TURKEY: Significantly Higher Minimum Salary for 2016

February 4, 2016


Effective 1st January 2016, the Turkish Labour Ministry has released new minimum salary requirements.

Normally, these requirements are issued for a six-month period, but for 2016 they have been issued for a full year. The consequential minimum salary increase is much higher than expected.

What is the new minimum salary?

The new minimum salary rates are:

  • Gross minimum monthly salary: 1,647.00 TL

  • Net minimum monthly salary: 1,300.99 TL

Other salary requirements

Aside from this minimum salary requirement, the salary to be paid to the foreign employee must be commensurate with the position considered. Specifically:

  • High level managers, pilots, engineers and architects granted an interim work permit cannot be paid less than 6.5 times the minimum salary (or 10,706 TL gross per month);

  • Departmental managers, engineers and architects cannot be paid less than 4 times the minimum salary (or 6,588 TL gross per month);

  • Employees working in a position requiring expertise (note: this is not defined) and teachers cannot be paid less than 3 times the minimum salary (or 4,941 TL gross per month);

  • Employees working as an acrobat or similar positions for tourism and entertainment organisations, masseurs and spa therapists cannot be paid less than twice the minimum salary (or 3,294 TL gross per month);

  • Household Employees and all others cannot be paid less than 1.5 times the minimum salary (or 2,471 TL gross per month).

Salary requirements above are not inclusive of benefits of any kind, and must be maintained throughout the validity of the work permit.

Action Items

  • Employers should review the salaries of their foreign national employees in Turkey to ensure compliance with the new minimum gross monthly salary.

 

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