Ending an employment relationship in Turkey involves a detailed set of legal obligations, from minimum notice periods to severance calculations and post-termination filings. Labour Law No. 4857 (İş Kanunu) governs the process, and getting it wrong can expose your company to reinstatement orders or significant compensation claims. This guide covers everything you need to know to terminate compliantly.
Understanding employment security in turkey
Turkey’s Labour Law distinguishes between employees who are covered by employment security (iş güvencesi) and those who aren’t. The distinction affects how much latitude you have when ending a contract and what remedies an employee can seek if they dispute the termination.
Who is covered by employment security?
Employment security applies to an employee when all three of the following conditions are met:
- The contract is indefinite-term
- The employee has at least 6 months of service
- The workplace has 30 or more employees
If all three conditions apply, you must have a valid reason to dismiss the employee. Valid reasons fall into two categories: reasons related to the employee’s conduct or performance, and operational or economic reasons related to the business.
Employees outside employment security
If your workplace has fewer than 30 employees, or the employee has served less than 6 months, employment security doesn’t apply. You can terminate more freely, but you’re still required to give proper notice and pay severance where it’s due. These employees can’t bring a reinstatement claim, but they can still pursue unpaid entitlements through a labour court.
Notice periods
Turkish law sets minimum notice periods that apply to both employer-initiated terminations and employee resignations. You can pay in lieu of having the employee work out the notice period, which is a common approach when you want a clean break.
Statutory minimum notice periods
| Length of service | Notice period |
|---|---|
| Up to 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 |
These are statutory minimums. Employment contracts or collective agreements can provide for longer periods, but can’t fall below them.
Probationary period
The maximum probationary period under Turkish law is 2 months, extendable to 4 months by collective agreement. During probation, either party can end the employment relationship immediately, without notice or severance. The employee is entitled to wages for the days worked.
Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı)
Severance pay is one of the most significant financial obligations in Turkish terminations. It accrues from the first day of employment and can represent a substantial sum for long-tenured employees.
How severance is calculated
- The rate is 30 days’ gross wage for each full year of service, with partial years prorated
- A statutory cap applies: for H1 2026, the cap is TRY 64,948.77 per year of service
- If the employee’s gross monthly salary exceeds the cap, you use the cap figure in the calculation
- The cap is updated on July 1, 2026
Tax treatment
Severance pay is exempt from income tax. It is subject to stamp duty at 0.759%.
When severance is triggered
Severance is owed in the following situations:
- Dismissal without cause (business or operational reasons)
- The employee resigns due to retirement eligibility
- The employee resigns due to military service
- The employee resigns for health reasons supported by a medical certificate
- The employee resigns because of the employer’s fault
- A female employee resigns within 1 year of marriage
Severance is not owed when an employee resigns voluntarily without one of the above reasons, or when the employer terminates for cause.
Types of termination
Termination without cause
You can terminate an employee for business or operational reasons without citing individual misconduct. The dismissal must not be discriminatory. When you terminate without cause, the employee is entitled to:
- Notice (or payment in lieu)
- Severance pay at the TRY 64,948.77 cap per year of service (H1 2026)
- Pay for all accrued but unused annual leave
- All outstanding wages and bonuses
Employees covered by employment security can challenge a without-cause dismissal at a labour court. If the court finds the dismissal unjustified, the remedy is either reinstatement or a compensation payment of 4 to 8 months’ wages, at the employee’s election.
Termination for cause (haklı nedenle fesih)
Turkish law permits immediate dismissal without notice or severance in cases of serious misconduct. Recognised grounds for cause-based termination include:
- Providing false information at the time of hiring
- Unjustified absences from work
- Sexual harassment in the workplace
- Dishonesty or theft
- Arriving at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Refusing to perform assigned duties
- Intentional or negligent damage to company property
- Committing an offence on company premises that results in 7 or more days’ imprisonment
Timing is critical. Once you become aware of the misconduct, you must act within 6 working days. You also can’t act more than 1 year after the act itself. Miss either deadline and you lose the right to terminate for cause.
Even in a for-cause termination, the employee is still entitled to pay for all accrued annual leave and wages up to the date of dismissal.
A written termination notice specifying the grounds is required for cause-based dismissals.
Mutual termination agreement (ikale sözleşmesi)
An ikale is a written agreement between employer and employee to end the employment relationship by mutual consent. Both parties must sign. Turkish courts apply close scrutiny to these agreements: if the employee didn’t receive a clear additional benefit beyond their statutory entitlements, a court may treat the agreement as a disguised dismissal. To make the agreement enforceable, include an additional payment on top of all statutory amounts.
Fixed-term contracts
Fixed-term contracts end naturally at their expiry date with no notice or severance obligation. If you terminate a fixed-term contract early without cause, the standard notice periods apply and severance is owed if the employee has at least 1 year of service. Be careful about successive renewals: Turkish courts may deem a series of renewed fixed-term contracts to be a single indefinite-term contract, which brings employment security protections into play.
Employee resignation
An employee who wants to resign should do so in writing. The same statutory notice periods (2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks) apply to resignation as to employer-initiated termination. During probation, an employee can resign immediately without notice or penalty.
Severance on resignation is only payable in the specific circumstances listed above (retirement, military service, health reasons, marriage within 1 year for female employees). A standard voluntary resignation doesn’t trigger severance.
Post-termination obligations
Final pay
All outstanding wages, severance, accrued leave pay, and other entitlements must be paid within 3 business days of the date of termination. Delays expose you to interest claims.
Sgk deregistration
You must update the employee’s social security (SGK) records to reflect the termination. This is a mandatory administrative step and needs to be completed promptly.
Work permits for expatriate employees
If the employee holds a work permit tied to their employment with your company, that permit becomes invalid on the date of termination. The employee has approximately 10 days to either leave Turkey or transfer their permit to a new employer. Make sure you inform expatriate employees of this obligation at the time of termination.
What employers covered by an Employer of Record (EOR) need to know
If you employ staff in Turkey through a local employer of record, the EOR entity is the legal employer of record and carries the termination obligations under Turkish law. The EOR handles notice, severance calculations, SGK deregistration, and final pay on your behalf. This is particularly valuable for companies without a Turkish legal entity, where managing these obligations directly isn’t feasible.
RemotePass manages the full offboarding process in Turkey — from final pay calculations to SGK deregistration — so you stay compliant. Book a demo to find out how.
