Employer of Record in Türkei

How an Employer of Record works in Turkey

An Employer of Record (EOR) is a company that acts as an employer on behalf of another business.

It is typically utilized by overseas business owners who want to hire in another country without having a legal entity there.

An EOR also handles the administrative and legal aspects of a business, such as onboarding employees, payroll, taxes, employee benefits, and contract terminations.

Using an EOR in Turkey will help you hire Turkish employees without the cost and hassle of launching your own business entity there.

Rivermate’s EOR services are built on three pillars:

• Local HR experts who understand the market and employment laws.
• A network of partners that allows us to provide competitive benefits.
• The Rivermate platform that simplifies every aspect of the employment relationship.

Using Rivermate to hire in Turkey ensures all employees are looked after by a reputable entity that understands all local laws and practices.

Turkey labor market: At a glance

The hiring market
Greatest hiring activity:	Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya.
Hiring timelines:	Three days for local workers, two months for expats.
In-demand sectors:	Automotive, textile, construction, energy aerospace, oil and gas, iron and steel.
Sectors with skills shortages:	Textiles, construction, services, carpentry, oil and gas.2

The salary market
Employer tax contributions:	Employers must make contributions to social security and unemployment insurance. The headline rate for social security contributions is 21.75% of each employee’s wages, but this can be lowered in certain scenarios. The contribution rate for unemployment insurance is 2%.1 Both contributions are capped at TRY297,270.00 per month.6
Monthly minimum wage:	TRY33,030.3
Average gross annual salary:	TRY609,020.4
Personal income tax rates:	Turkey uses a progressive income tax system with brackets ranging from 15% to 40%.5

What will it cost to hire in Turkey

Salary requirements

On 1 January 2026, the gross minimum wage was increased to 33,030 Turkish Lira per month. This is based on a standard workweek of 45 hours.

Meanwhile, TaxRavens estimates the average annual salary in Turkey to be around TRY609,020.4

Employer contributions

Employers must make social security contributions for each employee they hire. The headline rate for these contributions is 21.75% of an employee’s wages. However, there are conditions where this rate can be reduced to 19.75% (or 16.75% for the manufacturing sector). This excludes a separate unemployment insurance contribution of 2%.6

These conditions include:

• Submitting payroll and social security declarations on time;
• Paying social security contributions on time;
• Having no outstanding social security debts;
• Employing workers legally and accurately reporting them.7

So, it’s not difficult to meet these conditions if you have an efficient and functional payroll department. When you work with an experienced EOR, you’ll hand this side of your Turkish businesses to reliable professionals with in-depth knowledge of Turkish labor laws.

Social security premiums are calculated on salary limits capped at TRY297,270.00 per month.

Employers also have to contribute toward unemployment insurance at a rate of 2% of each employee’s wages, also capped at TRY297,270.00 per month.6

Statutory benefits

Employees in Turkey are entitled to paid annual leave once they have served their employer for a year. The number of days of paid leave received each year is based on their level of tenure.

Years of service	Paid annual leave
Less than 1 year	Nil
1–5 years	14 days
More than 5 but less than 15 years	20 days
15 years or more	26 days

Employees aged 18 or younger, or 50 or older, must receive at least 20 days of annual leave once eligible.

Employees can receive a temporary incapacity allowance from their third day of absence with a medically certified sickness absence, although this is covered by the social security payments, rather than the employer.8

Female employees receive 24 weeks of maternity leave, or 26 weeks for multiple pregnancies. Maternity pay is covered by social security. The amount received depends on their previous short-term social insurance contributions, insured earnings and the statutory formula. The spouse of a pregnant employee receives 10 days of paternity leave.

New mothers are entitled to request up to six months of unpaid leave after their maternity leave expires. On top of that, they can take up to 1.5 hours off work per day for breastfeeding until their child turns one year old.9

It’s common for candidates to expect other non-statutory bonuses such as meal or transportation benefits. Senior white-collar candidates commonly expect private health insurance, while sales roles commonly include performance-based bonuses and a company car.

Employment Cost Calculator

Use our Employment Cost Calculator to estimate the cost of hiring employees in Turkey.

What it’s really like hiring in Turkey

Market condition	What an employer needs to know
Talent availability	Turkey has a population of around 85 million, and many thriving international-level universities, so there’s a large pool of talented employees.
Top-paying sectors	Tech, healthcare.1
Skills shortages	A recent OECD report suggested Turkey’s biggest skills shortages are within middle-level and blue-collar jobs.2
Key employer challenge	Navigating the unstable Turkish economy, particularly since the escalation of conflicts in surrounding countries.

Many international businesses are hiring in Turkey despite recent economic problems.

Turkey remains attractive due to its geopolitical situation, useful proximity to several markets, and its high level of intelligent, dedicated employees, among other reasons.

The onboarding process for Turkish nationals can typically be completed in as little as three days, provided that they have all the necessary documents to hand.

Hiring foreigners in Turkey

The onboarding process for hiring foreigners in Turkey is also reasonably straightforward. Of course, it requires extra documents to be processed, including work permits and visas. Typically, the process takes about two months to complete.

