Turkish social security premium disputes

Legal and administrative developments regarding social security (SGK) premium records in Turkey have highlighted issues surrounding service day validity.

A ruling by the Turkish Court of Cassation established a precedent for employees working remotely during the pandemic, ordering the registration of missing service days for an academic whose digital records proved continuous employment despite incomplete SGK entries. The Court of Cassation’s 10th Civil Chamber recently affirmed a decision requiring the addition of 189 missing service days for an academic who worked via online lessons between December 2020 and June 2021, setting a precedent for pandemic-era remote work arrangements.

Concurrently, experts have warned that discrepancies in service records can lead to the cancellation of retirement applications or the termination of pension payments. Specific indicators in service records, such as the ‘K’ code for workplaces under inspection, the ‘Ş’ code for suspicious notifications, and the ‘S’ code for fraudulent records, may trigger audits. If invalid days are removed, workers may fall below retirement thresholds, resulting in demands for the repayment of pensions and healthcare expenses. Experts also note that overlapping premium periods, such as simultaneous 4/A and 4/B notifications, do not increase total day counts.

To combat informal employment, the SGK has introduced new regulations allowing official reports from law enforcement, municipal police, doctors, and other public officials to serve as direct evidence of working days. Under a new circular, the SGK’s Unregistered Employment Combat (KADİM) services will manage this process. Official reports from veterinarians, engineers, and even in-person traffic fine reports issued by gendarmerie or traffic police will be utilized to identify unregistered labor. Once existing employees are filtered, remaining files will be transferred to Social Security Inspectors. Documented periods will be classified as part-time work, with the earliest official document serving as the employment start date.