Employment in Turkey is mainly governed by Turkish Labor Law and Trade Union Law.
Under the new Turkish Labor Law, there are four different types of job contracts:
a) Job contracts for “temporary” and “permanent” work
b) Job contracts for a “definite period” or an “indefinite period”
c) Job contracts for “part-time” work
d) Job contracts for “work-upon-call”
Job contracts do not have to be concluded in a specific format. However, if a job contract is signed for a definite period, it must be concluded in writing. Job contracts are exempt from stamp tax and other duties.
Any kind of discrimination among employees with respect to language, race, gender, political opinion, philosophical approach, religion or similar criteria is prohibited by law. Discrimination based on the gender of an employee is prohibited when determining the amount of remuneration for employees working in the same or equivalent jobs. Should the principle of equality be violated, the employee who is subject to discrimination can request monetary compensation.
Working Hours and Overtime
Under the Labor Law, the maximum normal working hours are 45 hours per week. In principle, 45 hours should be split equally among the working days. However, under the new rules introduced by the new Labor Law, working hours may be distributed unevenly over the working days provided that the total daily working hours do not exceed 11 hours a day and that the parties agree on the uneven distribution of the working hours over the working days.
Hours exceeding the limit of 45 hours per week are to be paid as “overtime hours”. Payment for the overtime hours must be 1.5 times the regular hourly wage/salary. Instead of the overtime payment, employees may be granted 1.5 hours of free time for every overtime hour worked. Overtime hours worked during weekends and public holidays are to be paid at twice the regular hourly rate. These rates are the minimum set by law and may be increased on the basis of a collective or bilateral agreement between employees and the employer. The total number of overtime hours worked per year may not exceed 270 hours.
Annual Paid Vacation
There are six paid public holidays per year (January 1st, April 23rd, May 1st , May 19th, August 30th, October 29th), plus two paid periods of religious holiday, which comes to eight days in total. Employees are entitled to paid annual vacation for the periods indicated below, provided that they have worked for at least one year including the probation period:
|
1 - 5 years (inclusive) |
14 days |
|
5 - 15 years |
20 days |
|
15 years or longer |
26 days |
These benefits are the minimum levels set by law and may be increased on the basis of a collective or bilateral agreement.
Under the law on the amendments to Turkish Labor Law, wages and salaries must be paid in Turkish Lira (TRY) into the bank account of employees. If wage and salary amounts are not paid into employees' bank accounts, an administrative penalty totaling TRY 100 per employee (per month) is charged to the employer. It is possible to denominate wages/salaries in terms of a foreign currency. In this case, wages/salaries shall be paid in TRY calculated on the basis of the relevant foreign currency rate prevailing as of the payment date.