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Turkey Hiring Guide

Hire in Turkey compliantly. Navigate employer SGK contributions that just increased under Law 7566, severance pay with no cap on years of service and a cumulative income tax system that changes your employees’ effective rate every month.

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Capital

Ankara

Language

Turkish

Average Salary

TRY 42,000

Payroll Cycle

Monthly

Employer Cost

22-24%

Paid Leave

14 days

Public Holidays

15.5 days

Tax Rates

15-40%

Turkey Guides

Hiring guides covering regulations, contributions and costs when you hire in Turkey. Updated for 2026.

Average Salary in Turkey 2026: What Employers Pay

The average salary in Turkey in 2026 sits around TRY 30,000 to 45,000 per month gross, depending on industry, city, and experience. With a minimum wage of TRY 33,030 gross and employer social security costs of roughly 22.5%, understanding the full cost picture matters for any company hiring in Turkey. This guide covers salaries by role, city, and sector, plus income tax, employer costs, and how Turkey compares regionally.

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EOR Onboarding: What Actually Happens After You Sign

Most EOR providers promise onboarding in 24 to 48 hours. The reality depends on the country, the role, and whether your employee needs a work permit. This guide breaks down the EOR onboarding process step by step, from initial scoping to first payroll, with realistic timelines for 10+ regions, a clear breakdown of who is responsible for what (you vs. the EOR), the documents your employee needs to provide, and the delays that catch companies off guard.

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Employer of Record vs Staffing Agency: What’s the Difference?

An Employer of Record (EOR) and a staffing agency both involve third parties in the hiring process, but they solve fundamentally different problems. An EOR becomes the legal employer of your workforce and handles payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance. A staffing agency finds and places candidates but does not typically take on legal employment responsibility. Choosing the wrong model can lead to compliance failures, inflated costs, and operational complexity, particularly when hiring internationally. This guide explains how each model works, where they overlap, where they differ, and when to use one, the other, or both.

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Best Employer of Record in Turkey

Law 7566 changed three things simultaneously from January 2026: SGK employer rate rose from 11% to 12%, the non-manufacturing discount shrank from 4 to 2 points, and the contribution ceiling jumped from 7.5x to 9x minimum wage. Any provider not reflecting all three changes is non-compliant.

Our assessment of EOR providers in Turkey evaluates SGK accuracy under the new law, cumulative income tax calculation, severance provisioning and work permit management.

Best EORs in Turkey

Before You Hire in Turkey

SGK employer rate increased to 21.75% from January 2026. Law 7566 raised the MYO component from 11% to 12%. Non-manufacturing employers receive a reduced 2-point discount (down from 4). Manufacturing retains the 5-point discount through 2026.
Minimum wage is TRY 33,030 gross / TRY 28,075 net per month. A 27% increase from 2025. Minimum wage earners are fully exempt from income tax and stamp tax. This exemption also partially benefits higher earners as a tax credit.
Severance is 30 days’ gross salary per year of service. There is a per-year ceiling (updated semi-annually), but no cap on total years. A 10-year employee can accumulate significant exposure. Severance is triggered by employer-initiated termination, retirement, military service or resignation for just cause.
The contribution ceiling rose to 9x minimum wage (TRY 297,270/month). Previously 7.5x. Higher-paid employees now have SGK calculated on a larger share of their earnings, increasing employer costs for senior and expatriate staff.
A mandatory supplementary pension (TES) is expected in late 2026. The government plans to convert the current voluntary auto-enrollment (OKS) into a mandatory employer+employee pension scheme. Budget for an additional ~2% employer contribution.

Why hire in Turkey

Large, young, educated workforce

Turkey has 85 million people with a median age of 33. Over 200 universities graduate 800,000+ students annually. Companies that hire in Turkey access deep talent in engineering, software, finance and manufacturing.

Competitive salaries in EUR/USD terms

The lira depreciated significantly since 2021. A senior software engineer earning TRY 80,000/month costs roughly USD 2,300. For European companies, Turkey offers nearshore talent at a fraction of EU rates.

Europe-adjacent timezone and geography

UTC+3 overlaps with European, Middle Eastern and African business hours. Istanbul is a 3-hour flight from London, Frankfurt and Dubai, making Turkey a natural bridge between Europe and the Middle East.

Strong manufacturing and tech ecosystem

Turkey is a top-20 global economy with deep expertise in automotive, textiles and electronics. Government incentives via Technoparks offer SGK exemptions for qualifying tech companies.

Key Employment Facts

When you hire in Turkey, annual leave starts at 14 days and scales with tenure. Combined with ~15.5 public holiday days, 16 weeks maternity leave and uncapped severance, total entitlements are substantial.

