Labor and Social Security Law

Labour law and social security law is the fundamental legal field governing the entire legal relationship between employee and employer, working conditions, wage and compensation rights, job security, occupational health and safety, and the social insurance system. A single error — an incorrectly served notice of wrongful dismissal, an undercalculated severance payment, a signature on a release agreement, a foreign worker employed without insurance — can produce serious and irreversible legal consequences for both employee and employer.

At Keleş Law and Consultancy Office, we provide legal consultancy and litigation services in this field to domestic and foreign workers employed in Turkey, foreign nationals wishing to pursue their employment rights, and employers who employ foreign personnel. With language support in Turkish, English, Arabic and Russian, we do not allow language barriers to obstruct the process of seeking justice.

Turkey's labour law system is based on the civil law tradition, not the common law system used in the UK, US or Australia. There is no jury system, no binding precedent (although Court of Cassation decisions carry significant weight in practice), and collective bargaining operates differently from the Anglo-American model. Crucially, the deadlines for wrongful dismissal (reinstatement) claims are strict and non-extendable — missing the 1-month window for mediation or the 2-month window for court action eliminates the right entirely. Probationary periods in Turkey are capped at 2 months (extendable to 4 months by collective agreement). Foreign workers have broadly the same rights as Turkish workers under 4857 Labour Act, regardless of whether they hold a valid work permit.

What Does a Labour Lawyer Do?

A labour lawyer provides legal consultancy and court representation in disputes between employees and employers. They pursue severance pay, notice pay, reinstatement, overtime, annual leave, mobbing and workplace accident claims. They also draft employment contracts and manage termination processes in accordance with the law. Where foreign workers are concerned, they simultaneously assess matters such as work permits, Social Security Institution (SGK) registration and deportation risk alongside the employment law process.

The principal areas of practice of a labour lawyer are: wrongful dismissal and reinstatement proceedings; calculation and litigation of severance and notice pay; overtime, annual leave and weekly rest day entitlements; workplace accident and occupational disease compensation; mobbing (psychological harassment) claims; service record determination proceedings; review of the validity of release agreements; foreign worker law; and employer consultancy.

What Is Labour Law and Social Security Law?

Labour law governs all dimensions of the employee-employer relationship from the formation of the employment contract through to its termination. Labour Act No. 4857 is the primary source for this field; severance pay, notice pay, overtime, annual leave, wrongful dismissal and job security are all assessed within the scope of this Act.

Social security law covers employees' rights to premiums, retirement, workplace accidents, occupational disease and healthcare entitlements within the framework of Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Act No. 5510. The two fields frequently intersect: upon termination of an employment contract, severance entitlement, SGK registration status and unemployment benefit all arise simultaneously. Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) decisions in these areas play a decisive role where the statutory text contains no clear provision — for this reason, following current Court of Cassation rulings is critical to litigation strategy.

Practical Guide to Labour Law in Turkey

Employment contracts in Turkey are divided into fixed-term and indefinite-term contracts. The most common problem encountered in practice is the wrongful termination of indefinite-term contracts. Under Article 18 of Labour Act No. 4857, workers who have been employed for at least six months in workplaces employing thirty or more workers benefit from job security; terminations made without a valid reason create grounds for a reinstatement claim.

Notice of termination must be given in writing, a valid reason must be clearly stated and the notice period must be observed. Failure to comply with any of these procedural rules renders the termination invalid.

Severance pay is calculated at 30 days' gross wage for each full year of employment. For the calculation to be accurate, items such as travel allowances, meal allowances and bonuses that are paid regularly must be taken into account alongside the final wage. The employer's exclusion of these items is one of the most frequent causes of loss of entitlement.

Notice pay is the wage for the notice period (between 2 and 8 weeks depending on length of service). Where the employer terminates the contract without observing this period, they will be ordered to pay notice pay.

The release agreement that employers ask employees to sign upon leaving employment is a document in which the employee waives all their claims. However, according to Court of Cassation case law, for release agreements to be considered valid, at least 1 month must have passed since the final payment date and the claims must have been paid in full against a receipt. The invalidity of release agreements signed under employer pressure may be raised before the court — for this reason, legal advice must always be sought before signing a release agreement.

Work exceeding 45 hours per week is classified as overtime and is paid at a rate of 50% above the normal wage. The burden of proof of overtime lies with the employee — for this reason, payslips, attendance records, communications records and witness statements are critical as evidence.

Annual leave entitlement, if accrued but not taken, converts into a wage claim as at the date the employment relationship ends and becomes subject to the limitation period. The employer must prove that the leave was taken.

Psychological harassment in the workplace encompasses systematic humiliation, exclusion from duties, belittlement and pressure targeting the employee. Under Turkish labour law, mobbing grants the employee the right to terminate with good cause and simultaneously creates grounds for a compensation claim. For the purposes of proving mobbing, workplace email correspondence, records, witness statements and medical reports carry critical evidentiary weight.

