What is kayıt dışı istihdam?
Kayıt dışı istihdam (informal employment) refers to employment relationships not declared to the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu — SGK), or declared at lower wages/hours than actual (“eksik bildirim”). Both forms violate 5510 sayılı Sosyal Sigortalar Kanunu and Article 81-90 of 4857 sayılı İş Kanunu. Turkey has long-standing structural informality, particularly in agriculture, construction, hospitality, and household work. SGK and Çalışma Bakanlığı conduct routine and risk-based inspections.
Employer sanctions
- Late registration (geç tescil): administrative fine per undeclared worker (2 monthly minimum wages currently).
- Premium liability: retroactive SGK premium plus interest plus default interest (gecikme zammı).
- Tax liability: retroactive gelir vergisi stopajı plus stamp duty.
- Public procurement exclusion: sustained informal employment can disqualify from public tenders.
- Criminal exposure: systematic non-declaration may attract 213 sayılı VUK Article 359 (defraudation) charges.
Worker remedies
Workers may file “hizmet tespit davası” in İş Mahkemesi to retroactively establish unreported employment periods. Once judgment is final, SGK reconstructs the service record. Such cases have a 5-year statute of limitations from the work’s termination. Workers may simultaneously claim severance, notice pay, unused leave, and overtime.
Inspection and amnesty cycles
Periodic structural reform packages (often labelled “yapılandırma” or “varlık barışı”) offer reduced-interest premium settlement windows. These do not generally extinguish individual worker claims — only SGK debt.
Do: register every worker on day one of employment via SGK e-bildirge; reconcile payroll vs. SGK monthly; correct under-declarations proactively before inspection.
Don’t: use “deneme süresi” or “stajyer” labels to defer SGK registration — both must be registered.