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Employ in Turkey with ease.

Remote makes employment in Turkey easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

Facts & Stats

The Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti) is an European unitary presidential constitutional republic that’s jointly famous for its magnificent mosques from the medieval ages, kebabs, and a rich history spanning over 8,000 years till date.

As the world’s 11th largest economy, Turkey has been witnessing a growth in industrialization, driven by gains in the shipbuilding, infrastructure, and technology, and consumer electronics industries.

  • Capital city

    Ankara

  • Currency

    Turkish lira
    (₺, TRY)

  • Languages spoken

    Turkish

  • Population size

    83,614,362 (est. Dec 2020)

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $ (2021)

  • Payroll frequency

    Bi-Monthly/Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    18%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    0.9% (2019)

Grow your team in Turkey with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Turkey? Companies hiring in Turkey must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Turkey on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Turkey team. You can also pay contractors now in Turkey with Remote.

Risks
of misclassification

Turkey, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.

Employing in Turkey

The Turkish Constitution and the Labor Act of 2003 defines provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights for Turkey’s workforce of 32 million. Employees in Turkey enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Turkey.

Public holidays

Below are national public holidays applicable for all regions in this country. Remote customers have access to a detailed list of regional public holidays within the Remote platform. Sign up now to access all public holiday information.

Minimum Wage

The Turkish minimum wage is fixed at 2,825 Turkish liras ($329.37) per month.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Turkey fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is often 15 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

Competitive benefits package in Turkey

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Turkey are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance

Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Turkey

Taxes in Turkey

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Turkey.

  • Employer

    • 2% - Short Term Insurance Branch Premium

    • 11% - Insurance & disability

    • 7.5% - General Health Insurance

    • 2% - Unemployment Insurance

  • Employee

    • 9% - Pension & disability

    • 5% - General Health Insurance

    • 1% - Unemployment Insurance

  • Personal income tax rates

    • 15% - 0 – 32,000

    • 20% - 32,000 - 70,000

    • 27% - 70,000 – 250,000

    • 35% - 250,000 – 880,000

    • 40% - 880,000+

Types of leave

Paid time off

Employees are entitled to paid time off equivalent to their tenure with an employer.

  • 1 – 5 years: 14 days
  • 6 – 14 years: 20 days
  • 15+ years: 26 days

Employees aged 50 and above are automatically entitled to 20 days off annually, while workers engaged in underground activities (mining) are entitled to four days in addition to their basic vacation entitlement.

Public holidays

There are 14 public holidays observed annually.

Sick leave

Employees are entitled to sickness benefits after the third day on which an illness persists, paid by the social security office. Employers are not obligated to pay any sick pay for the first two days of an employee’s illness and can terminate workers after six weeks of sick leave.

Maternity leave

Female employees are entitled to 16 weeks (18 week for multiple births) of paid maternity leave, starting eight weeks before delivery. If the employee dies during childbirth, any unused maternity leave entitlement will be transferred to her partner.

In addition, after completing her maternity leave, an employee can request unpaid leave for half of her weekly working hours for a duration of:

  • 60 days – for the first birth
  • 120 days – for the second birth, and
  • 180 days – for the third or more births

Paternity/Parental leave

Fathers are entitled to five days of paid maternity leave.

Other leave

  • Personal business leave: Employees are entitled to one three-day period of leave for the death of any immediate family member.
  • Marriage leave: Employees can take up to three days off to conduct their marriage rites.
  • Adoption: Adoptive parents of children under the age of three are entitled to eight weeks of paid leave, from the day their legal custody is established. In addition, such parents can request up to six months’ unpaid leave after adoption proceedings are finalized.

Employment termination

Termination process

Employee contracts can be terminated if a just cause is established, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, or any other work-related offences. That aside, notice should be provided in advance – provided both parties agree to it.

Notice period

Notice periods in Turkey are determined by an employee’s tenure with the employer as follows:

  • 0 – 6 months: 2 weeks’ notice
  • 6 – 18 months: 4 weeks’ notice
  • 18 – 36 months: 6 weeks’ notice
  • 36+ months: 8 weeks’ notice

Severance pay

Employees who are terminated unfairly are entitled to a severance package equivalent to one month’s wages for every year worked with the employer.

Probation periods

Probationary periods should be written in contract and should not exceed two months. The probation period may be extended up to four months by collective agreement. Within the probation term the parties are free to terminate the employment agreement without having to observe the notice term and without having to pay compensation. The employee’s entitlement to salary and other rights for the days worked are reserved.

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