What is an özlük dosyası (Turkish personnel file)?
An özlük dosyası is the personnel file Turkish law requires employers to keep for every employee, mandated by Article 75 of Labor Code No. 4857. It holds the employment contract, identity records, social security filings, health reports, and disciplinary records, and must be kept confidential and produced to labor inspectors on request.
What must a Turkish personnel file contain?
The özlük dosyası is a mandatory per-employee dossier in which the employer collects every legally required employment document, from hire to exit. At hire it takes in the employment contract, a copy of the national ID, proof of residence, diplomas, the criminal record extract, the pre-employment health report, the SGK (social security) hire notification, a photograph, and military service status for male employees. During employment, leave records, written overtime consents, disciplinary minutes, performance reviews, payslips, and occupational safety training records are added. At exit, the termination notice, release form, and SGK exit filing complete it.
For companies hiring in Turkey without a local HR function, the duty sits with whoever is the legal employer under Turkish law — your Turkish entity, or the employer of record engaging staff on your behalf. It is a standing compliance item, not a one-time onboarding formality.
Confidentiality and KVKK, Turkey's data protection law
Article 75 pairs the filing duty with a confidentiality duty: the employer must use the information lawfully and in good faith, and must not disclose information the employee has a legitimate interest in keeping private.
The file is dense with personal data, and health reports and criminal record extracts count as special-category data under KVKK (Law No. 6698), Turkey's data protection law, broadly parallel to the GDPR. The employer must inform employees about the processing (Art. 10), implement data security measures (Art. 12), restrict access to staff who need it, and delete, destroy, or anonymize records once the legal reason for keeping them lapses (Art. 7).
Retention periods and digital files
Workplace records must be retained for 10 years under Social Security Law No. 5510, Article 86, counted from the start of the year after the record's year. Employee health records must be kept for 15 years after the employment ends under the relevant occupational health regulation. Retention matters beyond inspections — in Turkish labor disputes the personnel file is the employer's primary documentary evidence.
No provision requires paper, so a digital özlük dosyası is valid. Secure electronic signatures carry the same legal effect as handwritten ones under Law No. 5070, and the practical test is whether the file can be produced to labor inspectors and other authorities on request.
| Legal basis | Labor Code No. 4857, Article 75 |
| Scope | One file per employee, no exceptions |
| Retention | 10 years (Social Security Law No. 5510, Art. 86) |
| Health records | 15 years after employment ends |
| Penalty | Administrative fine under Labor Code Art. 104 |
| Data protection | KVKK (Law No. 6698) |
Frequently asked
The legal employer in Turkey — an employer of record, or the company's own Turkish entity — is the party required to maintain the özlük dosyası under Article 75 of the Labor Code. Staff engaged through an EOR are covered by the EOR's files, but the client still benefits from confirming the practice exists.
Workplace records must be retained for 10 years under Social Security Law No. 5510, counted from the start of the year following the record's year. Employee health records must be kept for 15 years after the employment ends.
Turkish law does not require paper files, so a digital özlük dosyası is valid. Secure electronic signatures carry the same legal effect as handwritten ones under Law No. 5070, and the file must remain producible to labor inspectors on request.
An employer that fails to keep personnel files faces an administrative fine under Article 104 of Labor Code No. 4857, with the amount revalued each year. Missing files also weaken the employer's position in labor disputes, where the file is the primary documentary evidence.
Yes. The documents in an özlük dosyası are the employee's personal data, and art. 11 of KVKK (Law No. 6698) grants every data subject the right to learn whether their data is processed and to request information about it. The employee applies to the employer in writing, and the employer must conclude the request free of charge within 30 days at the latest (KVKK art. 13). In practice that means inspection and copies — the originals stay with the employer, who carries the retention duty under Labor Code art. 75.