid at half salary, and certain employer or employee termination circumstances end the restriction outright.

Inventions and copyright follow different routes. A service invention must be reported to the employer, the employer generally has four months to claim it, and a full claim gives the employee a right to reasonable remuneration, while for copyright works created in assigned duties the employer normally exercises the economic rights unless the agreement or the nature of the work provides otherwise, with the creator's authorship separate again. An EOR arrangement should document how the client receives the rights it needs.

Remote work and employee information

The remote-work contract must cover the work, the location, the duration, pay, equipment, communication and working conditions, and the employer normally provides the required tools unless agreed otherwise, with the contract addressing necessary work-related expenses. Hours, overtime, data protection and health-and-safety duties all still apply. A worker can request a switch to remote work and the employer normally responds within 30 days after assessing it, which is neither an automatic right for every role nor permission to work from another country.

On data, use a valid legal basis, give the required privacy information, restrict access and protect employee records. Consent is not the only basis, since necessary contractual processing, legal duties and specified employment obligations can apply, including under the updated sensitive-data rules. Overseas access or transfers need a lawful transfer mechanism, Turkish standard contracts must be notified within five business days of signing, and the authority's breach rule generally requires notification without delay and within 72 hours of awareness, with affected individuals informed as soon as reasonably possible after identification.

Misclassification risk, and the title that changes nothing

Turkey's test is direction, and the approved guidance ends with a sentence that is worth quoting to a provider. An employment contract involves work under another party's direction in return for pay, and a contractor agreement does not settle the status of someone who works as a dependent member of your team. Source: the approved Turkish contractor guidance, Labour Law No. 4857 via mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 18 September 2026.

And the sentence itself: a provider cannot remove classification exposure by changing the contract title. That is the claim some providers make in substance if not in words, and it is wrong. Source: the approved Turkish contractor guidance, checked 18 September 2026.

What a hirer does about it: check control over the work, independence, business risk and the working relationship before deciding how to engage the person. In Turkey the cost of getting this wrong is amplified by the severance regime, because a finding of employment brings the accrued severance with it, and the guide's position on the Termination Cost Index above shows what that means in weeks.

Three of the rows below are about dates rather than rules: Turkish figures and entitlements moved in 2026, and superseded government documents are still online and still being quoted.

Resolve these points before signing

Ask the provider to answer each of these against the actual assignment and candidate.

We check selected sources monthly and review relevant changes before updating this guide. Each fact note identifies the source, the review date and the applicable period, and a successful website fetch approves no legal claim. The 2024 wage benchmark, the January 2026 payroll figures and the May 2026 leave amendment describe three different periods even when they are checked on the same day.

Turkish employer contributions come to 23.75% of the applicable base before eligible reductions, which is what puts the country ninth of 192 on running cost. The reductions are real but conditional, so model the full rate first and treat any discount as something to be evidenced.

Build the employer-cost estimate

This example assumes an ordinary employee covered by the standard 4/a scheme, TRY 50,000 gross salary and contribution base, 12 identical full months and no contribution incentives.

Add EOR fees, benefits, overtime, bonuses, equipment, expenses, termination costs and any invoice taxes. That subtotal is neither a complete invoice nor a recommended salary.

Contribution bases and reductions

For an ordinary employee covered by the standard 4/a scheme, the 2026 employer rates are 12% for pension, disability and survivors' insurance, 7.5% for general health insurance, 2.25% for short-term insurance and 2% for unemployment insurance, together 23.75% of the applicable contribution base before eligible reductions. Retired workers, special occupations, exemptions and incentives can change the calculation.

For a full month in the ordinary private-sector 4/a scheme in 2026, the insurable earnings floor is TRY 33,030 and the ceiling is TRY 297,270, the ceiling now being nine times the minimum rather than the older 7.5-times figure. Partial months, excluded payments, extra pay and special schemes need their own calculation, and the contribution ceiling applies to the relevant insurance calculation rather than to income tax.

The ministry's 2026 minimum-wage examples show a five-percentage-point SGK reduction for qualifying manufacturing employers and a two-point reduction for qualifying employers in other sectors, which including the separate 2% unemployment contribution produce employer rates of 18.75% and 21.75% against 23.75% without the reduction. They depend on the applicable conditions, so do not assume every provider or employee qualifies.

Employee deductions and income tax

The standard employee deductions are 9% for pension, disability and survivors' insurance, 5% for health insurance and 1% for unemployment insurance, so 15% of the relevant base in total, with income tax, any taxable stamp duty and applicable automatic-enrolment pension contributions separate. Those deductions reduce take-home pay rather than adding a second employer contribution.

Those are marginal rates on annual taxable wage income, and the third wage-income threshold differs from the TRY 1,000,000 threshold for nonwage income. Payroll must account for the cumulative taxable base, the deductions and the minimum-wage tax exemption, because a marginal rate is not a flat tax on the whole salary.

