SGK exit codes at season end: which code a hotel reports

An SGK exit code is the short reason on the işten ayrılış bildirgesi, the declaration that closes a worker's insurance record. At season end a hotel mostly uses code 19 (Mevsim bitimi) when the contract is suspended, and code 4 when an indefinite-term worker will not be brought back. The code must describe what happened, not produce an outcome.

The last week of the season, three departments hand in their leavers on the same afternoon, and someone has to pick a reason for each name from a drop-down list before the payroll closes. That pick is what SGK, and later anyone reading the file, will see. This article on SGK exit codes in Türkiye explains which codes a seasonal hotel actually uses, what each one signals, when the declaration must be sent, and how to run a season-end routine that keeps the filing clean.

Why does the exit code matter more at season end than at any other time?#

Because a seasonal hotel files most of its exits in a few weeks, and the code is one of the few parts of the ending that stays visible in the worker's record.

The exit notice (işten ayrılış bildirgesi) is the declaration that closes a worker's insurance record. The code is a short reason chosen from SGK's own list, not free text, and the list is administrative rather than fixed by statute: Article 25(1) of the Social Insurance Procedures Regulation, as amended on 18 August 2021, lets SGK set and change the exit and missing-day reason codes. A saved PDF from an earlier year is therefore not a safe reference.

The current list in SGK's e-Sigorta entry and exit application runs from 1 to 50 with gaps: 6, 7, 29, 35, 36 and 41 are not listed, and code 29 no longer appears (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, SGK İşten Ayrılış Nedenleri (opens in a new tab), 2026-11-07). The code travels beyond the filing: it sits in the worker's record, it is read when an unemployment claim is assessed, and it is read in a later disagreement about how the employment ended.

A hotel that runs a season compresses a year of endings into one or two payrolls, often handled by several people in a hurry. That is exactly when codes get copied from the previous line. The code describes; it does not decide. Contract type, notice, and what actually happened decide rights, and picking a code to reach a result is the mistake to design out. If you are still building the contracts themselves, see hiring seasonal staff at a hotel for the entry side of the same process.

Which SGK exit codes does a hotel actually use?#

Six entries cover almost every hotel leaver: season end, the employer ending an indefinite contract, the end of a fixed term, the end of a campaign, the nine conduct codes, and resignation.

Read the wording off the live e-Sigorta screen on the day you file. The list has gaps, so the numbering is not contiguous and a code number alone tells you nothing. Code 19 is the season-end entry and is tied to a suspension of the contract; it is not a general "season finished" button. Code 4 is the employer ending an indefinite-term contract without stating a just cause; code 5 is the end of a fixed-term contract; code 20 applies the same rule to the end of a campaign (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, SGK İşten Ayrılış Nedenleri (opens in a new tab), 2026-11-07).

Codes 42 to 50 each stand for one sub-paragraph (a) to (ı) of Article 25(II) of Labour Law No. 4857, so "misconduct" is nine separate entries, not one. Resignation has its own entry on the list; take the number and wording from the screen rather than from memory or from a colleague's note. Before the season ends, print the current list once and keep it with the payroll file, so the person filing is reading the same version as the person approving.

Source: Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, SGK İşten Ayrılış Nedenleri (2026-11-07). The list has gaps and must be read live on the e-Sigorta screen on the day of filing.

Season end: is code 19 always the right answer?#

No. Code 19 fits a suspension where the worker is expected back; where the worker will not be restarted, SGK's list points to code 4, and where the contract carried its own end date, code 5 describes the ending.

Work through three questions per person. First: is this contract fixed-term or indefinite? A fixed-term contract that reaches its own end date ends by itself; an indefinite contract needs the employer to end it, and those are different entries. Second: will this person be called back? Answer it in writing, per person, before the payroll closes, because the answer decides between a suspension and an ending. Third: what does the contract itself say about season end? A season-end clause, a return commitment or a seniority promise changes which entry describes the file.

Put four things to the accountant or labour adviser: the contract type, the return decision, the contract wording, and what the file will show if the worker challenges the ending a year later. Do not choose a code to protect the wage budget, and do not choose one to help a claim. Both are the same error: writing a description to fit a wanted result. Keep the reasoning in the personnel file, one short note per person, so the code has a documented basis and not just a name in a drop-down. For the money side of the same decision, see severance and notice pay for seasonal hotel staff.

What do resignation, leaving mid-season and misconduct signal?#

They signal three different events, and the record behind each one matters more than the code, because the conduct entries carry the heaviest consequence for the worker.

