Employer of Record in Turkey. Hire staff without your own entity.
With an Employer of Record you build sales, service or a development team in Turkey without setting up a company. We employ your staff under Turkish law and handle payroll and social security, you direct the work.
- From one person
- Employer in Istanbul since 2011
- Reply within one working day
Companies that trust us
What an Employer of Record is
An Employer of Record, EoR for short, is the legal employer of your staff in another country. It signs the employment contracts, pays salaries, registers social security and pays wage tax. You decide tasks, goals and the daily work. This lets you test a new market without first founding a company, renting an office and building up accounting.
Your advantages
- Fast market entryWithout legal and administrative hurdles. Your team starts as soon as the contracts are signed.
- Full serviceSales teams, back office and sample warehouse from one source.
- FlexibilityNo long-term commitment; teams grow and shrink with your business.
Three ways to hire in Turkey
Own entity, global platform or a local employer: what the usual routes involve, and how we solve it.
The usual way
- Own entityIncorporation, trade register, tax number, accounting and a business address before the first person is hired. A lot of effort for two employees.
- Global platformOne ticket system for over a hundred countries. Who knows Turkish labour law in your case and looks after your staff in person remains open.
- Freelance contractsQuick to set up, but risky: if someone works full-time under your instructions, the arrangement may be classed as disguised employment, with back payments of social security and severance claims.
- Salaries without adviceWith high inflation, employees renegotiate salaries more often. Without local market data you pay too little and lose people, or too much.
How we work
- Local employer since 2011Our team in Istanbul employs under Turkish law, with its own payroll.
- A personal contactIn German, Turkish and English, for you and your employees.
- From one personNo incorporation, no office, no minimum size.
- Salaries based on market dataWe tell you what roles in Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir cost today.
Who the model suits
Typical are small teams of one to twenty people who work close to the Turkish market or to customers in the region but are managed professionally from Germany.
Labour law in Turkey: what you should know
The framework for employment under Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 (İş Kanunu), as of 2026.
Legal framework: an EoR is not temporary agency work
In Turkey, temporary agency work (geçici iş ilişkisi) is narrowly limited under Art. 7 İş Kanunu. It is only allowed in cases named by law, such as cover for absence or a temporary peak, and is usually limited to four months. Building a permanent team through agency work is therefore not permitted.
An Employer of Record must therefore be set up differently: it is the permanent employer with its own HR responsibility and provides a service to you. How the contract between you and the EoR is designed decides on legal certainty. Have the structure explained to you before you start.
How we work: you sign a service agreement with DEKRA Arbeit Türkei. Your employees have a permanent employment contract with us under Turkish labour law, and we carry the employer duties from payroll to the SGK filings. You agree tasks and goals with your team. The model has been reviewed by lawyers.
Quellen: İş Kanunu No. 4857
Employment contract, probation and working hours
The open-ended employment contract is the rule; fixed terms need an objective reason. Probation may last at most two months, up to four with a collective agreement (Art. 15). The statutory maximum working time is 45 hours per week (Art. 63); overtime is paid with a 50 per cent premium and limited to 270 hours a year.
Notice periods and severance pay
The statutory notice periods depend on length of service (Art. 17). If the employer does not observe them, it owes the pay for the notice period as compensation (ihbar tazminatı).
On top comes severance pay (kıdem tazminatı): after at least one year of service, employees receive 30 days of gross pay per year of service when the employer terminates for reasons other than serious misconduct, and in other cases set by law. It is capped per year, in the first half of 2026 at 64,948.77 lira. Plan a provision for it.
| Length of service | Notice period |
|---|---|
| under 6 months | 2 weeks |
| 6 to 18 months | 4 weeks |
| 18 months to 3 years | 6 weeks |
| over 3 years | 8 weeks |
Protection against dismissal and disputes
Employees in workplaces with at least 30 staff are protected against dismissal after six months of service (Art. 18). The employer then needs a valid reason related to the person, their conduct or the business, and must state it clearly in writing. With an Employer of Record its whole workforce counts, so the protection usually applies to small teams too.
If the dismissal is invalid, the court can order reinstatement. If the employer refuses, it owes compensation of four to eight months’ pay plus up to four months’ pay for the duration of the proceedings. Mediation (arabuluculuk) is mandatory before a lawsuit, and most disputes end there in a settlement. Good documentation of goals, meetings and warnings is therefore the best protection in Turkey as well.
Annual leave and public holidays
Statutory annual leave rises with length of service (Art. 53): 14 working days for one to five years, 20 days from five and 26 days from fifteen years. Employees under 18 and over 50 get at least 20 days. Added to this are the public and religious holidays, including the Ramadan and Sacrifice feasts with about eight days together, whose dates move each year.
