💰 New Partner Program: Get $2K per client referral Learn more →
Country hiring guide

Hiring in Turkey 🇹🇷

Turkey offers a large, young, cost-competitive workforce bridging Europe and Asia, with a distinctive statutory severance system. All-in employer cost runs around 1.23x the gross salary. Here is what to know before your first Turkish hire.

Calculate a Turkey hire →
Capital cityAnkara
CurrencyTurkish lira (TRY)
LanguagesTurkish
Population~85 million
Payroll frequencyMonthly
VAT standard rate20%
Employer burden*~22.75% of gross
TGTC flat EOR fee$399/mo · Tier A
Overview

Employing in Turkey

Employment runs under the Labour Law, with written contracts and mandatory SGK social-security registration. A statutory severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) accrues at about a month's salary per year of service.

Minimum wage

  • Gross TRY 26,005.50/month (2025)
  • 5-point SGK incentive cuts burden to ~17.75%

Payroll cycle & extra pay

  • Monthly payroll
  • No mandatory 13th salary

Public holidays

  • ~14.5 days of public holidays
  • Paid days off

Onboarding & probation

  • Probation max 2 months
  • Extendable to 4 months by CBA
Employer costs

What you pay on top of salary

Employer SGK contributions add roughly 20-23% on top of gross salary (lower with the standard incentive), plus a statutory severance accrual on top.

Employer contribution*Rate
Pension (disability/old-age/death)11%
General health insurance7.5%
Short-term/work accident2%*
Unemployment insurance2%

Severance ceiling

Statutory severance is roughly 30 days' pay per year of service, subject to a legal ceiling per year, payable after one year of service.

Employee-side taxes

Employees pay their SGK share plus income and stamp tax, withheld at source. Withholding is the employer's responsibility, which under EOR means ours.

Types of leave

Statutory leave in Turkey

Annual leave

  • 14 days (1-5 yrs), 20 (5-15 yrs), 26 (15+ yrs)

Maternity & parental leave

  • Maternity 16 weeks (8 pre, 8 post)*, paid by social security

Sick leave

  • SGK pays from day 3; medical report required

Other leave

  • Paternity 5 days; marriage 3 days
Employment termination

Ending employment in Turkey

Notice

  • 2-8 weeks depending on tenure

Severance

  • 30 days gross pay per year, after 1 year; capped at ceiling

Probation

  • Max 2 months (4 by CBA); no notice or severance during

Contractor risk

  • Misclassification triggers SGK back pay; reinstatement possible

*All figures are estimates from public sources (2025-26), pending ops verification - same basis as the EOR cost calculator. Not tax or legal advice.

Employ in Turkey without opening an entity

Compliant Turkish employment contract, payroll, SGK, and severance, handled. One invoice, flat $399 per month.

Get a Turkey quote