Along with the globalisation of economy and the technological developments, employers face the need of legitimate corporations to hire Temporary Employees rightly and accurately when required. On the other side, those corporations are also of vital importance for employees to be hired by employers rightly and accurately.
Considering the Private Employment Agencies Convention N .181 and the Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, this matter was taken into the agenda of Training Council of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Turkey to make regulations on building Temporary Employment Relationship through Private Employment Agencies by operating social dialogue mechanisms effectively.
Following the studies in these fields, the scope of activity of Private Employment Agencies has been widened and thus operations on establishing Temporary Employment Relationship are delegated to Private Employment Agencies pursuant to the Regulation on Private Employment Agencies (“..the Regulation”) which was published in the Official Gazette No. 29854 dated 11 October 2016.
Important definitions pursuant to the Regulation are listed below:
- TemporWJ’ Employee, is an individual typically hired through an Employment Agency to work at an employer’s workspace under the provisions of a Temporary Employment Contract.
- Temporary Employment Contract (“Contract”), is a written agreement between the Employment Agency and the employer with regards to the employee’s transact deed within the context of Temporary Employment Relationship.
- Employer, specifically under the Regulation, is a natural or a legal person hiring Temporary employees by means of Temporary Employment Contract with the Employment
- Private Employment Agency, is an organisation, licensed by Turkish Labour Institution (“ISKUR“), consisting of real or legal persons, which operates activities regarding the establishment of Temporary Employment Relationship between employers and employees and/or the recruitment of appropriate employees for various vacancy opportunities, and the jobseekers to get hired by appropriate employers in accordance with their purpose. Herein employer refers to the Private Employment
- Temporary Employment Relationship, is the transfer of an employee temporarily to an employer by virtue of a Temporary Employment Contract and in accordance with the requirements pursuant to the Article 7 of Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 through a Private Employment
1. Scope of Activity
Private Employment Agencies;
- provide services between employers and employees, however; those services cannot be provided for public institutions and
- operate services regarding labour market, recruitment, human resources
- organise vocational trainings
Pursuant to the relevant Regulation, Employment Agencies can only choose to collect fees from professional athletes, technical directors, trainers, models, mannequins and general managers or those who will be employed as equally or as higher-level managers and those who rank as having artistic careers.
Agreements relevant to the agency business are deemed void pursuant to Article No.4 of the Regulation except for the agreements;
- on disbursements with job-seekers and between Private Employment Agencies and the employers whereas Agency profits from the employer,
- including provisions on clandestine employment, union membership and/or payment of subminimum rates,
- including provisions preventing the employer or the employee from getting services from another Private Employment Agency regarding the recruitment and
It should be noted that Private Employment Agencies must obtain the consent of Turkish Labour Institution in the event of having employees hired abroad by means of Temporary Employment Relationship.
2. Temporary Employment Relationship Business
Temporary Employment Relationship may be set;
- by hiring through the Private Employment Agency; or
- by hiring for an affiliate or by hiring within the body of a holding
Temporary Employment Relationship through a Private Employment Agency can only be established under the following circumstances:
- In case of maternity leave and partial use of right to work after maternity, military service of the employee, in other cases where the Employment Contract is pending, and in the course of aforementioned cases,
- In seasonal agricultural works, without time limitation,
- In household services, without time limitation,
- In household services, without time limitation,
- In works which are not counted as everyday work of the enterprise and intermittently performed works, for a maximum of 4 (four) months,
- In case of urgent work in terms of occupational health and safety, or in case of force majeure affecting the production, for a maximum of 4 (four)
- In case of increase in average production of goods and services of the enterprise in an unforeseeable manner which requires the establishment of a Temporary business Relationship, for a maximum of 4 (four)
- In case of periodic business increases, except for seasonal work, up to 4 (four)
Except periodic business increases, except for seasonal work, a Temporary Employment Relationship may only be established for up to 8 (eight) months and be renewed twice.
Employer cannot hire another Temporary employee for the same position for 6 (six) months by the end of specified date.
The number of Temporary employers cannot exceed one quarter of the number of all employees hired under the same enterprise, in case of increase in average production of goods and services of the enterprise in an unforeseeable manner, which requires the establishment of a Temporary Employment Relationship.
Maximum 5 (five) Temporary Employment Relationships can be established in enterprises with 10 (ten) or fewer employees.
Limitations in relation to Temporary Employment Relationship are stated as follows:
- Temporary Employment Relationship cannot be established for 8 (eight) months at enterprises where collective redundancy
- Temporary Employment Relationship cannot be established through Private Employment Agencies at public institutions and organisations
- Employer cannot employ Temporary workers during strike and lock-out.
3. Fundamental Liabilities
Temporary employees cannot receive advance or debt from the employer to be deducted from service cost of the Private Employment Agency.
Employer;
- notifies the Temporary employee of vacancies at the
- informs the Private Employment Agency immediately about occupational accidents and occupational diseases, and reports to the relevant authorities pursuant to the Law of Social Security and General Health Insurance.
- checks whether the wages of Temporary employees who work more than 1 (one) month at the enterprise are paid monthly during that working period of the employee in case of increase in average production of goods and services of the enterprise in an unforeseeable manner, which requires the establishment of a Temporary Employment Relationship
- pays the wages of the Temporary employees up to 3 (three) months directly to the bank account of the employees without paying the due amount of the Private Employment Agency but deducting from the debt of the Private Employment Agency until employees’ wages are
If the Temporary Employment Relationship continues after the end date of the Contract. an indefinite term Employment Contract is deemed to be established between the Employer and the Temporary Employee starting from the termination date of the Employment Contract. In this case, the Private Employment Agency is responsible for the wage of the employee related to the Temporary Employment Relationship. The surveillance of labour and the social security premiums, limited to the term of the Contract.
The obligations pursuant to the La\\ on Occupational Health and Safety, the Law on Social I nsurance and General Health Insurance and the Law on Unemployment Insurance regarding the employee of the Private Employment Agency shall be fulfilled by the Private Employment Agency. without prejudice to the Temporary Employ ment Relationship provisions under the Labour Law.
Temporary employees benefi t from training and child care services offered by the Private Employment Agency during their unemployed periods
4. Information Gathering, Data Entry and Privacy of Private Employment Agencies
Private Employment Agencies can only collect, process or make use of the information of jobseekers and employers on the purpose of Employment and operating Employment activities.
Private Employment Agencies cannot use the data compiled for the Agency-related operations for other purposes. Similarly. This information cannot be used by the Turkish Employment Agency for purposes other than relevant to the services offered by the Turkish Employment Agency.
This information was contributed by Köksal & Partners Attorney Partnership.
