An amendment published in the Official Gazette on 25 September 2026 (No. 33381) added a single paragraph to Article 9 of Turkey’s Remote Working Regulation: where part of the work is performed at the workplace and part remotely, the days on which the employee works at the workplace and remotely, together with the working hours, must be set out in the employment contract. The amendment took effect on publication and provides no transition period. Hybrid arrangements that run on a Slack message, an HR policy or a “two days in the office, please” email are, as of today, a contractual gap, and the gap carries an administrative fine of TRY 2,531 per employee.
The new provision, verbatim
New paragraph (2) of Article 9 reads, in translation: “It may be agreed that part of the work is performed at the workplace and part by way of remote working. In that case, the days on which the employee will work at the workplace and remotely, and the working hours, shall be determined in the employment contract.”
That is all. The amendment does not use the word “hybrid”, sets no minimum or maximum number of remote days, gives employees no unilateral right to demand hybrid work, does not make hybrid mandatory and sets no compliance timetable for existing contracts. What it does is name expressly a model that was already within the Regulation’s scope (Art. 4(b) defines a remote worker as one who performs “all or part” of the work remotely) and require the day-and-hour pattern to be in writing in the contract.
Why it matters now
Remote-work contracts already had to be in writing (Labour Law Art. 14; Regulation Art. 5). In practice most Turkish startups look like this: the employment contract was drafted for full-time office work, the hybrid pattern arrived later by verbal agreement or an HR handbook, and who is in the office on which day varies by team. The new paragraph makes that gap directly visible in an inspection. The inspector’s question is no longer “is your remote-work contract in writing?” but “does this employee’s contract say which days she works remotely?”
On the sanction side, Labour Law Art. 99/1(c) provides an administrative fine, per employee, for breaches of the remote-work rules in Art. 14; the Ministry of Labour’s 2026 schedule puts it at TRY 2,531. For a hybrid team of twenty, that is TRY 50,620 in theory. Not every contractual gap automatically produces a fine; the breach is assessed on the facts. But a hybrid employee with no written day pattern is now a defined non-compliance.
What to do: an addendum, not a policy
The Regulation says “in the employment contract”. A new contract is not needed; a written, signed addendum to the existing one is sufficient. An HR policy, intranet notice or email does not substitute for the contract. The addendum should cover:
- Days. For a fixed model, which weekdays are office days and which are remote. For a rotating model, the number of office days per week and the mechanism for setting them (for example, notified in writing by the team lead in the last week of each month). A single line such as “the employee may work remotely two days a week” is not considered sufficient.
- Hours. Start and end times on office and remote days, breaks, weekly working time, and the availability expected on remote days.
- Change mechanism. When, with how much notice and how the day pattern may change. This clause is the most practical way to manage the Art. 22 risk discussed below.
- Remote work location. Address and the duty to notify a change of address.
- Equipment and expenses. Inventory of employer-provided equipment (Regulation Art. 7) and how costs directly related to the work are covered (Art. 8).
- Communication, data security, OHS. Method and frequency of communication (Art. 10), data protection rules (Art. 11), remote-work-specific health and safety information (Art. 12).
- Overtime. Only on the employer’s written request and with the employee’s consent (Art. 9/1); how working time is recorded on remote days.
Sample clause
“The Employee performs the work at the workplace on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and remotely from the address at … on Wednesdays and Fridays. On both types of day, daily working time is 09:00–18:00 with a one-hour break. The Employer may, for operational reasons, change the office and remote days by written notice given at least fourteen days in advance, provided that such change does not increase the Employee’s number of office days per week. Any increase in the weekly number of office days, or termination of the hybrid arrangement, is subject to Article 22 of Labour Law No. 4857.”
For a rotating model the first sentence becomes: “The Employee works at the workplace on at least two days per week; the office days are notified in writing by the Employer in the last week of each month in line with team planning.” This formula meets the Regulation’s “days shall be determined in the contract” with a number plus a determination mechanism. It is fair to say, however, that it is less comfortable in an inspection than a fixed list of days.
Rolling back hybrid: the Art. 22 trap
Once the day pattern is written into the contract, a further consequence follows: it is now a working condition. Reducing remote days or calling everyone back to the office full time may amount to a material change in working conditions under Labour Law Art. 22. The employer must then notify the change in writing and the employee must accept it in writing within six working days; a change not so accepted does not bind the employee. Some commentators argue that not every return-to-office call is automatically a material change, but if the contract is silent on how the pattern may change, the argument opens against the employer. That is why the change clause in the sample above matters: it keeps operational reshuffles inside the contract and reserves increases in office days for Art. 22.
Do not forget the social security filing
Under the Social Security Institution’s General Letter of 5 July 2021, the number of remote-working days is reported in the monthly premium and service declaration (MUHSGK). For a hybrid employee only the days actually worked remotely are reported, and the number declared cannot exceed the days actually worked. The contractual day pattern and the SGK filing should match; if they do not, two documents end up contradicting each other in an inspection.
Three notes for startups
- Employees working from abroad are outside this rule; for them the issue is not remote work but which country’s employment and tax law applies. That is a separate article.
- In funding-round due diligence, employment contracts are now read for the hybrid clause as well. Ten missing addenda in a ten-person team is a “remedial action” line in the investor’s report.
- One template is enough. Day patterns may differ by team, but the addendum template is single; only the days and the address field change. In a hundred-person company it is an afternoon’s work.
FAQ
Is there a deadline for our existing hybrid employees?
No. The amendment entered into force on 25 September 2026 with no compliance period, so the obligation applies today and missing addenda should be completed as soon as practicable.
What if an employee refuses to sign the addendum?
If the arrangement is already hybrid in practice, the addendum merely documents the status quo; as long as it contains nothing adverse to the employee, there is little practical reason to refuse. If the addendum also reduces remote days, Art. 22 applies: written notice, six working days, and an unaccepted change does not bind.
Is the fine imposed per employee?
Yes. Art. 99/1(c) applies “for each employee in this situation”; the 2026 amount is TRY 2,531, revalued annually (25.49% for 2026).
Sources. Regulation Amending the Remote Working Regulation (Official Gazette 25.09.2026, No. 33381), Remote Working Regulation (Official Gazette 10.03.2021, No. 31419), Arts. 4, 5, 7–12 and 14, Labour Law No. 4857, Arts. 14, 22 and 99, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2026 Administrative Fines under Labour Law No. 4857 and the Social Security Institution’s General Letter of 05.07.2021, No. 27387564, on reporting remote-working days.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Contact us for the addendum template and a contract review.
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