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- Labour rules 2026
Labour guide
Minimum wage and labour rules in Turkmenistan 2026
The minimum wage in Turkmenistan in 2026 is TMT 1,410 a month, unchanged since 1 January 2025. The Labour Code sets a 40-hour week, 30 calendar days of paid annual leave and probation of up to three months. Foreign staff may not exceed 10% of all employees.
Quick answer
Turkmenistan labour rules in one view
- The minimum wage is TMT 1,410 a month, about USD 403 at the official rate. No decree has changed it for 2026.
- An employee is hired by an order of the employer, on a written application.
- An employer may dismiss only on the grounds the Labour Code lists.
- Foreign staff may not exceed 10% of all employees.
Key figures
- Minimum wage
- TMT 1,410 a month
- Working week
- Up to 40 hours
- Paid annual leave
- 30 calendar days
- Probation
- Up to 3 months
- Foreign staff
- No more than 10% of employees
Minimum wage
What is the minimum wage in Turkmenistan in 2026?
TMT 1,410 a month. At the official rate of TMT 3.50 to the US dollar, that is about USD 403.
The figure comes from a decree of the President signed on 12 July 2024, which raised pay, pensions and benefits by 10% from 1 January 2025. We found no later decree, and the state news archive showed none when we checked on 9 October 2026. So the 2025 figure is the one in force.
Article 111 of the Labour Code makes the minimum wage a floor: the pay an employer guarantees may not be lower. Pay is due at least every half month (article 132).
The minimum wage is not what an employee costs. The employer also pays 20% pension insurance on top of the pay of local staff, and withholds 10% income tax. See the Turkmenistan tax guide. If you would rather not run the half-monthly cycle yourself, our accountant in Ashgabat does it as part of our payroll services in Turkmenistan.
TMT 1,280 is out of date. That was the minimum wage for 2024.
Key figures by law
| Rule | Figure | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum monthly wage | TMT 1,410 | Decree of the President of 12 July 2024 |
| Probation | Up to 3 months. Up to 6 for heads, chief accountants and their deputies | Labour Code, article 28 |
| Standard working week | Up to 40 hours | Labour Code, article 59 |
| Overtime | Exceptional cases only. Up to 120 hours a year, paid double | Labour Code, articles 64, 65 and 120 |
| Paid annual leave | 30 calendar days | Labour Code, article 86 |
| Maternity leave | At least 112 calendar days | Code on Social Protection, article 61 |
| Notice from the employee | 2 weeks, in writing | Labour Code, article 41 |
| Notice of redundancy | 2 months, in writing | Labour Code, article 44 |
| Foreign staff | No more than 10% of all employees | State Migration Service. Law on Migration, article 22 |
Hiring
How are staff hired under the Labour Code of Turkmenistan?
By an order of the employer. Article 16 says the employment contract is made by issuing the hiring order, on the basis of the person’s written application. A separately signed contract is not what creates the employment.
- The order. The employee signs it within three days (article 26).
- The term. Indefinite, unless the Code allows a fixed term. A fixed term may not exceed five years and is allowed only in listed cases, such as replacing an absent employee or seasonal work (article 18).
- The work record book. The employer keeps one for every employee who has worked more than five days in a main job (article 30), and returns it on the last day.
Probation period
Probation is up to three months (article 28).
- Six months for heads of enterprises and their deputies, chief accountants and their deputies, and heads of branches and representative offices.
- In the order or not at all. If the hiring order is silent, there is no probation.
- Not for everyone. It cannot be set, among others, for people under 18, people with disabilities, temporary and seasonal workers, pregnant women, women with a child under three or employees transferred from another employer.
- Ending it. The employer gives written notice with reasons at least three calendar days before.
Hours and leave
What are the working hours, overtime and annual leave?
The standard working week may not exceed 40 hours (article 59). Sunday is the general day off (article 76).
| Work | Limit | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime | Only in the exceptional cases the Code lists (article 64), with the employee’s written consent. Up to 4 hours over two days in a row and 120 hours a year | Double, or time off if the employee prefers |
| Night work | 22:00 to 06:00. The shift is one hour shorter | One and a half times the hourly rate |
| Days off and public holidays | Only in the exceptional cases the Code lists | Double, or time off by agreement |
Annual leave
Basic paid leave is 30 calendar days a year (article 86). In the first year the right to leave arises after eleven months of continuous work. Leave pay is due at least one day before it begins (articles 87 and 132). Unused leave is paid out on dismissal (article 109).
Public holidays
Article 81 lists nine holidays: 1 January, 8 March, 21 and 22 March, 18 May, 27 September, 6 October, 12 December, and Kurban Bayramy and Oraza Bayramy, whose dates the President sets each year. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day is the day off.
