SSI Missing Day Reasons of Foreign Nationals Are Extended

The procedure and principles to be followed in the transactions regarding work permit and work permit exemptions to be given to foreign nationals, are regulated with 6735 numbered International Labor Force Law (the “Law”) and the Governing Regulation on the Law Regarding Work Permits of Foreign Nationals (the “Regulation”). According to these legislations, missing day reasons of the foreign nationals working at a workplace are not accepted excluding working while maternity and breast-feeding leave; and 30 days of declaration is sought in a month. Social Security Institution (“SSI”) has made a revision with its 18.03.2019 dated regulation on the missing day documents; and made some regulations regarding the demand of monthly premium and service document along with withholding and premium service declaration.

The issues regulated by SSI in 18.03.2019 dated letter regarding missing day documents of foreign nationals, as follows:

• Legal labor is defined in the Art. 3 of the regulation; and in this definition, it is stated that legal labor means working with paying social security premiums or being an exemption while complying other obligations regulated in residence, work permit given in line with the laws and other related legislation.
• Again, the Art. 14 of the Regulation states that the durations added into legal labor are annual leaves, working accidents and occupational illness, illness and maternity, benefit for temporary incapacity and the period that benefit for unemployment is taken; and that these periods should be added into legal labor durations.
• The work permit applications, agreement kind and content shall be determined by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Security Services; and in the evaluation process (excluding the issue mentioned in the Art. 19 of the 6735 numbered Law) the work permit application is not accepted if it is a part-time labor agreement and it is not possible to declare work permit which is for 1 year or more, as part-time afterwards (except for working in maternity and breast feeding).
• Although it is not mentioned in the Law, “annual leave, work accident and occupational illness, illness, benefit for temporary incapacity and unemployment insurance” are within the definition of legal labor in the Regulation.
• The Social Security Institution has stated that the employees may have missing working days because of unforeseen reasons that employee or employer cannot control, thus administrative sanctions on the employer because of the employer’s being foreign national and that are not arise from the employer, may cause damages that are hard to recover, and having a work permit or work permit exemption shall not mean that the foreign national has been working or will work during the permit and exemption duration.
• Art. 102(13) of the Social Security Transactions Regulation drafts missing days documents, including:
  • Report that shows sick leave taken from authorized health institutions or company doctors,
  • Documents regarding custody and detention,
  • Strike, lockout, events that affects life in general, letter sample that is from official authorities regarding the termination of activity or sustaining activity in workplace,
  That prove the reasons of missing working or missing payment reasons along with the documents that prove missing working or missing salary payment in case of situations listed in Art. 74 of the Labor Law come up, shall be accepted by the SSI; and monthly premium and service document along with withholding and premium service declarations are not demanded.
• The foreign national employees that do not start working within the work permit duration and discharged with the workplace, shall be applied to the Ministry for the cancelation of their work permits with mentioning the reasons by the employers.
• Again, the foreign national that acquire work permit, has to come Türkiye within six months as of the validation of the work permit, and that’s why with the provision of not exceeding the durations mentioned in the art. 12 and 15 of the Law, in case of starting to work in the later periods or going abroad temporary without dismissal from work, with considering in and out dates to the country, for the period that the individual be on road, exempting the exit day from the country considering the period on road and for these periods the employer will not provide monthly premium and service document or withholding and premium service declaration.

Notwithstanding the above-mentioned details of the General Letter of the SSI; there is no implementation on the issue yet. We will make notification upon the official statement of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services.

You may reach the full text of the general letter in Turkish regarding “the missing days declaration reasons of foreign national employees” here.