It is possible for employers who want to expand their fields of activity to send their workers abroad. In this direction, transferring workers within the scope of the foreign service agreement is one of the most used methods.
In this article, we will briefly mention the general provisions of foreign service agreements and the special provisions of employment between Turkey and Germany in terms of bilateral agreements.
FOREIGN SERVICE AGREEMENT
Turkish employers can employ workers abroad by concluding a foreign service agreement with the workers to employ them in their jobs abroad through IŞKUR's approval. There is no distinction between qualified and unskilled workers in terms of workers through this method.
The provisions of the foreign service agreement cannot be changed after being approved. The working conditions valid in the country to will be applied to the worker, without prejudice to the minimum conditions.
Without a doubt, some documents are sought while making the application through the IŞKUR. Solely making the foreign service agreement is not sufficient in terms of transferring the workers abroad.
Apart from the bureaucratic documents, we need to underline the must-have documents to acquire, prior to application: One of the must-have documents is Foreign Contracting Certificate. This certificate is essential when employers wish to operate their construction activities abroad.
The other essential document is a letter to be obtained from the authorized unit in the country where the work was taken for contracting works or the Certificate of Receipt of Work. This document simply implies the job taken abroad to which the relevant workers shall be sent.
In addition to these general conditions, as a result of Turkey's bilateral agreements with Germany, there are special regulations for Turkish workers to be employed in Germany under the foreign service contract.
EMPLOYMENT OF TURKISH COMPANIES IN GERMANY WITHIN THE SCOPE OF CONTRACT OF WORK
If a Turkish company has a contract of work with a company in Germany, the Turkish company can transfer its workers to Germany through a special provision. In this setup, the Turkish employer has to follow the steps below:
• A Turkish company signs a Contract of Works with a company established in Germany.
• The Turkish company applies to IŞKUR Provincial Directorates or Service Centers for the Quota Allocation Document.
• The Turkish company requests a quota allocation document to the Stuttgart Employment Agency and a preliminary work permit for the workers who will transfer to Germany.
• The Turkish company deposits a guarantee to SSI(Social Security Institution) to obtain AT1/AT11 (AT6) documents with a preliminary work permit.
• The Turkish company applies to the Provincial Directorates of Labor and Employment Agency to have the individual employment contracts approved, with the preliminary work permit and the receipt of the AT and security deposit.
• The Turkish company applies for a visa to the German foreign representations with these documents.
QUOTA ALLOCATION DOCUMENT
For the aforementioned Quota Allocation Document to be given to a Turkish company, a work contract signed between a company residing in Turkey and a company residing in the Federal Republic of Germany must be submitted to the IŞKUR. The contract of work must include the duration, the cost, and the address of the work. When submitting the relevant contract, the Turkish translation and German original of the employment contract approved by the Turkish Consulate or a sworn translation office must be present.
After obtaining the quota allocation document, an application can be made to the Stuttgart Employment Agency for preliminary work permits with the relevant worker information. One must keep in mind that the examination that IŞKUR conducts does not prevent the additional examination of the Stuttgart Agency.
References
2. Foreign Service Debt in Turkish Social Security Law, Duygu Çelebi
Authors:
Att. Gülşah Algın
Att. Nazlı Karaaslan
Legal Trainee Alper Can Ekici