WTS Energy provides Employer of Record(EOR) services in Turkey for energy, engineering and industrial companies that need to employ people quickly without setting up a Turkish legal entity. We act as the legal employer, manage compliant employment contracts, payroll, social security, tax withholding and work-permit coordination, while you retain day-to-day direction of the employee’s work.

Turkey is a strategic bridge between Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caspian energy corridor. For companies running power, renewables, oil and gas, infrastructure, marine or construction projects, the employment environment requires close control of Labour Law No. 4857, Social Security Institution (SGK) rules, payroll tax, severance exposure and Ministry of Labour work permit criteria.

Our model is not a software-only payroll wrapper. We combine EOR administration with energy-sector recruitment, HR operations, immigration support and workforce mobility experience.

Turkey hiring context for energy companies

Turkey is a strategic bridge for energy and industrial work, but payroll, social security, work permits, and termination rules need careful setup.

For WTS Energy, the EOR discussion in Turkey starts with the operating reality: what the role does, where the person will work, whether immigration is involved, and which payroll or benefit obligations must be visible before mobilisation. That makes the page more than a generic employer-of-record explanation; it is a country-specific hiring route for energy, engineering, and industrial employers.

Key planning themes for Turkey:

• Statutory payroll setup.

• Contract structure.

• Local hr support.

• Workforce mobility.

Regulatory essentials for 2026 hiring

Employment contracts and fixed-term rules

Turkish employment contracts may be indefinite or fixed-term. A fixed-term contract should be supported by an objective reason such as a defined project, a temporary need or a specific assignment. Repeated fixed-term contracts without an essential reason may be treated as an indefinite employment relationship.

Written employment terms are important for EOR employees because payroll, probation, job duties, confidentiality, IP assignment, benefits, work location, overtime treatment and termination process all need to be clear before onboarding.

Working hours, overtime and rest

The standard working week under Turkish Labour Law is 45 hours. Work above 45 hours is overtime unless a lawful balancing arrangement applies. Overtime pay is generally calculated at 150% of the normal hourly wage, and annual overtime is capped at 270 hours.

For project and site-based roles, WTS Energy reviews working-time patterns before employment starts. This is especially important for commissioning work, shutdowns, rotational activity, night work or field assignments where actual hours can move quickly beyond standard office patterns.

Minimum wage

For 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, the official monthly gross minimum wage is TRY 33,030.00 and the official net minimum wage calculation is TRY 28,075.50. The Ministry of Labour’s 2026 employer-cost schedule shows total monthly employer cost of TRY 40,874.63 where the SGK premium incentive is not applied.

Minimum wage matters for all Turkey EOR planning, but it is especially important for foreign work permit cases because Ministry of Labour salary criteria are expressed as multiples of the current gross minimum wage.

Leave, public holidays and severance planning

Employees earn statutory annual paid leave after at least one year of service with the employer. The baseline entitlement is:

• 14 working days for service from one year up to five years.

• 20 working days for more than five years and less than fifteen years.

• 26 working days for fifteen years or more.

• At least 20 working days for employees under 18 or over 50.

Severance pay can become due after at least one year of service where the employment ends for qualifying reasons, including employer termination other than for certain misconduct grounds, retirement-related exits, military service, death, or a qualifying resignation by a female employee within one year of marriage.

Notice periods and termination

Statutory notice periods for indefinite employment depend on length of service:

• Less than 6 months: 2 weeks.

• 6 months to 1.5 years: 4 weeks.

• 1.5 years to 3 years: 6 weeks.

• More than 3 years: 8 weeks.

The party that terminates without observing the required notice period may owe notice indemnity. For EOR employment, WTS Energy manages termination documentation, final payroll, unused leave, severance review and required notifications.

Payroll tax, income tax and stamp tax

Employers withhold payroll income tax through the Turkish payroll system. For 2026, Turkey’s progressive income tax tariff for wage income starts at 15% and rises through 20%, 27%, 35% and 40% brackets. Stamp tax and other payroll rules must also be reflected in monthly payroll calculations.

