Hiring a first employee through a Turkish company starts with an employer file, a timely SGK entry notification and a payroll process that can be repeated every month. The employment contract matters, but it is only one part of the operating file. Missing the social-security sequence creates avoidable exposure from day one.
For a new Turkish entity, set the owner of each step before the employee starts: company signatory, payroll provider, HR contact and bank approver. Corpenza's Turkey payroll support can help organise that operating sequence.
What must be ready before the first employee starts?
Before work begins, the company needs a registered workplace/employer record, the employee's identity and employment data, a signed employment arrangement, and a payroll calendar. Under Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510, the ordinary insured-person entry notification is due no later than the day before the employee starts work. Limited statutory exceptions exist, including the first day in certain construction, fishing and agricultural workplaces.
Do not treat the signature date as the operational deadline. Confirm the actual start date, then work backward. A Friday signature for a Monday start leaves little room for a missing document or an incorrect social-security number.
What are the SGK basics for a first hire?
SGK is Türkiye's Social Security Institution. For a standard first hire, the company first needs the correct employer workplace registration and then submits the employee's entry notice through the SGK electronic process. The official SGK e-Bildirge portal is part of that workflow.
Payroll should then reconcile gross pay, statutory deductions, employer costs and the payment record for each cycle. The exact amounts depend on remuneration, incentives, employee status and current annual parameters. Check the live SGK and tax tables before fixing a budget.
Which personnel records should the company keep?
Keep a personnel file for each employee, with the documents and records required by the applicable law. Article 75 of Labour Law No. 4857 requires an employer to maintain a personnel file and to keep the employee information and documents it must prepare under that law and other laws.
In practice, file the signed contract and amendments, identity and right-to-work evidence where relevant, SGK notification evidence, role and pay records, leave records, payroll outputs and payment evidence. Access should be limited. A shared inbox is not a personnel-file system.
How should a foreign-owned Turkish company set up payroll?
A foreign-owned Turkish company uses the same local employer framework as another Turkish employer once it hires locally. The clean model is to decide whether the Turkish entity will employ directly, appoint a local payroll owner and keep approvals documented. If there is no Turkish entity yet, read our guide on hiring in Türkiye without a local entity before offering employment.
Do not copy an overseas contract and assume it covers local payroll. The local employment relationship, social-security reporting, wage payment mechanics and data handling need a Turkish review.
What should happen in the first payroll month?
Run a controlled first cycle: confirm the start date, reconcile attendance and agreed pay, review the draft payroll, submit the relevant declarations on the applicable timetable, pay wages and archive the evidence. Give the finance approver a gross-to-net summary and a separate employer-cost view.
That first reconciliation exposes most setup mistakes. Fixing a classification or data error before the second cycle is far easier than rebuilding several months of filings.
FAQs
Can the employee begin before the SGK entry notice?
For the ordinary rule, the employee entry notice must be submitted no later than the day before work starts. Check the statutory exception carefully rather than assuming it applies.
Does an employment contract replace the SGK process?
No. The contract documents the employment terms. Employer registration, employee notification and recurring payroll compliance are separate operational steps.
Can a foreign company hire in Türkiye without a local entity?
Sometimes an employer-of-record or another lawful structure may be assessed, but it should not be treated as a shortcut around Turkish employment and social-security obligations.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. This is general information. Payroll rules and current parameters change, and the correct treatment depends on the actual role, start date and company facts.
For a first-hire checklist matched to the company's structure, contact Corpenza before the employee starts.