Key Employment Facts
Minimum Wage	TRY 33,030/month gross (TRY 28,075 net, from January 2026)
Probation Period	Up to 2 months (extendable to 4 via collective agreement)
Standard Working Hours	45 hours/week (max 11 hours/day)
Paid Annual Leave	14 days (1-5 years), 20 days (5-15 years), 26 days (15+ years)
Notice Period	2-8 weeks by tenure
13th Salary	Not statutory
Sick Leave	No statutory limit (SGK pays from day 3 at 66.7%, employer covers first 2 days)
Maternity Leave	16 weeks (8 pre + 8 post) at 66.7% via SGK

Good to Know: Turkey uses a cumulative income tax system. The tax rate applied to each month’s salary depends on the employee’s year-to-date earnings. An employee might start January at 15% and reach 27% or 35% by mid-year as cumulative income crosses bracket thresholds. Net pay decreases through the year even though gross stays the same. Roughly 40% of Turkish workers earn at or near minimum wage, meaning the income tax exemption for minimum wage earners affects a very large portion of the workforce.

What to Watch When Hiring in Turkey

Severance liability is uncapped by years

30 days' gross salary per completed year, with a per-year ceiling but no limit on total years. A long-tenured employee builds significant exposure that must be provisioned from day one.

SGK discount requires full compliance

Manufacturing gets 5 points, non-manufacturing gets 2 points (reduced from 4 in 2026). One missed SGK filing or late payment and you lose the discount for that period.

Bayram holidays disrupt operations for days

Ramazan Bayramı (3.5 days) and Kurban Bayramı (4.5 days) effectively shut down most businesses. Many employees extend these breaks with annual leave, creating gaps of 9+ days.

Currency volatility erodes real compensation

The lira lost ~80% against USD since 2021. If you pay in TRY, employees' purchasing power erodes. Many employers offer periodic adjustments or partial indexing to retain talent.

Employer Costs and Employee Taxes in Turkey

When you hire in Turkey, total employer social charges range from 19-24% depending on sector and discount eligibility. Law 7566 increased costs for most non-manufacturing employers from January 2026.

Employer Contributions (2026)
Contribution	Employer Rate
SGK (full rate, no discount)	21.75% of gross
SGK (with 2-point discount, non-manufacturing)	19.75%
SGK (with 5-point discount, manufacturing)	16.75%
Unemployment Insurance	2%
Total Employer (non-manufacturing with discount)	~21.75%
Total Employer (manufacturing with discount)	~18.75%
SGK ceiling	TRY 297,270/month (9x minimum wage)

Employee Taxes (2026)
Tax / Contribution	Employee Rate
Income Tax (progressive, cumulative)	15-40% (5 brackets, minimum wage exempt)
SGK (employee share)	14% of gross
Unemployment Insurance	1%
Stamp Tax	0.759% of gross (minimum wage exempt)

Good to Know: Turkey’s minimum wage support of TRY 1,270/month per employee is deducted directly from SGK debt, partially offsetting the Law 7566 cost increase. For a minimum-wage employee, CottGroup calculates total employer cost at approximately TRY 40,214/month (with the 2-point discount), roughly 1.22x gross. The bigger impact is the new 9x ceiling. Under the old 7.5x ceiling, a senior manager earning TRY 250,000/month had SGK calculated on a maximum of ~TRY 195,000. Now it applies to the full TRY 250,000, adding roughly TRY 10,800/month in employer cost for that employee alone.

Public Holidays in Turkey (2026)

Turkey has approximately 15.5 public holiday days, combining national secular holidays and Islamic religious holidays. Bayram periods create multi-day closures.

Date	Holiday
January 1	New Year’s Day
March 19 (half day)	Ramazan Bayramı Arife (Eve)
March 20-22	Ramazan Bayramı / Eid al-Fitr (3 days)
April 23	National Sovereignty and Children’s Day
May 1	Labour and Solidarity Day
May 19	Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day
May 26 (half day)	Kurban Bayramı Arife (Eve)
May 27-30	Kurban Bayramı / Eid al-Adha (4 days)
July 15	Democracy and National Unity Day
August 30	Victory Day
October 28 (afternoon)	Republic Day Eve
October 29	Republic Day

Good to Know: Ramazan Bayramı (3.5 days) and Kurban Bayramı (4.5 days) are Turkey’s biggest operational disruptions. Most businesses, banks and government offices close entirely. Many employees bridge these holidays with weekends and annual leave, creating breaks of 9+ days. If you hire in Turkey, build these closures into your Q1 and Q2 project planning. Working on public holidays requires employee consent and pays 1.5x the daily wage.