Service record determination proceedings may be brought for employment periods that have been partially or not at all reported to the SGK. This action is of vital importance for the reflection of insurance periods in retirement calculations and for benefiting from rights such as workplace accident cover. Although there is no limitation period for service record determination claims, the evidence must be collected meticulously given the difficulty of proof.

Since 2018, mediation has become a pre-condition for litigation in employment entitlement claims. An application to mediation must be made before a case is filed; skipping this stage leads to the procedural rejection of the claim. If no agreement is reached during mediation, a case may be filed together with the final minutes. When correctly managed, this process offers advantages in both time and cost.

Where the employment contract of a worker within the scope of job security protection is terminated without a valid reason, the worker must apply to a mediator within 1 month of notification of the termination, and where no agreement is reached in mediation, must file a claim at the labour court within 2 months. Both deadlines are absolute; missing them results in the complete extinguishment of the right of action.

Where the court issues a reinstatement order, the employee is paid a maximum of 4 months' pay for the period spent out of work. If the employer does not reinstate the employee, the employer is additionally ordered to pay between 4 and 8 months' compensation.

A workplace accident is an accident that the insured person suffers at the workplace or in connection with the work being carried out by the employer, and that causes physical or psychological injury. Notification of the workplace accident to the SGK must be made within 3 working days of the employer becoming aware of it; breach of this obligation gives rise to administrative fines and liability for compensation against the employer.

Compensation claims that may be brought in connection with a workplace accident include: material compensation (loss of earning capacity, carer costs, treatment expenses), moral damages and loss of dependency.

The Legal Status of Foreign Workers in Turkey

Foreign nationals employed in Turkey have broadly equal rights to Turkish workers under labour law. However, the exercise of these rights depends on the existence of a work permit, SGK registration and the ability to prove the employment relationship.

Foreign nationals wishing to work in Turkey are as a rule required to obtain a work permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security under International Labour Force Act No. 6735. Types of work permit are: time-limited work permit (maximum 1 year for the first application), extended work permit, and indefinite work permit (following at least 8 years of lawful work permit in Turkey). A valid work permit also serves in lieu of a residence permit.

2026 administrative fines: Employers who employ a foreign national without a work permit face a fine of TRY 102,503 per foreign national; a foreign national who works without a work permit faces a fine of TRY 40,977.

The fundamental principle in labour law is the protection of actual work performed. Foreign workers who work without a work permit are still entitled to claim their employment entitlements — the absence of a work permit does not extinguish this right. You can find the details of this matter and litigation strategy in our article Employment Entitlements of Undocumented Foreign Workers — Foreign Worker Rights in Turkey.

A critical issue to be aware of is this: where undocumented working is detected, deportation proceedings and an entry ban (tahdit kodu) may be initiated under Foreigners and International Protection Act No. 6458. For this reason, the foreign national's legal status in Turkey, residence permit situation and deportation risk must be assessed simultaneously when bringing employment entitlement proceedings.

Insured or uninsured, with or without a work permit — a foreign worker who has actually worked may claim wages, severance pay, notice pay, overtime, weekly rest days and annual leave entitlements. Our article Employment Entitlements of Foreign Nationals — Foreign Worker Rights in Turkey serves as a comprehensive guide to these rights.

A workplace accident may occur regardless of whether a work permit exists — an uninsured foreign worker may also exercise their right to compensation in connection with a workplace accident. Our article Workplace Accidents for Foreign Workers in Turkey: Rights, SGK and Compensation covers the details of the workplace accident process, SGK notification obligations and the compensation claims that may be brought.

Foreign nationals with a valid work permit are required to be insured under Act No. 5510. Premium notifications must be made to the SGK within 30 days of the start date of the permit. Breach of this obligation may give rise to administrative fines and loss of entitlement for both employer and employee.

Citizens of countries with which Turkey has concluded bilateral social security agreements may be exempted from paying SGK premiums in Turkey, provided they are paying premiums in their own country. Such agreements exist with more than 30 countries including Azerbaijan, Albania, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Areas of Practice

Wrongful Dismissal and Reinstatement Claims — Mediation and reinstatement proceedings for wrongful termination of workers within job security scope; recovery of pay for the period out of work and non-reinstatement compensation.

Severance and Notice Pay Calculation and Litigation — Correct compensation calculation including all wage items; mediation and court proceedings in cases of underpayment.

Overtime, Annual Leave and Other Employment Entitlements — Payroll analysis, overtime calculation and debt recovery claims; limitation period management.

Mobbing (Psychological Harassment) Claims — Legal defence against systematic workplace pressure, humiliation and exclusion; compensation claims and termination with good cause.

Service Record Determination Proceedings — Proceedings to establish employment periods partly or not reported to the SGK; protection of retirement and workplace accident rights.

