Pursuant to the Labor Law, there are various types of employment contracts:

a) Employment contracts for “temporary” and “permanent” work
b) Employment contracts for a “definite period” or an “indefinite period”
c) Employment contracts for “part-time” and “full-time” work
d) Employment contracts for “work-upon-call”
e) Employment contracts with a trial period
f) Employment contacts constituted with a team contract

Employment contracts are exempt from stamp tax and any type of duties and fees.

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.

Working Hours and Overtime
Under the Labor Law, the maximum regular working hours are 45 hours per week. In principle, 45 hours should be split equally among the working days. However, in accordance with the Labor Law, working hours may be arranged by the employer within the legal limits.

As a rule, hours exceeding the limit of 45 hours per week are to be paid as “overtime hours”. The wage/salary for each hour of overtime work is paid by raising the hourly rate of the regular working salary by fifty percent. 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 as wage for one-day holiday and overtime wage. These rates may be increased on the basis of a collective or personal employment contracts between employees and employers. 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 1^st, April 23^rd, May 1^st, May 19^th, August 30^th, October 29^th), 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:

These benefits are the minimum levels set by law and may be increased on the basis of a collective or personal employment contracts.

As per the Regulation regarding the Payment of Wages, Premiums, Bonuses and Any Other Remuneration, in case the employer recruits at least 5 workers within the same workplace or across the whole country; any payment to workers shall be made through banks. If wage and salary amounts are not paid into employees’ bank accounts, an administrative penalty 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.

 Date: 13 March 2017

Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither MuhasebeNews nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

On the other hand, employers who employ 5 or more than 5 employers should transfer the base pay and fringe pays to the employees’ bank account.

2- SINCE WHEN HAS THIS OBLIGATION BEEN IN FORCE IN TURKEY?
This practice came into force in 01 January 2009.
This legislation was obligated with ‘’ regulations on paying the wages, premiums, contributions and all the fees related to this qualification through banks’’ published in the gazette no. 27058 and dated 18 November 2008.

When this legislation came into force for the first time, it involved work places with 10 or more than 10 employees.

The minimum number of employees, in relation to the aforementioned payments made via banks, was reduced from 10 to 5 by the date of 01 June 2016 with the new regulations published in the gazette numbered 29718 and dated 21.05.2016.

It means that the employer should pay the base pay and fringe pays through the bank by the date of June 2016 (including June) if he/she employs 5 or more than 5 employees.

3- WHICH SECTORS ARE INCLUDED?
3.1- EMPLOYEE working under Turkish Code of Obligations
3.2- JOURNALIST working under the law numbered 5953
3.3- EMPLOYEE employed other than journalist in newspapers and periodicals, in press and photograph agencies
3.4- SHIPMAN working under Maritime Labor Law
3.5- EMPLOYEE working under Labor Law numbered 4857

4- HOW CAN ONE MAKE A PAYMENT WITHOUT A BANK?
The employees, vice principles or the third parties may make payments through PTT if there is no branch bank near the workplace or there is no chance to make the payments via bank.

5- THE EXPLANATION OF THE PAYMENT SHOULD BE WRITTEN CLEARLY!
The employee, vice principle or the third parties should specify the qualification of the payments made via banks in the explanation part of the account. (Salary, Premium, bonus, compensation etc.)

6- WHAT IS THE PENALTY FOR DISOBEYING THE LAW?
The penalty of nonpayment of salary, Premium, bonus and compensations through personal bank accounts is 167 TL on the basis of each month and each employee (for 2017).

For example, if the employer paid the salaries in person for 6 employees and for 4 months;
167 TL x 6 Employees x 4 Months = 4.008 TL will be the amount of penalty.

Source: The Regulations of Ministry of Labor and Social Security, official gazette

Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither MuhasebeNews nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.