TRNC introduces mandatory salary payments to bank accounts for enterprises with five or more employees

At a parliamentary session on January 26, 2026, Minister of Labour and Social Security Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu presented a bill providing for the payment of wages not in cash but to bank accounts at enterprises with five or more employees. The entry into force is planned for March 31, 2026.

According to the minister, the bill concerns the method of payment, not the amount of wages. The aim of the initiative is to ensure transparency, traceability and oversight of payments, rather than to complicate relations between employees and employers.

Hasipoğlu noted that the threshold of five employees was chosen with social balance in mind: the measure protects small businesses while targeting enterprises of a scale where the risk of illegal employment and violations is higher. Payment via banks, he said, guarantees that employees receive their wages in full, on time and with documentary proof.

It is expected that the regulation will eliminate practices such as underpayment in hand, discrepancies between the amount stated on the payslip and the actual amount paid, as well as hidden overtime and bonuses. It should also contribute to the correct calculation of social contributions, the formation of a tax base based on real wages, and the simplification of documentary audits.

The minister emphasized that this practice is not unique to the TRNC (Northern Cyprus) and is in line with sectoral practices established in a number of European countries.