The minimum wage itself is exempt from income tax and stamp duty. In the Revenue Administration's standard 2026 calculation, the gross TRY 33,030 salary has TRY 4,624.20 in employee social-insurance deductions and TRY 330.30 in unemployment deductions, leaving TRY 28,075.50. For pay above the minimum, payroll calculates the applicable exemption and tax rather than treating the whole higher salary as tax-free.

Your own business's corporate and transaction taxes need a separate assessment, because an employment provider does not settle every tax obligation arising from your activities in Turkey.

Pension and additional benefits

Employers with at least five workers come within the automatic-enrolment pension rules, with specified entry timing and continued duties after enrolment, and the rules cover eligible Turkish citizens and people within Citizenship Law Article 28 rather than all foreign workers. Eligible workers under 45 are enrolled automatically while workers aged 45 or over can request entry, the standard contribution is 3% of the relevant earnings base deducted from the employee, and workers have a two-month initial opt-out right.

Ask the provider to separate statutory coverage from optional benefits such as additional health cover, meal or transport support and extra leave, and record what is included in the employment offer and what changes the employer's invoice.

Check the candidate's right to work

Foreign nationals generally need a work permit or an applicable exemption before starting work. An initial employer-specific permit can last up to one year, with eligible extensions for the same employer lasting up to two years and then up to three, and the applications and documents determine the result. The ministry's 30-day assessment period runs from a complete application and is not a guaranteed end-to-end onboarding time, so check the actual employer, job, workplace and any change of employer.

The general work-permit criteria include five Turkish workers per foreign hire and employer financial tests: existing balance-sheet businesses generally need at least TRY 500,000 paid-up capital, TRY 8 million net sales or USD 150,000 exports, with new businesses facing the capital test. Significant exceptions exist, for example the August 2026 rules addressing certain in-country applicants with a year of lawful stay in the previous three years, and specialist IT roles have separate exemptions. The provider must check the employer and the candidate rather than applying one ratio to every case.

The national gross minimum wage is TRY 33,030 per month from 1 January through 31 December 2026, and the official standard net calculation is TRY 28,075.50 after 14% employee social-insurance and 1% unemployment deductions, with income-tax and stamp-duty exemptions. Role-specific work-permit salary thresholds and more favourable employment terms can require a higher amount, so the minimum is a floor for local hires rather than a figure to build an international offer on.

Set a salary for the actual role

For historical context, TurkStat's 2024 Labour Cost Statistics report average monthly gross wages of TRY 34,642, gross earnings of TRY 39,253 and total labour costs of TRY 45,777 across the covered sectors, in bulletin 54011 published on 25 December 2025 and reproduced by Istanbul Commodity Exchange. Those are three different measures of the same year, and none of them is a 2026 salary quote or a US-dollar purchasing-power figure.

Set the current offer from the occupation, experience, location, hours and responsibilities. In an inflationary currency a 2024 benchmark ages faster than usual, and a foreign worker's permit category may require a higher salary regardless of the market.

Payment dates, bank transfers and bonuses

Labour Law requires wage payment at least once a month, and the employment or collective agreement can set a shorter interval. Agree the payment date and gross salary and provide a payslip that separately shows the pay period, additions and deductions. There is no universal statutory thirteenth salary, and a promised bonus or an established entitlement needs separate treatment.

One threshold changed recently and it is low. Since 1 July 2025, employers covered by the bank-payment rule must pay the covered net wages, bonuses and similar amounts through banks when they employ at least three workers across Turkey, down from five. Count the employer's workforce across the country rather than only your client team, keep payroll and payment records, and check the regulation's specific exceptions.

On bonuses, Turkey imposes no general thirteenth-month salary for every private-sector employee, though a bonus can become payable through an agreement, an employment condition or the employer's undertaking, and the Code of Obligations addresses the proportion earned when employment ends before the bonus period. Record the amount or formula, the conditions, the payment date and the treatment on departure, and check any collective agreement.

Hours and overtime

The normal statutory working week is up to 45 hours, usually divided across the working days unless a lawful alternative is agreed, with daily work not exceeding 11 hours. Averaging is generally over two months, extendable to four by collective agreement, and tourism has separate four-month and six-month periods. A five-day schedule is possible, so the law does not require every employee to work six days.

Two different premiums apply above and below 45 hours, which is the distinction that produces wrong payslips.

Ordinary overtime needs the employee's written consent, which can be obtained in the contract or when the need arises, and the employee can withdraw it with 30 days' written notice. Emergency rules and protected categories carry separate restrictions, and part-time workers cannot be scheduled for ordinary overtime under the regulation. Record hours and show overtime payments separately in payroll.

Breaks, weekly rest and night work

The minimum break is 15 minutes for work of up to four hours, 30 minutes for more than four and up to 7.5 hours, and one hour above 7.5 hours, and breaks do not count as working time. The general rule is at least 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest within seven days, while the working-time regulation also addresses 12 consecutive hours of rest in 24 hours with a separate shift-change rule. Licensed tourism accommodation has a specific written-consent exception for deferring weekly rest.

