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30 July 2025

Turkiye Ministry of Labor and Social Security increases planned workplace inspections with potential for penalties

  • The Turkish Ministry of Labour appears to be increasing its workplace inspections for 2025, focusing on sectors such as private health institutions, education, logistics and manufacturing.
  • Key potential areas for inspection include working periods, wage applications, overtime and compliance with labor laws regarding rest periods, annual leave and protections for vulnerable workers.
  • Unlike previous years, the 2025 inspections appear to involve a larger number of inspectors and cover more workplaces, with the potential for penalties imposed for noncompliance and incorrect practices.
  • Potentially affected entities should proactively review their Human Resources processes and ensure compliance with labor regulations to help reduce the risk of penalties during inspections.
 

At the beginning of each calendar year, the Turkish Ministry of Labour's Guidance and Inspection Board determines which sectoral inspections to schedule for the year ahead. The sectors subject to inspection and the areas of focus are not initially disclosed to the public, however. The workplaces to be inspected are first determined by sector, and then the companies to be inspected are determined through risk analyses.

In 2025, the sectors under review appear to be:

  1. Private health institutions
  2. Private educational institutions
  3. Logistics and storage workplaces
  4. Industry workplaces (i.e., manufacturing)
  5. Courier and cargo companies

Areas that the Ministry seems likely to focus on include:

  1. Working periods
  2. Monthly fee/daily fee applications
  3. Wage deductions in cases of rest (e.g., sick leave, maternity leave)
  4. Overtime
  5. Working on Union of General Trade Unions (UBGT) days (i.e., religious and national holidays)
  6. Night work
  7. Annual leave
  8. Violations of protective provisions for women, children and young workers and part-time employees

What is new?

Unlike in previous years, planned labor inspections in 2025 appear to involve a larger number of inspectors covering more workplaces in the country. In addition to guidance and compliance information being provided during inspections, penalties may also be imposed for deficient or incorrect practices. As a precautionary measure, companies should consider having experts review their Human Resources processes through check-up inspections.

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Contact Information

For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:

Kuzey Yeminli Mali Müsavirlik A.S., Istanbul

Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor

Document ID: 2025-1621

 

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