In Bolu, Turkey, heavy fines have been imposed on the illegal employment of foreign nationals with either refugee or asylum status, who are officially declared to be over 2,000.
Within the scope of the sanctions imposed by İŞKUR (Turkish Employment Agency), administrative fines of 174.440 Turkish Liras were imposed on 10 different workplaces in 2014 and 2015, while 24 illegal workers were fined 18.340 Turkish Liras. In total, nearly 200 thousand liras were fined.
SGK(Social Security Institution) Provincial Director Erhan Çavuş stated that in the applications made in line with the routine inspections made by the SGK inspectors or in line with the notifications for hiring foreign workers, an administrative fine was applied by initiating the process of employing foreign nationals without insurance in 17 different workplaces.
REPORTS ARE COMING FROM SGK AUDITORS AND LAW ENFORCERS
The work and transactions within the scope of the Law on Work Permits of Foreigners No. 4817 are carried out by the Ministry of Labor and İŞKUR. İŞKUR Provincial Director İsmail Yalçın gave important information about the problem of illegally employed foreign workers, as in workers without permit, at the interview.
Yalçın stated that they do not have authority at the inspection point and said, “We do not have the authority to supervise the illegally employed foreign workers in the enterprises. Supervision power only belongs to labor inspectors. Or, if the Social Security Supervisors determine that the company employs foreigners without insurance and illegally, in the audits they carry out with their own legislation, they draw up a report and send it to us. Or, we impose administrative fines based on the routine inspections of the Police and Gendarmerie teams, or the minutes they keep based on the determinations made upon complaints and notices.”
FINE IS APPLIED TO BOTH EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE
Stating that both the employer and the employee were fined for foreign workers employed without a work permit, Yalçın said, “The administrative fine is 8.381 Turkish Liras per person per month. The penalty applied to the person or business that employs this illegal foreigner. One tenth of the same penalty; In other words, 835 TL is applied to the illegally employed foreigner.”
Yalçın stated that in 2014, an administrative fine of 150,066 TL was imposed on 7 different workplaces for employing foreign workers without a work permit, and a total of 15,180 TL was imposed on 20 foreign nationals working in these workplaces. He also stated that in 2015, administrative fine of 24.374 TL was imposed on 3 workplaces and 3.160 TL on 4 foreign workers. In 2 years, Workplaces were fined 174.440 TL and illegal workers were fined 18.340 Turkish Liras.
PERMIT FROM THE MINISTRY IS MANDATORY
Provincial Director Yalçın stated that the work permit can be obtained from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and said, “If the person has their own business, they can directly apply, but If they are going to work under someone else, then the employer must obtain permit in their stead from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. They can work after the ministry gives them the permit.”
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE EMPLOYER
Yalçın gave important warnings to employers on the subject and said, “First of all, we recommend that only foreigners be employed for jobs that are difficult to employ and require great qualifications. Of course, this can only be done by obtaining the permit from the Ministry. Applications can be made directly from the Ministry website. We want our businesses to know that they should not employ illegal foreigners, otherwise they will be sentenced to serious administrative fines.”