The minimum wage income tax and stamp tax exemptions affect payroll calculations for low and minimum-wage employees. For technical, managerial and expatriate roles, payroll must be modeled against gross salary, SGK ceilings, income tax bands and benefit treatment.

SGK, unemployment insurance and pension obligations

Turkey’s social security system is administered through SGK. For 2026 minimum-wage employer-cost calculations, the Ministry of Labour shows:

• Employee SGK contribution: 14%.

• Employee unemployment insurance contribution: 1%.

• Employer SGK contribution: 21.75% where no incentive applies.

• Employer SGK contribution: 19.75% for eligible employers in other sectors where the two-point incentive applies.

• Employer SGK contribution: 16.75% for eligible manufacturing-sector employers where the five-point incentive applies.

• Employer unemployment insurance contribution: 2%.

SGK contributions fund social insurance, including pension-related coverage, healthcare and other statutory protections. Contributions are subject to official lower and upper earnings bases. WTS Energy calculates employer cost, applies the correct SGK treatment and keeps payroll aligned with SGK updates.

Immigration and work authorization

Foreign nationals generally need a Turkish work permit before working in Turkey. The Ministry of Labour’s work permit evaluation criteria include employment ratios, financial eligibility and salary thresholds. The general work-permit evaluation framework requires qualifying workplaces to employ at least five Turkish citizens for each foreign worker, subject to exemptions. From 3 August 2026, certain domestic applications for foreign nationals who have lawfully stayed in Turkey for at least one year during the previous three years may qualify for an exemption from the employment and financial eligibility criteria for up to three foreign workers, subject to additional conditions. Employers should therefore confirm the applicable criteria before each filing.

Salary criteria are tied to the current gross minimum wage. In 2026, using the TRY 33,030.00 gross monthly minimum wage, the practical monthly salary floors are:

• Senior executives and pilots: at least 5 times minimum wage, or TRY 165,150.00.

• Engineers and architects: at least 4 times minimum wage, or TRY 132,120.00.

• Other managers: at least 3 times minimum wage, or TRY 99,090.00.

• Jobs requiring expertise or mastery: at least 2 times minimum wage, or TRY 66,060.00.

• Domestic work and other jobs: at least minimum wage.

Foreign engineers, project managers and technical specialists should be assessed before offer release so the salary, job title, qualifications and employer eligibility criteria support the work permit application.

What WTS Energy brings to local employment

WTS Energy’s Turkey EOR solution is designed for companies that need speed, local compliance and practical workforce support.

• Regional HR and payroll expertise for Turkey-linked energy projects, supported by WTS Energy’s European and Middle East office network.

• Energy-sector specialization across oil and gas, power generation, renewables, industrial construction, offshore support and technical services.

• Employment contracts aligned with Turkish Labour Law, including probation, working time, annual leave, fixed-term rules, notice and severance planning.

• Monthly payroll administration, income tax withholding, stamp tax, SGK contribution handling and salary cost reporting.

• Work permit and immigration coordination for foreign engineers, project managers, commissioning specialists and technical experts.

• Contractor-to-employee conversion support where independent contractor arrangements create misclassification or tax exposure.

• Practical onboarding and offboarding support for project-based, entity-in-progress and regional mobility scenarios.

Compliance pressure points to resolve early

Turkey EOR delivery needs more than a compliant payslip. The main risks are employment status, payroll underpayment, immigration non-compliance, overtime exposure, severance accruals and corporate-tax presence.

WTS Energy helps manage these risks by:

• Checking whether a role is suitable for EOR before onboarding.

• Using written employment contracts that reflect Turkish law and the actual assignment.

• Paying salaries through compliant payroll with SGK and tax withholding.

• Monitoring working time, overtime and leave for site-based or project-based employees.

• Reviewing fixed-term contract use so temporary structures are not repeated without a valid reason.

• Supporting work permit applications against official salary and employer eligibility criteria.

• Separating employment administration from activities that may create client permanent establishment risk, such as signing contracts or habitually concluding sales.

• Managing offboarding documentation, final pay and severance review.

