Indefinite-Term Employment Contract

Under Article 8 of the Labour Law, an employment contract is a contract under which one party (the employee) undertakes to work in a dependent capacity and the other (the employer) to pay wages. Contracts without a specified term are indefinite-term contracts. The indefinite-term contract is the norm in Turkish employment law; a fixed-term contract may only be concluded where objective conditions exist.

Elements

Work, wages and dependency are the three essential elements of an employment contract. The absence of any of them raises the question of whether the relationship is employment or independent work; see Employee or Independent Contractor?

Form and Content

Employment contracts with a term of one year or more must be in writing; indefinite-term contracts are also put in writing in practice for ease of proof. The contract should clearly cover:

• Job description and place of work,
• Wages, bonuses and benefits,
• Working time and overtime consent,
• Any probation period,
• Confidentiality and, where needed, a non-compete obligation,
• Information on processing of personal data.

Working Patterns

An indefinite-term contract may be full-time or take the form of part-time, on-call or remote work.

Termination

An indefinite-term contract ends by termination with notice, immediate termination for just cause, mutual agreement or the employee’s death. Where conditions are met, the employee enjoys job security; the employer’s termination must then be based on a valid reason.