The Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) plays a crucial role in promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The agency's policies are designed to address the unique challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the job market and to ensure equal access to employment.
The legal framework for the promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities in Türkiye is primarily defined by Article 30 of the Labour Law No. 4857, which serves as the main base for regulations specifically implemented by İŞKUR. According to the sub regulation of this article (Regulation on Domestic Job Placement Services), a person with a disability (Turkish: Engelli) refers to those who have difficulties in adapting to social life and meeting their daily needs due to the loss of physical, mental, spiritual, sensory and social abilities to various degrees due to congenital or acquired physical, mental, spiritual, sensory and social abilities for any reason, and who need protection, care, rehabilitation, counseling and support services, and who are documented by a medical board report that the loss of whole body function is at least forty percent. Article 30 of the Labour Law No. 4857 includes several key regulations aimed at promoting the employment of persons with disabilities. These regulations include the quota system, incentive measures for employers, administrative fines for non-compliance, and the use of these fines to further support employment initiatives.
One of the key policies implemented by İŞKUR under this regulation is the obligatory employment - quota system – for employers. This system requires employers to employ a certain percentage of persons with disabilities. For private sector employers with fifty or more employees, at least 3% of their workforce must consist of persons with disabilities. Public sector employers have a slightly higher requirement, needing to employ 4% of persons with disabilities in their workplaces where they employ fifty or more employees. This system ensures that persons with disabilities are actively included in the workforce and is enforced by İŞKUR, which is responsible for finding suitable candidates, calculating open quotas through monthly monitoring system, and warning employers who do not meet their obligations.
To effectively implement the quota system, İŞKUR provides comprehensive job and vocational counselling services specifically designed for persons with disabilities, as well as a robust placement system to help fill the quotas. These services include basic placement services, job coaching and job clubs, which aim to match persons with disabilities with suitable vacancies and develop their employability skills. Each job seeker with a disability is assigned a counsellor who helps them navigate the job market, access training opportunities, and find suitable employment. Job coaching provides individualized support, helping employees adapt to new work environments and ensuring sustainable employment.
Additionally, to support this duty, there is a financial incentive that reduces the cost burden on employers and encourages the hiring of persons with disabilities. The entire employer's share of the social security premium calculated over the lower limit of the premium-based earnings (minimum wage) of persons with disabilities employed by private sector employers is directly covered indefinitely by the Treasury.
To further encourage the employment of persons with disabilities, İŞKUR imposes an administrative fine of 20,900 TL (adjusted annually) per person not employed for each month is imposed on employers who fail to meet the quota requirements according to Article 101 of the Labour Law No. 4857. These fines are used by İŞKUR to finance entrepreneurship grants, vocational trainings, integration projects, support technologies and sheltered workplaces. These fully tailored activities ensure that persons with disabilities receive the support they need to thrive in the workforce. İŞKUR also prioritizes persons with disabilities in the other services which are funded by Unemployment Insurance Fund such as public work programs.
İŞKUR's comprehensive approach to supporting the employment of persons with disabilities demonstrates a strong commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity in the Turkish labour market. It is important to remember that these policies are part of a broader effort to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in Türkiye.
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