Supporting an international aviation company (TLD) with its employment needs in Turkey
When an international company needs to employ someone in Turkey, creating a local subsidiary is not always the most practical solution, especially when the initial requirement concerns only one employee or a small local team.
This was the situation for TLD, an international industrial company specialised in Ground Support Equipment (GSE) for the aviation industry.
TLD designs, manufactures, distributes and provides after-sales support for equipment used in airport ground operations. Its equipment is used by aviation operators and airports around the world.
For its employment needs in Turkey, TLD required a local solution allowing the company to have an employee working in Turkey while the local employment administration was handled by a Turkish partner.
This is where Azkan Group supported TLD.
The client: TLD
Client: TLD
Country: France
Industry: Aviation / Airport Ground Support Equipment
Service provided by Azkan Group: Employer of Record / Umbrella Company in Turkey
Location of employee: Turkey
TLD operates in a very technical environment. Its product range includes aircraft tractors, baggage tractors, loaders, ground power units, air conditioning units, passenger stairs and other equipment used for airport ground operations.
As an international organisation, TLD also needs people capable of supporting its activities in different markets.
Turkey was one of them.
The challenge: employing someone in Turkey
TLD needed to have an employee working locally in Turkey.
However, employing somebody in another country creates several questions for an international HR or finance department.
Who will legally employ the employee?
How will the Turkish employment contract be prepared?
Who will register the employee locally?
Who will calculate payroll?
Who will manage Turkish social security contributions?
Who will pay the salary?
And importantly, who can help if an HR question appears six months later?
Instead of having to manage all these local matters internally, TLD used Azkan Group’s Employer of Record solution in Turkey.
The solution provided by Azkan Group
Through its Employer of Record / Umbrella Company service in Turkey, Azkan Group handled the local employment framework for TLD’s employee.
The objective was quite simple: TLD could concentrate on managing the employee’s professional activity while Azkan Group took care of the Turkish employment administration.
Depending on the requirements of the employment relationship, this type of support can include:
- local employment documentation;
- employee onboarding in Turkey;
- payroll calculation;
- payslips;
- salary administration;
- Turkish social security administration;
- statutory payroll obligations;
- leave and absence administration;
- expense management;
- employee HR administration;
- and ongoing support for both the international company and the employee.
This allows the international HR department to have one local point of contact in Turkey rather than having to coordinate separately with different local providers.
More than just producing a Turkish payslip
For Azkan Group, an Employer of Record service should not stop after the employee has been registered.
This is an important point.
During an employment relationship, practical questions inevitably appear.
The international HR department may need clarification about a salary increase, bonus, employee benefit, annual leave or a particular Turkish employment practice.
The employee can also have questions about payroll or his/her employment situation.
And sometimes the issue has nothing to do with payroll.
There can be a misunderstanding with a manager abroad, a discussion about compensation or simply a difference between what headquarters expects and what the employee understands locally.
Having a local HR contact in Turkey makes these situations considerably easier to manage.
Our role is therefore not only administrative. We also try to facilitate the relationship between the international client and its employee in Turkey.
Why an Employer of Record can make sense for international industrial companies
The TLD case illustrates a situation we regularly see with international industrial, engineering and technical companies.
A company has customers, equipment, projects or commercial activities in Turkey and needs someone locally.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the company wants to establish a complete Turkish subsidiary immediately.
An Employer of Record can provide an alternative.
The international company manages the employee’s work and business objectives while a local organisation handles the employment administration in Turkey.
For international companies entering the Turkish market, it can therefore be a practical way to build a local presence progressively.
What this case tells us about employing people in Turkey
One thing we have learned from working with international companies is that employing somebody abroad is rarely complicated because of the monthly payslip itself.
The difficult questions generally come afterwards.
How much should we increase the employee’s salary?
Is this benefit normally provided in Turkey?
How should we manage a bonus?
What happens if the employee resigns?
What should we do before terminating an employee?
Is the candidate’s salary expectation realistic?
These are exactly the questions where having a local HR partner becomes useful.
For companies employing people in Turkey, local knowledge is therefore not only about payroll compliance. It is also about understanding the local employment environment.
Employer of Record for the aviation and industrial sectors in Turkey
International aviation, aerospace, airport equipment, engineering and industrial companies can require very specialised employees in Turkey.
Depending on the organisation, these may include:
- Sales Managers;
- Business Development Managers;
- Field Service Engineers;
- Maintenance Engineers;
- Project Managers;
- Technical Specialists;
- After-Sales employees;
- Country Managers;
- and other technical or commercial profiles.
When the international company does not have an appropriate local employment structure, an Employer of Record solution can provide the local framework required to employ these profiles in Turkey.
A local HR partner for international companies in Turkey
The work performed for TLD is one example of the type of Employer of Record support that Azkan Group provides to international companies operating in Turkey.
Our approach is based on a relatively simple idea.
A foreign company should be able to hire and manage good people in Turkey without having to become an expert itself in every aspect of Turkish payroll and HR administration.
And when a problem or question appears, there should be somebody locally who knows the employee, understands the situation and can be contacted.
This is the role we try to provide.
Need to employ someone in Turkey?
Azkan Group supports international companies with Employer of Record, Umbrella Company, Payroll, Recruitment, Work Permit and HR services in Turkey.
Whether you already identified your candidate or still need to recruit someone locally, our team can help you understand the appropriate employment solution for your project.
