With the first employee come the start notification, the monthly payroll and the social security filing. Here is what an employer does on which day, where penalties start, and what a payslip contains.
The day you hire your first employee, the accounting calendar gains a new track. The sales invoice is in your hands. The social security notification is tied to the day the employee starts, and missing it creates an administrative fine. The payroll is also a monthly calculation from gross wage to net. This guide simplifies that calendar for sole proprietorships and companies in Ankara that employ people.
A workplace registration can be required even before you have staff. If there is a signboard, a warehouse or a continuing place of activity, an SGK workplace file is opened. Working alone from home is one thing. Employing an insured person is another. We separate the two in the first meeting. The scope of the work is on the social security and payroll page.
Starting and leaving
As a rule the start notification is filed before the employee begins work. Some jobs allow a same-day exception. Do not assume the exception. Leaving the start hour until after the notification, with “it will be fine today”, is how fines begin. The exit notification is filed within ten days of the leaving date. Do not extend that period from memory just because the tenth day is a weekend. The official period is what the announcement says.
Filing the notification does not mean the wage is right. If the wage is under the minimum for the occupation, or under an incentive condition, a separate problem appears. Shaking hands on a net wage and never discussing the gross surprises both sides on the first payroll. You can see gross and net with the gross-to-net salary calculator. The tool is for information. Incentives and exemptions change the result.
What sits on a payslip
From the gross wage come the employee’s social security premium, the unemployment premium, income tax and stamp duty. As those employee shares reduce the net, the employer’s share is calculated separately and it is a cost of the business. The employer’s rate changes with whether you use an incentive. Sticking one percentage on every workplace is wrong. The incentive depends on conditions such as the sector, headcount and a certificate of no debt. If a condition lapses, the rate rises. Noticing that mid-year breaks the budget.
Overtime, bonuses, transport and meals are also payroll. Some of them can fall under an exemption. Do not generalise the exemption into “we gave everyone a meal card, so there is no tax”. The form of the document and the cap on the amount change the result. An extra payment made in cash, if it is not on the payroll, is missing both from the employee’s receivable and from the premium base.
| Task | Deadline | If you are late |
|---|---|---|
| Start notification | As a rule, before work begins | An administrative fine |
| Exit notification | Within 10 days of leaving | An administrative fine |
| Monthly premium filing | With the withholding return, often the 26th | Fine and delay |
| Paying the wage | Contract and practice | A wage claim |
| Sick notes | As the document arrives | The missing-day count |
The monthly premium and service information travels with the withholding and premium services return. The wider filing calendar is in the tax return calendar. The social security day and the VAT day can fall in the same week. Seeing both on one list stops you paying one and forgetting the other.
Missing days, sick notes and a pay rise
An employee who joins or leaves mid-month does not have 30 days. Unpaid leave, a sick note and the time sheet are written as missing days. A wrong missing-day code can make the premium look both short and high. Who pays the sick-pay, and from which day the institution pays, becomes clear after the document arrives. Leaving the document in a drawer suspends both the employee and the filing.
If a pay rise applies from the middle of the month, the payroll can be split in two. Saying “we will raise it next year” and not writing it on the payroll becomes a dispute later. A rise should be tied to the contract or to a written notice. A verbal rise does not exist at the first disagreement.
Relative share of payroll cost
The bars are not a tax calculation. They are a rough order against the gross wage. If the incentive lapses, the second bar grows.
Do not assume the incentive
Incentives such as the five-point reduction have been discussed for a long time. Using them requires the workplace to have no premium debt, plus the other conditions in the rules. The conditions can change. Writing the incentive into the budget as “we already get it” raises the cost suddenly in a month when a debt appears. At the start of each year, before you hire, ask which incentive is open. Filing a start notification without asking makes a backward correction harder.
A foreign employee, an intern and a part-time employee each need their own documentation. Notifying them like a full-time post inflates the day count. Notifying them short leaves days that never reach the employee’s retirement record. Both come back to the employer.
Closing the month
The time sheet belongs to the employer. The accountant does not invent it. Leave, absence and overtime are yours. Sending them in writing on the last working day of the month stops the payroll being cut on a guess. Saying “they actually missed three days” after the payroll is cut means amending the notification. An amendment can be possible. If it becomes a habit, the risk of a fine becomes a habit too.
A payslip given to the employee is part of being clear. An employee who sees why the net is that amount objects less in the middle of the month. An employee who does not see it writes “it arrived short again” every month. Most objections come from the deduction not being explained.
Inspection and keeping the records
An SGK inspection usually arrives at the workplace without notice. The inspector wants to see the employee on site, compare the time sheet with the notification, and check whether the wage was paid from the bank. A person standing by the wall and working off the notification creates both a premium debt and a fine. “It is a trial day” does not work if insurance starts on the day work actually begins. A probation period is not a right to uninsured days.
Paying the wage from the bank leaves a trail that cash does not. The trail is in your favour in a dispute. If there is no receipt or signed slip for a cash payment, the employee can ask for those months years later. Do not throw away payrolls, time sheets and notifications before the retention period ends. If you keep them electronically, the backup should not live on one computer. When the computer fails, “it was in the payroll program” shows the inspector no document.
A work accident and an occupational illness need their own notice. Postponing the accident until payroll day informs both the employee and the institution late. The accident minute, the medical document and the notice are the same week’s work. Do not expect these items from the accountant. The event happens at the workplace. The accountant files the minute you wrote, inside the deadline. Without a minute, the deadline does not really run.
Frequently asked questions
I have one employee. Do I still file?
Yes. If you employ an insured person, the start notice, the monthly filing and the exit notice apply to one person as well.
If I pay wages in cash, do I still need a payroll?
Paying wages off the books leaves the premium and the tax short. It is also harder to prove in a dispute. The payroll is the record of the payment.
Does every workplace get the incentive automatically?
No. A no-debt certificate and the other conditions in the rules are required. Without them the employer’s share rises.
Can I file the start notice late and catch up?
The rule is to file before work starts. A late notice can create a fine. Check any exception for your own file. Do not generalise it.
Does the accountant keep the time sheet?
No. Attendance and overtime come from the employer. The accountant prepares the payroll and the notifications from what you send.
Final word
Payroll and social security are not a job you remember once a month. The start date, the time sheet and the premium filing are tied together. Filing one of them late does not stop the others being right. It only adds the fine and the correction.
At our Kızılay office we keep the hiring notice, the monthly payroll and the incentive check together. Looking at the social security service once before you hire is cheaper than the first fine.
Ask our advisor for an assessment tailored to your situation.