Resignation is the worker's own act: keep the written notice and the date it reached the hotel, since the date fixes when insurance ends. Leaving mid-season without notice is not the same event as resigning with notice, and what separates them is the record: attendance sheets, warnings, correspondence, and who was told what and when. Codes 42 to 50 map one to one onto Article 25(II)(a) to (ı) of Labour Law No. 4857, so the employer has to name the specific ground, not a general impression of poor conduct.

Article 51 of the Unemployment Insurance Law (No. 4447) lists the endings that can qualify a worker for unemployment pay: employer termination with the legal notice periods; worker termination for the law's just causes; employer just-cause termination under Article 25(I) health reasons and 25(III) compelling causes, but not 25(II); the end of a fixed-term contract; and closure or change of the workplace. The same law sets premium conditions: under contract for the last 120 days and at least 600 days of unemployment premiums in the last three years, which buys 180 days of pay, with 900 days giving 240 and 1,080 days giving 300 (Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, İşsizlik Sigortası Kanunu, Articles 50 and 51 (opens in a new tab), 2026-11-07).

Because a conduct code sits outside the qualifying list, evidence has to come before the code: dated warnings, signed attendance records, and notes from the person who handled the conversation. For the records themselves, see puantaj, denkleştirme and the records a hotel has to keep.

When must the exit notice be sent?#

Within ten days. Insurance ends on the date the employment contract ends, and the employer must notify SGK within ten days at the latest.

Article 9 of Law No. 5510 ties the end of insurance to the end of the contract; Article 25(1) of the Social Insurance Procedures Regulation puts the notice on the insured exit declaration through e-Sigorta within ten days after insurance ends (Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi, Sosyal Sigorta İşlemleri Yönetmeliği, Madde 25 (opens in a new tab), 2026-11-07). The clock starts at the contract end date, not at the day the payroll is closed, not at the day the accountant returns, and not at the day the department finally sends its list.

Article 25(8) carries one exception: at a workplace registering with SGK for the first time, exit declarations for people who started within the first month count as on time if given by the tenth day after that month ends. The exit declaration is separate from the monthly filing; closing the month does not close the exit, and a worker left open in the system keeps accruing days that did not happen.

Fix the last working day per person in the roster before the final week, so the ten days are spent filing rather than reconstructing dates from shift sheets. Confirm the consequences of a late declaration with your adviser; this article states the duty, not the penalty.

A wrong code: how is it corrected?#

The correction route is not set out in the Social Insurance Procedures Regulation, and SGK's own guidance on it could not be read, so treat any step-by-step you find elsewhere as unconfirmed and ask SGK or your adviser which route applies to your file.

The Regulation has no specific rule on correcting an exit code, and the SGK circular that is said to govern it could not be reached on sgk.gov.tr. Secondary sources describe a self-service window and then a petition, but that is not an official text. What is certain is that the record follows the worker: a wrong code is not a private filing error, and it can surface in an unemployment claim or a disagreement months after the season ended.

Before asking for any change, write down what actually happened with dates: contract type, last working day, who ended the employment and how, and what the worker was told. Keep the application and SGK's answer with the personnel file, so the correction itself is documented and not just remembered by one person. A correction changes a description so that it matches the facts; it is not a tool for changing the outcome, and an event should never be re-described to fit a code. If the ending is disputed, the answer may come from a court or mediation decision rather than from the hotel's own application, which is another reason to keep the file complete from the start.

What does a season-end routine look like before payroll closes?#

One list per department, one line per person, three decisions on each line, and one named approver for the codes.

Build the list from the roster, not from memory: front office, housekeeping, food and beverage, kitchen, spa and pool, maintenance, and back office each get their own sheet. Each line carries the contract type, the last working day, the return decision, the code, the approver, and the date the exit declaration was sent. Close the leave and overtime balance on the same line, so the final pay and the exit declaration are settled together rather than in two passes.

Have one person approve every code, and have the accountant or adviser confirm the lines that are not obvious, before anything is filed. Send each declaration within ten days of that person's contract end date, and tick the date on the sheet so a missing filing is visible the same week, not next season. Keep the finished sheets with the payroll file and the current SGK list, so next season starts from a record instead of from a colleague's recollection. The wider shutdown plan is in closing a seasonal hotel for winter.

What to do next#

Before the last payroll of the season, produce one sheet per department with the contract type, the last working day and the return decision on every line. Have your accountant or labour adviser confirm the code for each line, then file each exit declaration within ten days of that person's contract end date. The code is only the last step: the file behind it is what SGK, İŞKUR and anyone reading the record later will actually weigh.