Employment Contract in Türkiye

Turkish law does not require every employment contract to be concluded in writing, and an employment relationship can exist on the basis of an oral agreement and the actual performance of work. The Labour Law nonetheless sets out when written form is required and what the employer must document in writing where no written contract exists. In practice, and particularly where a foreign employee needs a work permit, a signed written contract with a clear job description is indispensable, because it is submitted to the authorities and later serves as the main evidence in any dispute over termination or pay.

Yes, but fixed-term contracts are the exception rather than the rule. The Labour Law allows a contract to be limited in time only where the nature of the work or another objective reason justifies it, and successive renewals without such a reason are treated as creating an indefinite relationship, with the notice and job security consequences that follow. Work permits are themselves granted for limited periods, which leads many employers to align the contract term with the permit; whether that alone is a sufficient objective reason should be assessed case by case rather than assumed.

The Labour Law permits the parties to agree a trial period at the start of the relationship, capped at a statutory maximum. During the trial period either party may terminate the contract without observing a notice period and without paying compensation in lieu of notice, although wages for the days worked remain due. A trial period must be agreed expressly in the contract; it cannot be implied afterwards to justify a termination. Foreign employers should note that the trial period does not relieve the employer of its work permit and social security obligations, which continue to apply throughout.

Such clauses are not void as such, but Turkish courts review them strictly in the employee's favour. A non-compete undertaking is enforceable only where the employee had access to genuinely sensitive information and the restriction is reasonably limited in duration, territory and scope; an overbroad clause can be reduced or disregarded. Penalty clauses are generally upheld only where they are reciprocal and proportionate, and one-sided penalties burdening the employee alone are generally not enforced. Foreign employers used to broader restrictive covenants should have such clauses drafted with these limits in mind rather than copying templates from other jurisdictions.