Key facts
The statutes that shape the templates.
- Law No. 4857 (Labour Code)
- Türkiye's main employment statute. Standard working time is 45 hours per week (with overtime rules); daily maximum is 11 hours. Annual leave starts at 14 days for 1–5 years' service, rising to 26 days for 15+ years. Probation is capped at 2 months (extendable to 4 by collective agreement).
- Severance pay
- Employees become entitled to severance (kıdem tazminatı) after one year of continuous service. Formula: 30 days of last gross pay per completed year, capped at a statutory ceiling that is revised periodically. Notice pay (ihbar tazminatı) is separate, ranging from 2 to 8 weeks depending on tenure.
- Law No. 5846 (IP and Artistic Works)
- Software made by an employee in scope of duties belongs to the employer by default under Article 27. Art, design, music, and game-design documents follow Article 18 (economic rights transferable, moral rights non-transferable). For contractors there is no default transfer, so explicit assignment language is essential.
- Remote Work Regulation
- Issued March 2021. Remote work requires a written agreement specifying equipment, expenses, communication, occupational health and safety, and data-protection arrangements. Recent rules allow up to 100% remote for IT personnel in qualifying regimes (tech-park, R&D Centre).
- Contractor misclassification
- A freelancer agreement can be reclassified as employment by a Turkish court if the relationship looks dependent (fixed working hours, line management, dedicated equipment, single client). Reclassification triggers retroactive severance, notice, and social-security obligations. The contractor template is drafted to evidence independence on each axis.
- Non-compete enforceability
- Code of Obligations Articles 444–447 set strict limits. A non-compete is enforceable only with reasonable geographic and temporal scope, against a real protectable interest, and (in some cases) with consideration. Turkish courts routinely narrow overbroad clauses; we draft to the enforceable envelope.
- KVKK in employment
- Every employment contract needs lawful basis for processing employee personal data. Transfers to the foreign HQ for HR, cap-table, or payroll-consolidation purposes need explicit safeguards under KVKK Articles 8 and 9. Our templates include compliant language plus the data-processing inventory entry your KVKK pack expects.
- Penalty clauses
- Turkish Code of Obligations allows liquidated-damages and penalty clauses (cezai şart) but Turkish courts have discretion to reduce them if disproportionate. We size them so they hold up: clear breach triggers, calibrated amounts, and an evidentiary base for the damage they protect against.
