Part-Time Contracts and Their Statutory Rights under Turkish Law

The employment contract shall be deemed a part-time employment contract where the normal weekly working time of the employee has been fixed as considerably shorter compared to a full-time employee [1] The contracts under which the employee undertakes to regularly perform part-time work for an employer are also deemed as employment contracts. [2]

In accordance with Article 6 of the Working Time Regulation Concerning the Labor Law [3], work performed at up to two-thirds of the comparable work performed under a full-time employment contract is considered part-time work. That is, if the full-time weekly working hours are set at 45 hours, part-time employment is considered at or below 30 hours per week. If the full-time working hours are set differently, the part-time threshold is adjusted accordingly, always maintaining the two-thirds ratio.

One fundamental legal principle is that part-time employees must not be treated unfairly simply due to the nature of their contract. According to Article 5 of the Turkish Labor Law, employers are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory treatment against part-time employees, and failure to comply may result in compensation claims for discriminatory practices.

Pursuant to Article 5 of the Labor Law, employers are obligated to ensure that:

• Severance pay, annual leave, and notice periods for part-time employees are proportionate to those of full-time employees.
• Part-time employees receive proportional monetary benefits, including bonuses, premiums, and meal allowances.
• Indivisible benefits, such as occupational safety measures, apply equally regardless of employment status.

The issue of severance and notice pay for part-time employees has been clarified through judicial decisions. According to a ruling by the Court of Cassation:

“Although part-time work is recognized by law, the method for determining severance eligibility, notice entitlements, and annual leave has not been explicitly regulated in statutory provisions. The matter has been resolved through judicial rulings. Accordingly, whether part-time employment involves working fewer days per week or fewer hours per day, an employee who has completed one full year of service in the workplace qualifies for severance pay. Similarly, the entitlement to annual leave is also recognized”[4]

This decision confirms that the basis for severance entitlement is not the total hours worked but rather the length of employment from the date of hiring to the termination date. The same approach applies to notice periods, where the determining factor is the total duration of employment rather than hours worked.

Severance Pay

(🔗View the full severance pay guidelines)

Severance pay rights for part-time employees, like those of full-time employees, are governed by Article 14 of the repealed but still applicable Labor Law No. 1475, which remains in force for severance entitlements. The general eligibility criteria for severance pay include:

• The employee must have completed at least one full year of continuous service at the same workplace.

• Termination of the employment contract must occur for reasons that legally warrant severance pay, including employer-initiated termination without just cause, resignation due to military service, retirement, or maternity, or the employee’s death.

For part-time employees, the key consideration is determining the gross monthly wage upon which severance is calculated. The applicable wage is the last full gross monthly salary received for the employee’s agreed-upon working hours.

“The wage to be used as the basis for severance pay calculation shall be the wage received by the employee in return for part-time work. In cases of part-time employment, the severance pay calculation must take into account the monthly wage paid to the claimant in proportion to their part-time work.”[5]

The calculation methodology follows the principles applicable to full-time employees, with proportional adjustments based on the employee’s actual working hours and earnings. Accordingly, the last monthly wage received should be divided by thirty to determine the daily wage, which then serves as the basis for calculating severance and notice pay for the entire period of employment.

Example: Severance Pay Calculation for a Minimum Wage Employee Working 20 Hours per Week (01.01.2023 – 10.02.2025, Total 771 Days)

• Monthly Gross Minimum Wage (2025): 26,005.50 TRY
• Daily Minimum Wage: 866.85 TRY
• Severance Pay Ceiling (2025 – First Half): 46,655.43 TRY

Please note that in all calculations, the severance pay ceiling should be considered, which applies for the first half of 2025. For the following calculations, a 7.5-hour workday is taken as the standard, as per Article 63 of the Turkish Labor Law and the Working Time Regulation.

Monthly and Daily Wage for a 20-Hour Workweek

• Hourly wage: 866.85 ÷ 7.5 = 115.58 TRY per hour
• Monthly working hours (for a 20-hour workweek): 20 × 4 = 80 hours per month
• Monthly wage: 80 × 115.58 = 9,246.40 TRY
• Daily wage: 9,246.40 ÷ 30 = 308.21 TRY

Severance Pay Calculation

• For 2 years of service: 9,246.40 × 2 = 18,492.80 TRY
• For 41 days of service: (9,246.40 ÷ 365) × 41 = 1,038.64 TRY
• Total Severance Pay: 18,492.80 + 1,038.64 = 19,531.44 TRY

Final Severance Pay: 19,531.44 TRY

Notice Periods

(🔗View the full notice pay guidelines)

The calculation of notice periods follows the same principles as severance pay, with part-time employees entitled to the same time-based notice periods as full-time workers. The key factor remains the total length of employment, rather than the number of hours worked.

