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An employee’s right to salary is one of the most strongly protected areas under Turkish labor law. The full and timely payment of salary is a consequence of both the constitutionally guaranteed right to work and a fundamental element of the employment contract. Therefore, an employer may make unilateral deductions from an employee’s salary only in limited circumstances provided for by law or recognized as legally valid.
Under the Labor Law No. 4857 (“Labor Law”), salary is defined as “the amount provided by the employer or third parties to an individual in exchange for work and paid in cash”. The fundamental principle in labor law is the full payment of the employee’s salary. Any reduction or deduction from salary made by the employer arbitrarily or based on their unilateral discretion is unlawful.
Under Turkish law, deductions from employees’ salaries may be made in the following circumstances:
a. Mandatory deductions arising from legislation
These deductions arise directly from legislation, and the employee’s separate consent is not required for such deductions. Examples include income tax, stamp tax, Social Security contributions, and unemployment insurance contributions.
b. Deductions made as part of salary deduction penalty
Pursuant to the Labor Law, an employer may not impose a salary deduction penalty except for reasons specified in a collective bargaining agreement or an employment contract. If such salary deduction penalty that is in compliance with the legislation is to be imposed, the employee must be notified immediately and in writing of the relevant reasons for the deduction. Deductions made under this provision may not exceed two days’ salary in a month, or, in cases where salary is paid per piece or based on the amount of work performed, the employee’s earnings for two days.
In accordance with this, the amounts deducted must be deposited into the account of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security within one month of the date of deduction, to be used and spent for the education and social services of employees.
Supreme Court’s 22nd Civil Chamber, in its decision dated February 7, 2014, with case no. 2013/1781 E. and resolution no. 2014/1741 K., stated: “Under Article 38 titled ‘Salary Deduction Penalty,’ it is stated that ‘The employer may not impose a salary deduction penalty on the employee for reasons other than those specified in collective agreements or employment contracts. Any deductions from the employee’s salary made as a penalty must be immediately communicated to the employee along with the reasons. …..”. The circumstances and amounts for which deductions may be made from an employee’s salary under the Labor Law are limited to these. No other deductions may be made from salary unless they fall under the above categories or are of an enforcement nature. However, pursuant to Article 407 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, “The employer may not set off the employee’s salary against the employer’s claim against the employee without the employee’s consent. However, claims arising from damages intentionally caused by the employee and established by a court decision may be set off up to the amount of the salary subject to garnishment. Agreements regarding the use of salary in favor of the employer are void.”.
c. Enforcement and garnishment procedures regarding employees
Under Turkish law, garnishment of salary is primarily regulated under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, and pursuant to these provisions, the employee’s entire salary cannot be garnished. As a rule, no more than one-fourth of the employee’s salary may be garnished; however, alimony claims constitute an exception to this limitation. In practice, courts or enforcement offices may occasionally set a higher rate. The employer is obligated to make the relevant deduction in accordance with the garnishment notice received at and to transfer it to the enforcement file. In such cases, the employer is obligated to make the relevant deduction without seeking the employee’s consent, as failure to make garnishment deductions or making them incompletely may expose the employer to liability under enforcement law as a third party.
The Supreme Court acknowledges that even with the employee’s explicit consent, the entire salary cannot be garnished (though different practices may apply regarding alimony claims), and that the statutory limits pertain to public order. However, agreements between the employee and the employer regarding higher amounts are generally not recognized. In this regard, the Supreme Court’s 12th Civil Chamber’s decision dated October 20, 2015, with case no. 2015/18836 E. and resolution no. 2015/25179 K., stated: “Pursuant to Article 83/a of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law; an agreement made by the debtor with the creditor regarding the attachment of property or a right that was not subject to attachment prior to the attachment is invalid. The reasoning explaining the purpose of the aforementioned article also states that “since the debtor cannot foresee the consequences prior to attachment, a declaration that he will not object to the attachment of a property, salary, or wages, or a waiver of the application of the statutory provision in his favor, shall be deemed void, as it is stated that the extent to which a property is exempt from attachment can be determined based on the debtor’s and their family’s circumstances at the time of attachment. In such cases, the debtor may waive this right regarding property and rights that cannot be attached either during the attachment process or in the period following its execution.”.
Additionally, in the Supreme Court’s case law, it is stated that payments such as bonuses, gratuities, and overtime wages may also be considered within the broad scope of salary and thus be eligible for attachment protection.
d. Deductions based on the employee’s express consent
For deductions from salary other than those mentioned above (such as tuition fees, social assistance, or sports club dues), the employer must obtain the employee’s written consent after the debt has arisen but before the relevant deduction is made.
In its decision dated December 22, 2014, case no. 2014/18032 E. and resolution no. 2014/39238 K., the 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court stated: “In the specific case at hand, the payment in question was made by the employer for social purposes and in good faith, and was not provided for in the collective bargaining agreement or the law. Pursuant to Articles 63 and 66 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 818, the employer may not deduct the subject bonus payments—made in good faith without a contractual or legal basis—from the employee’s salary without the employee’s written consent.”.
It should be noted that in disputes, general consent clauses pre-established in employment contracts are often deemed invalid; consent obtained from employees is valid only if it is obtained following the occurrence of a specific debt with a determined amount.
Furthermore, under the Turkish Code of Obligations, an employer may not set off a claim against an employee against the employer’s salary debt without the employee’s consent. However, claims arising from damages caused by the employee’s fault and established by a court decision may be set off up to the amount of the salary that is subject to garnishment. Agreements stipulating that salary may be used in the employer’s favor are invalid.
In all these cases, where the employee has caused damage to the employer through their own fault, it is not appropriate for the employer to directly deduct the relevant damage from the employee’s salary based solely on the employer’s unilateral assessment. Instead, the employee’s fault and the damage caused must be proven with concrete evidence, and written consent must be obtained from the employee after the debt arises but before any deduction is made.
In its decisions dated February 5, 2020, case no. 2016/11906 E. and resolution no. 2020/1492K. the 9th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court stated: “Accordingly, since the deduction from the plaintiff’s salary was not based on the employee’s consent or a court order, the court erred in ruling to reject the claim in writing rather than upholding the claim as requested.”.
Finally, under the Labor Law, an employer may not make any deductions from an employee’s salary solely because the employee has fulfilled obligations arising from the law or the employment contract. This provision is also a reflection of the principle of protection of salary.
In the event of a violation of the provisions mentioned above, the employee has the right to terminate the employment contract for just cause (and thereby demand payment of their legal entitlements, including severance pay, from the employer) and to demand payment of the unpaid salary along with interest. Additionally, the employer may be subject to an administrative fine due to the underpayment of the employee’s salary
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