Business owners will need to consider the expat quota in Turkey, which states that business entities must hire five Turkish nationals for every foreign hire.

There are several exceptions which may allow you to bypass this rule though.

For example:

• Workplaces with net annual sales of TRY 50,000,000 will be exempt for up to five foreigners;
• Foreigners whose parent or child is a Turkish citizen are exempt;
• Foreigners married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years are exempt;
• Foreigners who have already been granted a long-term residence permit are exempt.11

Compliance risks that employers must know about in Turkey

Candidates will often negotiate a net salary in Turkey

It’s not uncommon for job candidates to negotiate a net salary with extra bonuses during the recruitment process in Turkey. Employers must remain aware of the extent to which guaranteeing a net salary can increase the gross salary required.

Rules for hiring contractors in Turkey

Turkey doesn’t have any specific regulations that make it more difficult to hire contractors, provided the arrangements represent genuine self-employment.

But if a business hires a contractor to avoid obligations associated with employment, they could come unstuck.

If the contractor works for a company in a manner that resembles employment, they could be reclassified by labor authorities. In such a case, social security contributions and other statutory benefits would be due.

Employees can choose how they are rewarded for working beyond contracted hours

If an employee in Turkey works beyond the weekly hours agreed in their contract, this is regarded as either extra hours or overtime, and can be compensated with higher rates of pay.

The statutory rates of increased pay are:

• At least 125% of a worker’s regular hourly wage for each extra hour worked, up to 45 hours per week (Extra hours);
• At least 150% of a worker’s regular hourly wage for all hours worked beyond 45 hours per week (Overtime).

However, the employee may choose to be compensated instead with extra time off work, with no wages deducted.

They can claim:

• One hour and 15 minutes of time off for each “extra hour” worked.
• One hour and 30 minutes of time off for each hour of “overtime” worked.

This time off must be claimed within six months of it being earned.9

Dismissing employees in Turkey

If you want to terminate an employee’s contract outside of their probation period in Turkey, you will need to deliver a written notice which includes a valid reason for termination.

An employee generally must have an opportunity to respond before dismissal for conduct or performance reasons.

The amount of notice required depends on their tenure at the company.

Length of service	Minimum notice
Less than 6 months	2 weeks
6 months to less than 1.5 years	4 weeks
1.5 years to 3 years	6 weeks
More than 3 years	8 weeks

Employers have the option to pay the employee in advance for their notice period (payment in lieu) if they wish to dismiss them immediately. Unused annual leave must be paid upon dismissal as well.

In the case of gross misconduct, employers can dismiss workers immediately with no payment in lieu required.

The scenarios which constitute gross misconduct are detailed clearly in Turkey’s labor laws. The laws also include a large list of scenarios which do NOT constitute valid reasons for dismissal.

If an employee has been dismissed after more than a year of service for their employer, they could be owed severance pay.

The general calculation for severance is one month’s wages for every year of service, with partial years paid via pro rata. However, there a statutory ceiling limiting severance pay.12 For dismissals between 1 July 2026 and 31 December 2026, this ceiling is TRY 73,729.87.13

Benefits of hiring employees through an EOR in Turkey

Setting up your own legal business entity in Turkey is expensive and time-consuming.

If you’re only looking to hire a handful of Turkish employees, it will likely not make sense to set up your own entity there.

An EOR provides a faster and more affordable solution to help launch the Turkish arm of your business.

At Rivermate, we help employers by:

• providing a local business entity in Turkey.
• handling payroll, taxes, benefits, terminations and all other administrative aspects of running a Turkish business.
• Ensuring compliance with all aspects of Turkish employment regulations.

This way, instead of worrying about the complicated aspects of Turkish employment, you can focus all efforts on managing staff and growing your business.

Ready to hire in Turkey?

Hiring in Turkey involves more than discovering the best person for the job. From managing payroll, taxes and benefits to ensuring full compliance with local employment law, Rivermate handles all the administration so you can hire with confidence.

Talk to a Turkey Hiring Expert

Sources:

1. https://csgb.gov.tr/tr/poco-pages/asgari-ucret
2. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1738364/full
3. https://www.csgb.gov.tr/cgm/haberler/23122025
4. https://taxravens.com/en/turkey/salary
5. https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
6. https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/individual/other-taxes
7. https://sgk.gov.tr/Content/Post/c52f99f0-da6c-4029-9b9a-a0d6f96a6a42/Guncel-Sigorta-Primi-Tesvik-Destek-ve-Indirimleri-2026-08-04-10-29-55
8. https://ozbekcpa.com/incapacity-report-in-turkey/
9. https://antislaverylaw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Turkey-Labour-Law.pdf
10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/turkey.shtml
11. https://csgb.gov.tr/uigm/en/calisma-izni/calisma-izni-degerlendirme-kriterleri/
12. https://csgb.gov.tr/en/frequently-asked-questions/general-directorate-of-labor/business-rules
13. https://f-chain.com/turkiyes-severance-pay-ceiling-rises-as-of-1-july-2026
14. https://www.officeholidays.com/countries/turkey/2027