Turkey (TR)
Turkey is a transcontinental nation straddling Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait, uniting 85 million people under a rich civilisational heritage stretching from the ancient Hittites and Romans to the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire.
Employment Rights
Sick leave, dismissal protection and red flags in Turkey.
Turkish employment law is governed primarily by İş Kanunu No. 4857 (Labour Law No. 4857) and applies to most employees. Key features: minimum wage (asgari ücret) adjusted semi-annually for inflation; mandatory SGK registration; severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) accruing from year 1; annual leave based on service length. Turkey ratified most core ILO conventions. Enforcement: through ALO 170 (Ministry of Labour hotline) and İş Mahkemesi (Labour Court). Foreign workers on work permits have the same labour rights as Turkish employees. Note: significant portions of the Turkish economy operate informally (kayıt dışı ekonomi) — always insist on a formal SGK-registered employment contract.
Sick leave
Rules: Sick leave (hastalık izni): employee must obtain a medical certificate (istirahat raporu / doktor raporu) from a doctor. Doctor writes the number of rest days needed. Employee must notify employer and provide the doctor's note. SGK pays istirahat ödeneği (sick pay) from day 3 onwards for those with sufficient SGK contribution.
Doctor note: Doctor's note required from day 1 for SGK sick pay eligibility. Employer may require immediate notification of illness.
Employer pay: Employer is not legally required to pay full salary during sick leave (unlike some European countries). Employer and employee may negotiate this in the contract. SGK pays sick pay at 2/3 of average daily earnings for inpatient care and 1/2 for outpatient treatment.
Long-term: Long-term sickness: after the initial sick pay period, the employee may be covered by SGK maluliyet ödeneği (disability benefit) if the condition results in long-term incapacity. The employer can terminate after waiting a period equal to 1.5 times the legally required notice period plus the sick period — but must pay severance (kıdem tazminatı).
Dismissal protection
Law: İş güvencesi (job security): employees with 6+ months service at employers with 30+ employees have protection against unfair dismissal (haksız fesih). Dismissal must be based on valid reason (geçerli sebep): employee capability, employee conduct, or operational requirements. Invalid dismissal: employee can apply to İş Mahkemesi (Labour Court) for reinstatement (işe iade) or compensation (4–8 months salary). Note: employers with fewer than 30 employees have fewer restrictions — termination is easier but severance still applies.
Deadline to sue: 1 month (30 days) from dismissal date to file an arbitration (arabuluculuk — mandatory before court) claim for unfair dismissal.
Probation
Deneme süresi (probation period): maximum 2 months by law; up to 4 months by collective agreement. During probation, either party can terminate immediately without notice and without payment of ihbar tazminatı (notice pay) or kıdem tazminatı (severance). However, other employment protections still apply (discrimination, SGK registration). No explicit legal minimum probation period — common is 2 months for most roles.
Notice periods
İhbar süreleri (notice periods) based on service length: under 6 months service: 2 weeks notice; 6 months to 1.5 years: 4 weeks; 1.5 years to 3 years: 6 weeks; over 3 years: 8 weeks. Both employer and employee must observe notice. Garden leave: employer may pay in lieu of notice (ihbar tazminatı — notice pay). Kıdem tazminatı (severance pay): 30 days of gross monthly salary per complete year of service, due when employer terminates without just cause, employee resigns for specific legal reasons (marriage for women, military service, reaching pension age), or when employment contract expires. Maximum kıdem tazminatı ceiling set annually.
Working time
Max hours: 45 hours per week maximum (legal limit under İş Kanunu Art. 63). Normally 9 hours per day maximum (5-day week = 45 hours). Some sectors have specific rules (transport, healthcare, etc.).
Min rest: Daily rest: minimum 11 consecutive hours. Weekly rest: minimum 35 consecutive hours (typically Sunday). During work: for 4–7.5 hours of work — 30 minutes break; for 7.5+ hours — 1 hour break (minimum). These breaks are not counted as work time.
Overtime: Fazla mesai (overtime): maximum 270 hours per year. Overtime must be agreed in writing. Overtime pay: 1.5x regular hourly rate, or compensatory rest at 1.5 hours per overtime hour. Night work (22:00–06:00): additional considerations — continuous night work limited. Overtime rules for expats: same as Turkish employees.
Vacation
Yıllık ücretli izin (annual paid leave): 14 days for 1–5 years of service; 20 days for 5–15 years; 26 days for over 15 years. Leave entitlement accrues from start of employment but is typically taken after completing 1 year. Additional leave for underground and continuous work. Annual leave cannot be replaced by cash payment during employment (except on termination). Employees may request leave timing — employer can adjust to operational needs but cannot eliminate it. Bayram and public holidays (approximately 14.5 days): separate from annual leave entitlement.
Anti-discrimination
Türkiye'nin anti-ayrımcılık mevzuatı: discrimination prohibited in employment on grounds of language, race, colour, sex, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion, and sect (İş Kanunu Art. 5). Sexual harassment (cinsel taciz) prohibited and both criminal and civil remedies available. Gender equality: women have equal employment rights and protections. Mobbing (işyerinde psikolojik taciz) — workplace psychological harassment — explicitly prohibited and actionable. Enforcement: ALO 170 (Ministry of Labour complaint line), Labour Courts.
Contract red flags
- !Employment without an SGK registration (sigortasız çalışma) — illegal; you have no healthcare, pension, or unemployment insurance rights; employer can be fined.
- !Pressure to sign a pre-dated or falsely-dated resignation letter (istifa dilekçesi) — a common trick to avoid paying kıdem tazminatı (severance); refuse categorically.
- !No written employment contract — oral contracts are legally valid but very difficult to prove; insist on a signed yazılı iş sözleşmesi.
- !Salary paid partly or entirely "under the table" (elden para) — reduces your SGK benefits and pension entitlement based on declared salary; creates tax complications.
- !Deneme süresi (probation) exceeding 2 months without a collective agreement justification.
- !Contract terms that purport to waive your statutory rights (annual leave, severance) — such waivers are void under Turkish law.
- !Work permit (çalışma izni) not arranged by employer before you start work — working without a valid work permit is illegal for you and your employer.
- !Confiscation of your passport by employer — completely illegal under Turkish and international law; report to Göç İdaresi.
- !Salary below asgari ücret (minimum wage) — TRY 33,030 gross/month (TRY 28,075.50 net) from 1 January 2026, set by the Asgari Ücret Tespit Komisyonu; applies to all workers regardless of sector.
Employment Rights
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