EOR reduces employment administration risk, but it does not replace separate legal or tax advice where the Turkey-based employee’s activities may create taxable presence, licensing requirements or regulated commercial operations for the client.

Situations where EOR is the right structure

An Employer of Record in Turkey can be useful when you need employment infrastructure before your own Turkish entity is ready, or when the headcount does not justify entity setup.

Common scenarios include:

• Starting a Turkey market-entry team before incorporation, branch registration or local payroll setup is complete.

• Hiring a Turkish project engineer, site manager or business development specialist for an energy or infrastructure opportunity.

• Mobilizing foreign technical specialists into Turkey where work permit salary criteria and local sponsorship rules need to be managed correctly.

• Converting long-term Turkish contractors into employees to reduce misclassification, payroll tax and employment-status risk.

• Hosting employees during an acquisition, joint venture, EPC transition or entity wind-down.

• Supporting regional roles that cover Turkey, Iraq, Azerbaijan, the Caspian region or the Eastern Mediterranean.

• Employing temporary project staff while the client keeps commercial contracting and regulated activities outside the EOR employment structure.

• Managing payroll and HR continuity for a small team without building a full local HR function.

EOR should be reviewed carefully where a Turkey-based employee will habitually negotiate contracts, sign customer agreements, hold a statutory role, supervise a permanent business location or perform licensed activities for the client. Those activities can create permanent establishment, tax, licensing or regulatory exposure that needs separate advice.

How the employment lifecycle is managed

Set-up before day one

WTS Energy confirms whether the role is suitable for EOR, reviews permanent establishment and regulated-activity risk, and prepares the onboarding structure. We draft employment documentation, define salary and benefits, map SGK and payroll cost, and identify whether a Turkish work permit is needed.

For foreign candidates, we review the job category, salary threshold, degree or professional qualification, work location and immigration timeline. This helps avoid offers that fail the Ministry of Labour’s salary or eligibility criteria.

During the assignment

WTS Energy runs monthly payroll, withholds wage income tax, calculates SGK and unemployment contributions, tracks leave and supports HR administration. We also help manage timesheets, overtime controls, absence, expense processes, statutory document retention and employee queries.

For energy and industrial projects, we can coordinate HR support around rotations, site access requirements, medical checks, HSE documentation and workforce mobility needs. The employee works under WTS Energy’s employment structure while your team manages day-to-day technical direction.

Compliant offboarding

At offboarding, WTS Energy manages notice, final salary, unused annual leave, severance assessment, SGK exit processing, equipment return, confidentiality reminders and IP assignment continuity. We help the client choose a termination route that is commercially practical and consistent with Turkish employment law.

Legal and payroll changes to monitor

Turkey employers should monitor several 2026 compliance items:

• Minimum wage and payroll. The 2026 gross minimum wage of TRY 33,030 applies from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and directly affects payroll floors, SGK calculations and work-permit salary thresholds.

• SGK contribution bases. SGK lower and upper earnings bases are updated in line with statutory rules and the minimum wage. For 2026, the general monthly contribution base ranges from TRY 33,030 to TRY 297,270, affecting contribution calculations and employer cost modelling.

• Income tax. The 2026 progressive income tax tariff applies to wage income and should be reflected in payroll projections, particularly for higher-paid technical, specialist and managerial employees.

• Work-permit criteria. Ministry of Labour work-permit criteria continue to use salary multiples linked to the gross minimum wage, particularly for engineers, architects, managers and specialist roles. From 3 August 2026, updated criteria also provide exemptions from certain employment and financial eligibility requirements for some qualifying foreign nationals, subject to specific conditions. Employers should therefore review the current criteria before each foreign hire.

• Fixed-term employment. Employers using successive fixed-term contracts should ensure that renewals have an objective basis. Repeated fixed-term arrangements without an essential reason may create a risk that the employment relationship is treated as indefinite.

As of August 2026, employers should pay particular attention to the updated work-permit evaluation criteria effective from 3 August, alongside the 2026 minimum wage, SGK contribution bases, income tax tariff and related payroll requirements.

Employer of Record Turkey: buyer questions