Night work is generally limited to 7.5 hours. Specified tourism, private-security, health and petroleum exploration or drilling work can exceed that limit with the worker's written consent while the other working-time limits still apply, and workers changing shifts need at least 11 consecutive hours of rest. Protected categories carry additional restrictions, so the sector exception is not a general right to schedule an office worker overnight.

Turkish annual leave starts after a year of service and rises in three steps, so a first-year hire has no statutory entitlement to take.

Annual leave and public holidays

The minimums run as follows.

Entitlement arises after one year of service, including probation, and public holidays and weekly rest falling within annual leave are excluded from the leave count, which makes the days more valuable than they look.

Annual leave can be split by agreement provided at least one part is ten days or longer, and there is no current general limit of three parts. The employer must pay the leave wages in advance or as an advance before leave starts, and on employment ending unused earned annual leave is paid at the final wage regardless of the termination reason. The annual-leave period cannot replace the employer's notice or the paid job-search time.

The statutory calendar includes New Year's Day, 23 April, 1 May, 19 May, 15 July, 30 August, Republic Day starting at 13:00 on 28 October and continuing through 29 October, 3.5 days for Ramadan Bayram and 4.5 days for Kurban Bayram, totalling 15.5 days including the half days. Religious dates move each year, and an administrative holiday for public employees does not create another private-sector holiday.

Work on national and general holidays follows the employment or collective agreement, and where neither covers it the employee's consent is required. A covered worker who does not work receives the normal holiday pay, while working the holiday gives an additional day's wage under Article 47. Handle the statutory half days correctly, and note that a substitute day off does not replace the extra statutory payment.

Sickness and maternity

For ordinary sickness, eligible 4/a workers generally receive SGK temporary-incapacity benefit from the third day, with at least 90 days of short-term insurance contributions in the preceding year and an authorised medical report, normally at two-thirds of insured daily earnings for outpatient treatment and one-half for inpatient treatment. SGK does not pay the first two days under this rule, and employer pay depends on the salary arrangement and applicable terms, since fixed monthly wage rules can require continued pay with an offset for SGK benefits.

Maternity leave changed this year and older guidance is still circulating. Since 1 May 2026 ordinary maternity leave is 24 weeks, eight before birth and 16 after, with multiple pregnancies adding two prenatal weeks for 26. With medical approval and the employee's request, work can continue until two weeks before the expected birth, with unused prenatal leave added after birth, and early-birth rules also preserve unused prenatal time. The older 16-week figure is no longer the general entitlement.

The social-insurance amendment covers the same eight prenatal and 16 postnatal weeks plus the two additional prenatal weeks for multiple pregnancies. Eligible insured women generally need at least 90 days of short-term contributions in the year before birth and must meet the medical and nonworking conditions, with the statutory temporary-incapacity rate normally two-thirds of insured daily earnings for outpatient treatment or one-half for inpatient. Any employer salary continuation or top-up is a separate payroll question.

Paternity, adoption and parental options

A worker whose spouse gives birth is entitled to ten days of paid leave under Labour Law Additional Article 2, Law 7578 having increased the previous five-day entitlement from 1 May 2026. That is paid employer leave and sits apart from the mother's maternity leave and her SGK maternity benefit.

One adopting parent of a child under three can take eight weeks of leave from placement under Article 74, while the separate paid personal-leave rule provides three days for adoption, and since 1 May 2026 a worker who becomes a foster parent, alone or with a spouse, can request ten days of unpaid leave after placement. Those three rights have different conditions and payment rules.

After maternity leave, an eligible worker can request half-time work for 60 days after a first birth, 120 after a second and 180 after later births, with multiple births adding 30 days and a child born with a disability giving 360 days. The statutory right is unpaid for the nonworking half, with separate benefit rules, and up to six months of unpaid leave is also available after maternity leave, with corresponding adoption provisions. Establish which option is being used and how pay and benefits will be handled.

An eligible parent can then request part-time work after the specified maternity or unpaid leave periods until the start of the month after the child reaches compulsory primary-school age. The normal rule requires both parents to work, with exceptions including sole custody, specified illness and single-parent adoption, and the request is written at least one month ahead. Certain jobs require employer agreement, and pay and divisible benefits are proportionate to working time.

Pregnancy checks, feeding and family leave

Pregnant workers receive paid time for periodic medical checks and, if medically required, must be assigned lighter work without a pay reduction. A mother breastfeeding a child under one receives 1.5 hours a day, chooses the timing and split, and that time counts as work, though the breastfeeding-break rule does not apply during the separate statutory half-time postnatal option.

The law provides three days of paid leave for marriage, adoption, or the death of a parent, spouse, sibling or child, and a worker caring for a child with at least 70% disability or a chronic illness can receive up to ten paid days in a year, in whole or in parts, on a medical report, for one working parent. Both sit apart from annual leave and from the current ten-day paternity entitlement.