Sick pay and maternity leave
Sick pay is 60% of average pay with under five years of service, 80% with five to eight years and 100% from eight years. Maternity leave is at least 112 calendar days at average pay. An employer that is not financed from the state budget pays both from its own funds (Code on Social Protection, articles 57, 61, 73 and 74).
Ending employment
Notice, dismissal and severance pay in Turkmenistan
An employee may resign on two weeks’ written notice (article 41). The two sides may also end the contract by written agreement (article 40).
An employer may dismiss only on a ground listed in article 42: liquidation, redundancy, insufficient qualification, illness lasting more than four months in a row, repeated breach of duties, absence without good reason, intoxication at work and a few others. Where the workplace has a trade union, most grounds need its consent first (article 45). An employee off sick or on leave cannot be dismissed, except on liquidation or the four-month illness ground.
| Ground | Notice | Severance pay |
|---|---|---|
| Liquidation or redundancy | 2 months | One average monthly wage. Average pay then continues during the job search, for up to two months from dismissal, counting the severance. The employment service may extend this to a third month |
| Insufficient qualification | 2 weeks | Not provided for |
| End of a fixed-term contract | 2 weeks before the term ends | Not provided for |
| Repeated breach, absence, intoxication and other misconduct grounds | 3 calendar days | Not provided for |
| Failed probation | 3 calendar days, with reasons | Not provided for |
By agreement, notice can be replaced with pay for the notice period (article 44). On redundancy the employer must first offer another suitable vacancy (article 42). Everything owed is paid on the last day, and the work record book is returned the same day (articles 52 and 134).
Foreign staff
How many foreign staff can an employer hire?
Foreign staff may not exceed 10% of all employees. The State Migration Service states the limit on its work permit page. Article 22 of the Law on Migration leaves the figure to acts of the President.
- 01
Small employers
Article 22 exempts an employer whose staff list is too small to meet the ratio.
- 02
Founders and heads
Founders, shareholders and heads of a legal entity, branch or representative office who are not in an employment relationship are outside both the ratio and the work permit.
- 03
Short visits
So are visitors who come for up to one month to audit, negotiate or sign contracts.
- 04
Oil and gas
This explains the 70% figure you may have read. A contractor’s foreign staff must be no more than 30% of its workforce within a year of its contract coming into force (Law on Hydrocarbon Resources, article 56).
Every other foreign employee needs a work permit from the State Migration Service before starting, issued for up to one year and then extended. The Law on State Pension Insurance insures citizens and permanent residents, not other foreign staff. For the permit itself, see work permits and visas in Turkmenistan.
Mistakes
Five mistakes foreign employers make
Each comes from assuming the rules match those at home.
- 01
Waiting for a signed contract
An employee who starts work with the employer’s knowledge is employed from that day. The hiring order must follow within three calendar days (articles 20 and 27).
- 02
Agreeing probation by word of mouth
Probation that is not in the hiring order does not exist (article 28).
- 03
Paying once a month
Pay is due at least every half month. Monthly pay is possible only through a bank, and only on the employee’s written application (article 132).
- 04
Counting leave in working days
The 30 days are calendar days, weekends included. If leave pay is late, the leave moves by the days of delay.
- 05
Staffing with expatriates first
With a 10% limit, one foreign employee needs nine local ones. Hire the local team before you apply for work permits.
Questions
Questions about labour rules in Turkmenistan
Short answers, each with the rule behind it.
Ask our accountantHas the minimum wage in Turkmenistan changed for 2026?
No. It is TMT 1,410 a month, about USD 403 at the official rate, unchanged since 1 January 2025 (decree of 12 July 2024). No later decree had been published when we checked on 9 October 2026.
How long is the probation period in Turkmenistan?
Up to three months (Labour Code, article 28), or up to six months for heads of enterprises and their deputies, chief accountants and their deputies, and heads of branches and representative offices. Probation must be stated in the hiring order, or it does not apply.
How many days of annual leave do employees get in Turkmenistan?
Thirty calendar days of paid leave a year under article 86 of the Labour Code. In the first year the right to leave arises after eleven months of continuous work.
What are the working hours in Turkmenistan, and how is overtime paid?
The standard working week may not exceed 40 hours. Overtime is allowed only in the exceptional cases the Labour Code lists (article 64), with the employee’s written consent. It is limited to four hours over two days in a row and 120 hours a year, and is paid double.
What notice must an employer give to dismiss an employee in Turkmenistan?
Two months’ written notice for liquidation or redundancy, and two weeks for insufficient qualification or before a fixed-term contract ends. Dismissal for misconduct needs at least three calendar days’ notice (article 44). An employer may dismiss only on a ground listed in article 42 of the Labour Code. On redundancy the employee receives severance pay of one average monthly wage.
Is a written employment contract required in Turkmenistan?
Under article 16 of the Labour Code, the employment contract is made by the employer’s hiring order, issued on the employee’s written application. A separately signed contract is not what creates the employment.
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