The employment contract is where a foreign employer’s exposure in Türkiye is either contained or created. Turkish employment law is built on Labour Act No. 4857 (İş Kanunu), a protective statute that sets a floor of rights no contract can lower, and it reads ambiguities against the employer. Work excluded by Art. 4 of the Act, such as sea and air transport, domestic service, apprentices and athletes, falls under the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (TBK) or a special statute; senior managers who run the whole business remain under the Act but are excluded from its job-security rules (Art. 18). Getting the paperwork right at the start is far cheaper than repairing it in a reinstatement or severance dispute years later.
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We draft and review contracts, handbooks and policies for employers building or running a workforce in Türkiye, and we tell you where the standard Western template quietly breaks Turkish rules. This service sits alongside our wider labour and employment practice and our guidance on termination and severance; for the full picture, see our pillar guide to employing staff in Türkiye.
Choosing the Right Contract Type
The indefinite-term contract (belirsiz süreli iş sözleşmesi) is the legal default. A fixed-term contract (belirli süreli iş sözleşmesi) is one made in writing and tied to objective conditions (objektif koşullar), such as fixed-term work, completion of a specific job or the occurrence of a specific event (Art. 11). A common structuring mistake is to treat fixed terms as a convenient way to avoid job security: a fixed-term contract may not be chained without a material reason (esaslı neden), and if it is, the contract is treated as indefinite-term from the outset (Art. 11).
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| Contract type | When it fits | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite-term | The default for ongoing roles | None; standard structure |
| Fixed-term | Fixed-term work, a specific job or event | Objective conditions; written form (Art. 11) |
| Part-time / on-call | Irregular or reduced hours | Pay pro-rated (Art. 13); on-call needs a written contract (Art. 14) |
| Remote work | Off-site or hybrid roles | Written contract (Art. 14) and the 2021 Remote Working Regulation |
Writing is mandatory for contracts of one year or more (Art. 8), for fixed-term, on-call and remote-work contracts (Arts. 11 and 14) and for a non-compete (TBK Art. 444). Even where an oral contract would stand, we insist on writing, because it is the employer’s clearest evidence of what was agreed.
A signed contract is not a formality to file away. In a Turkish labour dispute it is the employer’s primary evidence, and a vague or incomplete contract is read against the party that drafted it. Every material term the employer wants to rely on later has to be on the page now.
The prior question is whether there should be an employment contract with this employer at all: a temporary employment relationship, a subcontracting arrangement or an independent supplier each answer a different need, and each has statutory limits; they are compared on our workforce structuring and flexible employment page.
Probation, Working Time and Leave
The probation period (deneme süresi) may run for up to two months, extendable to four only by a collective bargaining agreement, and applies only where the contract contains a probation clause (Art. 15). During probation either side may terminate without notice or severance. The contract and handbook also have to respect the statutory working-time framework: the legal maximum is 45 hours per week, work above that is overtime (fazla çalışma) paid at 1.5 times the hourly wage (or, if the worker chooses, 1 hour 30 minutes of time off per overtime hour), capped at 270 hours a year and requiring the worker’s consent. Annual paid leave (yıllık ücretli izin), earned after one year of service, may not be less than 14, 20 or 26 days depending on length of service, and not less than 20 days for workers aged 18 or under or 50 or over (Art. 53). Because the Minimum Wage Determination Commission sets the minimum wage at least every two years (Art. 39) and it can change at short notice, our templates reference the statutory mechanism rather than a fixed figure that dates instantly.
The Clauses That Actually Protect You
Boilerplate confidentiality and non-compete wording lifted from a foreign template is where enforceability is most often lost. A non-compete clause (rekabet yasağı) under TBK Arts. 444-447 must be undertaken in writing and is valid only if the employment gave the employee insight into the customer base, production secrets or the employer’s business and use of that knowledge could cause the employer significant damage; it may not unfairly endanger the employee’s economic future through unsuitable limits of place, time or type of business, and it may not exceed two years save in special circumstances. Under Art. 445/2 an excessive clause can be limited by the judge in scope or duration. We draft these clauses, together with confidentiality (gizlilik) and IP-assignment terms, within the limits Arts. 444 and 445 set, and we coordinate them with any data-protection obligations the role involves. Where an employee has already left with confidential material, the contractual clause is only half the answer and the Commercial Code supplies the rest, including interim relief; that work sits with our trade secrets and confidentiality practice.
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The governing-law clause is one of them, and its limits are set out in choice of law in a Turkish employment contract. The penalty attached to a restrictive covenant is another, examined in penalty clauses in non-compete covenants. So is the invention clause, whose statutory backdrop is set out in employee inventions and the four-month claim window.
Handbooks and Workplace Policies
A contract governs one relationship; a handbook governs the workplace. We build handbooks and standalone policies that document overtime consent, leave, the disciplinary and grievance procedure, equal treatment and anti-harassment, remote-work arrangements and the employer’s duties under Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331. The value is practical: when a dispute arrives, a well-drafted policy is what lets the employer show that a rule existed, was communicated, and was applied through a fair procedure, the difference between a defensible dismissal and an expensive one. For companies still setting up, we sequence this alongside company formation so the workforce is on compliant paper from the first hire.
Related Practice Areas & Strategic Legal Guides
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- Employment Contracts & Workplace Policies: Compliant contracts, remote work policies, and non-compete covenants for foreign employers.
- Termination & Severance Under Turkish Law: Severance pay calculation (Kıdem), valid termination grounds, and defending reinstatement claims.
- Workplace Disputes & Labor Litigation: Mandatory labor mediation and Labor Court defense across Istanbul.
- Legal Matters in Istanbul for Foreign Clients and Companies: Labor law compliance, work permits, and cross-border employer representation.
