New rules announced for minimum wage support: Incentive will be canceled if the number of workers decreases

The Social Security Institution has shared with the public a new circular determining the principles of minimum wage support for 2026. Within the scope of this regulation, it was announced that a state contribution of 1,269.90 TL per month will be provided to the insurance premiums of businesses operating in the private sector. This incentive aims to alleviate the burden on employers by being directly offset against premium debts.

The circular published regarding the minimum wage support that will continue in 2026 clarifies the details of who can benefit from the support and under what conditions. The payment, set at 42.33 TL per day, will be automatically applied to workers' insurance premiums until the end of the year. Businesses will need to meet certain essential conditions to benefit from the incentive.

While the support covers only private sector employers, official and public workplaces have been excluded. Furthermore, specific limits are applied regarding the employees who can receive the support. Specifically, full-time employees subject to long-term insurance branches—meaning those for whom premiums are paid for disability, old age, and death insurance—will be included in the support scope. This opportunity will be provided for workers whose daily wage in 2025 was below 1,300 TL.

Apart from this, one of the most important conditions is that the number of insured employees in the workplace must not fall below the lowest number of employees in 2025. In other words, if employers reduce the number of employees, they lose their right to benefit from the minimum wage support. If there is a decrease in the number of insured employees, the state contribution will not be applied for the relevant month.

One of the biggest advantages of the system is that no application procedure is required. Employers who meet the conditions will be automatically included in the incentive, and the support amount will be applied by directly reducing premium debts. Thus, both bureaucratic procedures will be reduced and the employers' transactions will be facilitated.

News Source: 12punto