For the example above, based on the employee’s total service duration of 2 years and 41 days (771 days), the notice period is determined in accordance with Article 17 of the Turkish Labor Law:

Notice Period: 6 weeks (42 days)

Notice Pay Calculation:

• • Notice period days: 6 weeks × 7 days = 42 days
  • Hourly wage: 866.85 ÷ 7.5 = 115.58 TRY per hour
  • Notice pay: 42 days × 115.58 TRY × (20 ÷ 7.5) = 12,944.96 TRY

Social Security Contributions

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The total hours worked part-time within a month are divided by the standard daily working hours of 7.5. The resulting figure determines the employee’s social security premium days. Any fractions in this calculation are rounded up to the nearest whole number.[6]

Since a full-time workweek in Türkiye is 45 hours, and part-time work is defined as 30 hours or less per week, social security premium days must not exceed 20 per month for part-time employment.[7]

Annual Leave Rights

(🔗View the statutory leaves guidelines)

The calculation of annual leave for part-time employees is determined by a key ruling of the Court of Cassation:

“According to Article 13 of the Annual Leave Regulation, part-time and on-call workers shall not be treated differently from full-time employees in terms of annual leave rights. Therefore, a part-time employee who has completed one year of service is entitled to 14 days of paid annual leave.”[8]

This ruling ensures that part-time employees receive the same minimum annual leave entitlement as full-time employees, regardless of their working hours.

Weekly Rest Days (Weekend Entitlement)

(🔗View more on working hours and overtime in Türkiye.)

An important aspect of part-time employment is the right to weekly rest days. The Court of Cassation provides the following interpretation:

“In the Labor Law No. 4857, … it is stipulated that the employee is entitled to an uninterrupted 24-hour rest period within a seven-day timeframe, provided that they have worked on the designated working days specified under Article 63. … However, as the weekly working hours in part-time employment do not reach 45 hours, the employee … will not be entitled to weekly rest days.”[9]

This means that unless a part-time employee’s total working hours meet the weekly threshold established in the workplace, they may not qualify for paid weekly rest days.

[1] Art. 13, Labor Law No. 4857 (OG. 10.06.2003/25134)

[2] Art. 393 (2), Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098

[3] OG. 06.04.2004: 25425

Please Note: In the book “On Labor & Foreigners in Turkey, for beginners,” there is an error in the placement of footnote 45 on page 25 regarding the explanation of part-time contracts. In this text, the error has been corrected and positioned accurately.

[4] Court of Cassation, 9th Civil Chamber, Decision No: 2001/6848, Ruling No: 2001/9525, Date: 04.06.2001.

[5] Court of Cassation, 9th Civil Chamber, Decision No: 2004/9961, Ruling No: 2004/27728, Date: 13.12.2004

[6] Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Directorate of Labor Inspection Board. 50 Soruda İş Kanununda Çalışma Süreleri. İş Teftiş Kurulu Yayınları, no. 42, 2011, Ankara, Turkey, pp. 40. Available at: https://www.csgb.gov.tr/Media/fhlc3yej/50-soruda-iş-kanununda-çalışma-süreleri.pdf.

[7] Since a full-time workweek in Türkiye is 45 hours, part-time work is defined as 30 hours or less per week (45 × 2/3 = 30). Total compensable monthly hours consist of 120 actual working hours (30 × 4 weeks) and 30 hours of weekly rest (4 × 7.5), totaling 150 hours. Therefore, the maximum reportable social security premium days for part-time employees must be a maximum of 20 (150 ÷ 7.5).

[8] Court of Cassation, 9th Civil Chamber, Decision No: 2009/44744, Ruling No: 2009/33940, Date: 08.12.2009.

[9] Court of Cassation, 9th Civil Chamber, Decision No: 2009/44744, Ruling No: 2009/33940, Date: 08.12.2009.