With the "Law on the Amendment of the Decree-Law on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of National
Education and Certain Laws and Decree-Laws" published in the Official Gazette on 09.12.2017, phrases
regarding the remuneration of interns were added to the Law No. 3308.
The letter of the Ministry of National Education, which includes explanations regarding the implementation
principles of the subject, resolves the uncertainties about the remuneration of interns. Accordingly;
If we group the interns under 3 headings, we will get the following image:
§ Internships required by the school
§ Internships approved by the school
§ Optional internship
Optional internship is excluded from the MEB application.
In the practice to date, the obligation of enterprises to pay wages to interns was determined by a List prepared by
the Council of Higher Education.
Accordingly;
If we group the interns under 3 headings, we will get the following image:
§ Internships required by the school
§ Internships approved by the school
§ Optional internship
Optional internship is excluded from the MEB application.
In the practice to date, the obligation of enterprises to pay wages to interns was determined by a List prepared by
the Council of Higher Education. The list in question included departments/schools where it was mandatory to
pay the intern. In this case, although the school found it appropriate to do internships, if they were not included
in the published list, the businesses did not pay these interns. In the new application, this list has been removed.
In the new practice, every student who is insured by the school and approved for internship will receive an intern
fee during their internship. The fact that the interns are secondary or higher education students will not affect the
payment of the fee. Every student whose insurance is initiated by the school will receive an intern fee.
Intern Fee
The amount of the fee to be paid to the students for workplaces that employ interns is determined according to
the number of people in the workplace. The minimum wage to be taken into account in the calculation of the
trainee's wage must be clear and must not include the minimum subsistence allowance amount. Fees paid to
university students within this scope are exempt from tax up to the minimum wage. In workplaces where 20 or
more personnel are employed, they must pay an intern fee of at least 30% of the net minimum wage. Workplaces
employing less than 20 personnel must pay an intern fee of 15% of the net minimum wage. However, only in the
2016-2017 academic year, all interns must be paid at least 30% of the net minimum wage, regardless of the
number of employees in the workplace where the internship is performed. In other words, in 2016 – 2017, all
interns will be paid at least 381.23 TL. The reason for the wage application valid for the 2016-2017 period is the
amount of intern support to be given to employers who employ interns. In the 2017-2018 academic year, wages
will be determined according to the number of people in the workplaces. In other words, less than 20 people will
pay 15% of the net minimum wage, and workplaces employing 20 or more people will pay an intern fee of 30%
of the net minimum wage.
