New Developments
The Regulation Amending the Remote Working Regulation (the “Amending Regulation”), prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, was published in the Official Gazette dated 25 September 2026 and numbered 33381 and took effect on the same day. It inserts a second paragraph on hybrid working into Article 9 of the Remote Working Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 10 March 2021 and numbered 31419 (the “Regulation”), which governs remote working under Turkish law. No transitional period is provided for existing employment relationships.
The New Provision
The new paragraph reads as follows (unofficial translation): “It may be agreed that the work is performed partly at the workplace and partly through remote working. In that case, the days on which the employee will work at the workplace and remotely, together with the working hours, shall be set out in the employment contract.”
Partial remote working is not new to the Regulation. Since 2021, the definition in Article 4 has treated an employee who does only part of their work remotely as a remote worker. Until this amendment, however, Article 9 merely required the contract to specify the time range and duration of remote working and did not address how the week is divided between the workplace and remote working.
The new paragraph sets two rules. The first sentence makes hybrid working a matter of agreement: employers are not obliged to offer it, and employees have no unilateral right to it. The second sentence is mandatory: once hybrid working is agreed, the days and working hours must be set out in the employment contract.
Compliance Points for Employers
Since the days and working hours must be set out in the employment contract, employers running hybrid working through an internal policy, an e-mail announcement or a remote working protocol that does not set out the days should move them into the contract through a written addendum signed by the employee. The addendum must itself be in writing, since Article 5 of the Regulation subjects employment contracts relating to remote working to written form. The Regulation does not say whether the days must be fixed or may rotate, so in rotating or flexible arrangements the contract should state clearly the rule by which the days are allocated.
If the addendum goes beyond recording the existing practice, for example by increasing the number of days at the workplace, Article 22 of Labor Law No. 4857 (the “Labor Law”) may come into play. Such a material change in working conditions must be notified to the employee in writing, and a change that the employee does not accept in writing within 6 working days is not binding on the employee.
Article 99 of the Labor Law provides for an administrative fine for each affected employee where Article 14 of the Labor Law is breached, so hybrid working that is not based on a written contract carries a sanction risk in an inspection by labor inspectors. The obligations under Article 12 of the Regulation on information, training, health surveillance and equipment safety also apply to the days worked remotely.
Conclusion
The Amending Regulation entered into force on 25 September 2026 and allows no time for adjustment. Employers operating hybrid working arrangements should review their existing contracts and protocols, complete those that do not set out the days and working hours with a written addendum, and submit any step involving a material change to the employee’s written acceptance under Article 22 of the Labor Law.
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