Unpaid Wages in Turkey: How Foreign Employees Can Claim

Foreign teachers, hotel staff, engineers and office workers in Türkiye (Turkey) sometimes hear the same line: "the salary will come next month". Unpaid wages in Turkey are protected by the Labour Act No. 4857 (İş Kanunu), and the protection does not depend on your nationality. This guide explains your rights, the steps to claim, and the special questions foreign employees face.

Severance pay after the job ends is covered in our separate severance pay guide. For an overview of the field, see our page on employment law.

What are your wage rights under Turkish law?

• At least monthly: wages must be paid at least once a month (Art. 32), as a rule in Turkish lira, at the workplace or into a bank account. A wage agreed in a foreign currency may be paid in lira at the rate of the payment day.
• A payslip: the employer must give you a statement showing the wage, additions such as overtime, and every deduction (Art. 37).
• Overtime: work above 45 hours a week is overtime, paid at 150% of the hourly wage (Art. 41).
• Interest: late wages carry interest at the highest rate applied to bank deposits (Art. 34).
• Full settlement at the end: when employment ends, all wages and money benefits must be paid in full (Art. 32), including pay for unused annual leave (Art. 59).

Domestic work, such as a nanny or housekeeper employed by a family, falls outside the Labour Act (Art. 4) and is governed by the Code of Obligations. Wages can still be claimed, but some of the rules below differ.

Can you stop working if your salary is late?

Yes. If your wage is not paid within 20 days of the payment date, except in case of force majeure, you may refuse to work. The employer cannot dismiss you for this reason or hire someone else to do your job, and a refusal by many employees at once is not treated as a strike (Art. 34).

Tell the employer in writing that you are stopping work because of unpaid wages, and keep proof of when you sent it. You also have a second option: unpaid or incorrectly calculated wages are a just cause for immediate resignation (Art. 24/II-e). If you have worked at least one year, resigning on this ground preserves your right to severance pay.

How do you claim unpaid wages step by step?

While you are still employed, you can also complain to the labour inspectors of the Ministry of Labour about individual wage claims; this route is open only as long as the contract continues (Art. 91). If you have already left Türkiye, a lawyer can conduct mediation and the case with a power of attorney signed abroad.

Does working without a work permit affect your claim?

Foreigners may not work in Türkiye without a work permit, unless exempt (Law 6735, Art. 6). Unpermitted work exposes both the employee and the employer to administrative fines, the foreigner is reported to the Interior Ministry for deportation, and the employer must pay the costs of return (Art. 23). Our work permit guide explains the permit types.

The wage claim itself does not automatically disappear. Under the Code of Obligations, an employment contract later found invalid has the effects of a valid one until the relationship ends (TBK Art. 394/3), so wages for work actually done can generally be claimed. How courts treat each claim depends on the facts, and raising it may bring the permit issue to the authorities' attention. Get advice before you act.

What if the employer goes bankrupt?

The Wage Guarantee Fund (Ücret Garanti Fonu) pays insured employees up to three months of unpaid wages, but only if the employer is in concordat (konkordato), bankrupt, or a certificate of insolvency (aciz vesikası) has been issued (Law 4447, Additional Art. 1). You must have worked at the same workplace during the last year before the insolvency; the payment is based on the basic wage and is capped. The Fund does not help when an employer is simply unwilling to pay.

The outcome of a wage claim depends on your documents and on your work permit position. For your specific case, individual legal advice is recommended.