Pay, taxes and social security
The statutory minimum wage in 2026 is 33,030 lira gross per month. Qualified specialists earn a multiple of this. Because of high inflation, salaries are in practice often adjusted twice a year.
Social security (SGK), unemployment insurance, income tax at progressive rates of 15 to 40 per cent and stamp duty are deducted from gross pay. The employer’s social security share, including unemployment insurance, is a good fifth of gross pay, slightly less with state incentives. The Employer of Record handles payroll, filings and payments every month.
- Besides gross pay, budget for employer contributions, severance provisions and customary benefits such as meal allowance or private health insurance.
- Agree salaries in lira, but check them against the market regularly, otherwise you lose staff to competitors.
Benefits: what is customary in Turkey
Besides gross pay, specialists in the big cities expect some benefits that are less common in Germany. Employers who do not offer them lose candidates to international corporations and Turkish technology companies.
- Meal allowance: usually as credit on a meal card, tax-advantaged up to a daily amount.
- Travel costs: an allowance for public transport or a shuttle, a company car for field staff.
- Private health insurance: in addition to state cover through SGK, standard for specialists in many industries.
- Bonuses: in some industries extra monthly salaries or performance bonuses, often part of the annual pay round.
What has to happen before the first working day
In Turkey, registration with social security (SGK) must take place before the first working day, not afterwards. Anyone working without registration exposes the employer to fines. The employer therefore needs ID data, address, qualifications and the agreed terms in good time.
Employees’ personal data is subject to the Turkish Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK). If data is transferred to you in Germany, for reporting or system access for example, this needs a legal basis under KVKK and under the GDPR. Also agree in the contract who provides work equipment and who owns the rights to work results such as software, designs or documentation.
Quellen: KVKK Law No. 6698
Tax risk: the permanent establishment
An Employer of Record takes over the employer obligations, but not every tax question. If sales staff regularly conclude contracts in the name of your company, a so-called agency permanent establishment can arise in Turkey, with its own tax liability for the profits made there. Clarify powers of attorney and processes with your tax adviser in advance.
When your own entity pays off
An Employer of Record is ideal for market entry and for small to medium-sized teams. If the team grows significantly or you need your own contracts with customers in Turkey, your own entity pays off. The employment relationships can then be transferred, and employees keep their length of service.
Since 2024, Turkish commercial law requires minimum capital of 50,000 lira to found a limited company (Ltd. Şti.) and 250,000 lira for a joint-stock company (A.Ş.). Add notary, trade register, tax adviser and a business address. The effort usually only pays off when the team grows permanently or you want to sign contracts and issue invoices in Turkey yourself.
Looking for an Employer of Record for Germany?
We are an employer in Turkey. If you want to employ staff in Germany, see our Employer of Record in Germany, run with our partners: EURA with temporary staffing at nine locations and TEKOM with direct placement in defence, aerospace and engineering. Specialists from Turkey who are to be employed by you in Germany are covered under recruitment and relocation.
In four steps
Costs and model
You pay your employees’ gross salaries, the statutory employer costs and a monthly service fee. No set-up costs, no long-term commitment.
- Pay and employer costsGross pay, employer social security contributions and the severance provision, shown transparently.
- Service feeMonthly per employee, for contract, payroll, filings and support.
- RecruitmentBring your preferred candidates or let us search for you.
Lücke: Höhe der Servicegebühr und Beispielrechnung in Euro
Frequently asked questions
What does an employee in Turkey cost?
Gross pay plus employer contributions of a good fifth, a severance provision, customary benefits and the Employer of Record’s service fee. Specialist salaries are well below German levels but rise regularly because of inflation.
Is an Employer of Record legal in Turkey?
Yes, if it acts as the permanent employer with its own HR responsibility. Permanent agency work, by contrast, is not allowed under Art. 7 İş Kanunu. So pay attention to the contract structure.
Who is the legal employer?
DEKRA Arbeit Türkei. You sign a service agreement with us, your employees an employment contract with us under Turkish labour law. You set tasks and goals.
Do we need a tax number or a bank account in Turkey?
No. We send you a monthly invoice; all payments to employees and authorities run through us.
Can we bring our own candidates?
Yes. If you have already found your preferred candidates, we take care of the contract and employment. Otherwise we search for you.
Can the employees move to our own entity later?
Yes. If you found your own company, we transfer the employment relationships. Length of service is preserved.
Whom do you want to hire in Turkey?
Tell us the role, the number of people and the desired start. We will get back to you within one working day with a model, a timeline and a first cost estimate.
Your team in Turkey, without an entity.
In a first call we clarify roles, model and costs.