Workplace Accident and Occupational Disease Compensation — SGK notification, fault determination, material and moral damages and loss of dependency claims; subrogation proceedings against the employer.

Release Agreement Review — Legal analysis of release agreement content before signing; raising invalidity before the court.

Foreign Worker Law — Work permit processes, employment entitlements of foreign workers, rights protection in cases of undocumented work and deportation risk management.

Employer Consultancy — Employment of foreign personnel, work permit applications, preparation of employment contracts, legally compliant management of termination processes and prevention of administrative fine risk.

Occupational Health and Safety — Compliance consultancy on OHS obligations; limiting employer liability in workplace accidents.

Collective Labour Law — Legal support in trade union membership, collective bargaining agreement negotiations and strike and lockout processes.

Labour Lawyer Fee in Turkey 

Labour lawyer fees are determined with reference to the Minimum Fee Schedule published annually by the relevant Bar Association; however, this schedule is not binding. The fee is freely agreed between lawyer and client according to the nature of the work, the complexity of the case and the scope of the process.

Separate fee structures apply to different service types: mediation, reinstatement proceedings, severance pay litigation and workplace accident compensation. At Keleş Law and Consultancy Office, the consultancy fee is determined in writing at the first meeting — no unexpected additional costs arise during the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a labour lawyer do? Pursues severance pay, notice pay, reinstatement, overtime, mobbing and workplace accident claims; drafts employment contracts; manages termination processes; simultaneously assesses work permit and SGK processes for foreign workers alongside labour law matters.

How long does one need to work to receive severance pay? A minimum of 1 year of continuous employment is required. Where the worker leaves of their own accord, severance pay generally does not arise — however, where the employer worsens working conditions or fails to pay wages, the worker may be entitled to severance upon termination with good cause.

What is the time limit for a reinstatement claim? An application to a mediator must be made within 1 month of notification of termination, and where no agreement is reached in mediation, a case must be filed at the labour court within 2 months. Both deadlines are absolute.

I signed a release agreement — can I still bring a claim? According to Court of Cassation case law, a release agreement may be found invalid where it was signed less than 1 month after the final payment date, under pressure, or without the claims being paid in full. It is advisable to have the conditions of the release agreement you signed assessed by a lawyer.

Do I have employment entitlements if I have no work permit? Yes. Turkish labour law is based on actual work performed. The fact that you worked without a work permit does not extinguish your right to claim wages, severance pay and other employment entitlements. However, it is critically important to assess the risk of an entry ban and deportation before bringing proceedings.

How can a foreign worker benefit from the SGK? Foreign workers with a valid work permit are insured under Act No. 5510 and may benefit from workplace accident, illness and retirement entitlements. Citizens of countries that have bilateral social security agreements with Turkey may be exempted from paying premiums in Turkey if they are paying premiums in their own country.

What compensation can I claim in a workplace accident? Loss of earning capacity compensation, temporary incapacity compensation, carer and treatment costs, moral damages and, in the event of death, loss of dependency compensation. These claims may be brought separately against both the SGK and the employer.

Can an undocumented foreign worker bring proceedings? Yes — proceedings may be brought at the labour court following a prior mediation application. However, legal strategy must be carefully planned having regard to legal status in Turkey, residence permit situation and deportation risk.

What happens if an employer employs a foreign worker without insurance? The employer is held liable both to the SGK for premium debt and administrative fines and to the worker for all employment entitlements. Where actual employment is proven, the court may retrospectively register SGK premiums.

What are the limitation periods in employment claims? For entitlements under Labour Act No. 4857 (overtime, annual leave, weekly rest days, etc.) the limitation period is 5 years. The limitation period for severance pay is also 5 years. Legal advice should be sought immediately upon termination to ensure these periods are not missed.

How much does a labour lawyer charge? The fee varies according to the nature of the work and the scope of the case. The Bar Minimum Fee Schedule is a reference point, but may be freely agreed above or below it. At our office, the fee is determined in writing at the first meeting.

Why Keleş Law and Consultancy Office?

Foreign Worker-Focused Approach: A significant part of our client base consists of foreign national workers and employers who employ foreign personnel. We provide an integrated approach in cases where work permit, SGK registration, employment entitlements and deportation risk intersect across multiple legal fields.

Integration Across Multiple Areas of Law: Employment cases frequently intersect with immigration law, criminal law and administrative law. Our office provides services across all of these legal fields.

Current Court of Cassation Case Law Monitoring: Court of Cassation decisions in employment law change frequently and directly affect litigation strategy. Our office closely follows current case law.

Multilingual Service: Turkish, English, Arabic and Russian — no language barrier in the process of seeking justice.

Transparent Fee Policy: The consultancy fee is determined in writing at the first meeting; no unexpected additional costs.

Appointment & Contact

To receive legal support in labor and social security law, you can contact our law office or book an appointment through the channels below.

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