Recent Development
The Communiqué on the Employment of Insured Employees in Domestic Services under Additional Article 9 of the Law No. 5510 (the “Communiqué”) was amended on December 29, 2016. This new method will facilitate enrolling domestic servant in the state’s social security scheme.
What the Communiqué Says
a. Scope
The Communiqué sets forth the obligations of service receivers, where real persons hire insured employees in domestic services (ev hizmetleri) for (i) less than 10 days, and (ii) 10 days and more within one month.
“Service receivers” are real persons who hire an insured employee in domestic services for less than 10 days within a month and they are not deemed “employer”. Service receivers, who hire domestic service employees for 10 or more days within one month, are however deemed “employers.”
b. Amendments in the Communiqué
The latest amendments in the Communiqué relate to the procedure of taking domestic servants on board the state’s social security scheme if they are working in domestic services for less than 10 days within a month.
Service receivers previously made notifications to the Social Security Institution (the “SSI”) by submitting a form or through the www.turkiye.gov.tr (e-state) database. With the recent amendments, service receivers can now also submit such notifications through SMS. Individuals hiring insured employees in domestic services for less than 10 days within a month will thus first register themselves as “service receivers” utilizing their Turkish Republic ID No. through SMS to be sent to the SSI. Service receivers will then make notifications to the SSI by providing the domestic servant’s Turkish Republic ID No. and the dates, on which the employee will work each month.
Such domestic servants are covered by the short term occupational accident and occupational disease insurances. Therefore, service receivers are under the obligation to notify the SSI when they hire domestic servants and pay premiums for occupational accident and occupational disease insurances, i.e. 2% of the minimum daily earnings basis taken for monthly premium calculation. The premium expense will be added on the service receivers’ telephone bill.
Although the legislation does not bring an administrative fine for service receivers’ failure to comply with their notification obligation, service receivers will be held responsible for any damages sustained by domestic servants in case of an occupational accident and/or occupational disease that occurs during service.
Conclusion
The introduction of the new notification system provides service receivers with a practical and swift alternative to stay within the notification and payment.
