WORKING HOURS AND OVERTIME IN TURKEY

In Turkish law, the concepts of Working Hours and Overtime Work are primarily defined and explained in the respective articles of the following legislation:

1. Turkish Labor Law (Law no. 4857)[1]
2. The Working Time Regulation, associated with the Labor Law (Working Time Regulation)[2] 
3. The Regulation on Overtime and Extra Hours, as per the Labor Law (Overtime Regulation)[3] 

Under Article 3 of the Working Time Regulation, ‘Working Hour’ is defined as the period of time that an employee spends at the workplace.

As per the Working Hours Regulation and in line with Turkish Labor Law, a variety of periods utilized by employees are defined as working hours.[4] This includes, for employees working underground or underwater such as in mines or stone quarries, the time spent descending to the actual workplace. Additionally, if an employee is sent to another location by their employer outside of the usual workplace, the travel time is counted as working hours. The time allocated for nursing leave while feeding a child and time spent on standby, even if no work is performed but the employee remains available at the employer’s disposal, are also included. Despite the general rule that traveling time to and from work is not counted as working hours, there are exceptions. For instance, time spent traveling to the worksite together with a group of employees for activities like construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of railways, roads, and bridges is deemed working time. Furthermore, under Article 66, time spent on trainings considered compulsory for employees under other Turkish legislation, such as health and safety trainings in accordance with the Law on Occupational Health and Safety (Law no. 6331), is also considered as working time.[5]

However, rest periods are not considered as Working Hours. As per Article 68 of the Turkish Labor Law, Rest Periods are determined as follows:

These periods are minimum and must be applied uninterruptedly.

Under Turkish Labor Law, regular working hours are set at 45 hours per week (as per Articles 41/1 and 63 of the Turkish Labor Law). These regular working hours are to be equally divided across the working days unless otherwise agreed upon. In cases where the parties of the employment contract agree to rearrange the weekly working hours, the daily limit of working hours cannot exceed 11 hours.

Overtime

Overtime is considered when regular working hours are exceeded. Overtime must be compensated with an additional 50% bonus in money or with 1 hour and 30 minutes of time balance, based on the written request of the employee. According to Article 5 of the Overtime Regulation, the total amount of overtime cannot exceed 270 hours in one year.

Pursuant to Article 8 of the Overtime Regulation, the following workers are prohibited from working overtime:

a) Workers under 18 years of age.
b) Workers who hold a medical certificate issued by the workplace doctor, a doctor of the Office of the President of the Social Insurances Institution, or, in areas without such doctors, by any medical practitioner, confirming that their health does not permit overtime work. This applies even if they have previously or subsequently agreed to work overtime in an employment contract or collective labor agreement.
c) Workers who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or are breastfeeding, as specified in the Regulations, which are provided for in Section 88 of the Turkish Labor Law.
d) Workers on part-time employment contracts. Additionally, workers on part-time contracts are not required to work extra hours.

Excessive work

Excessive work is defined under Article 41/3 of Turkish Law as any work where weekly working hours are set below the regular working hours yet exceed the time specified in the employment contract. Excessive Work must be compensated either with an additional 25% bonus in money or with 1 hour and 15 minutes of time balance, as per the written request of the employee.

Equalization or Balancing

The equalization application is implemented when the parties of an employment contract independently rearrange the weekly working hours. According to Article 63(2) of the Turkish Labor Law, the execution of equalization is possible only for a period of 2 months, though it can be extended to a 4-month period with collective labor agreements. However, during the equalization period, the average working hours must not exceed 45 hours weekly and 11 hours daily.

Work on Public Holidays and Weekends – Articles 46 & 47

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 24 uninterrupted hours of paid weekly rest within a seven-day period. Work performed on weekends should be compensated with an additional full day’s wage for each day worked, plus a 50% overtime wage. Unless stipulated differently in the employment contract or collective agreements, employee consent is required for work during national and public holidays. Work on national and public holidays should be compensated with an additional full day’s wage for each day worked.

FAQs

Overtime Compensation on Public Holidays:

Overtime occurs when regular working hours are surpassed. Such work mandates additional remuneration of 50% or, upon the written request of the employee, can be compensated with 1 hour and 30 minutes of time balance. In one year, overtime can’t exceed 270 hours as per article 5 of the Turkish Overtime Regulation. Employees are entitled to a 24-hour uninterrupted paid rest period every week. Weekend work warrants compensation of an additional full day’s wage for each day worked, further augmented by a 50% overtime wage. On the other hand, work on public holidays should be compensated only with an additional full day’s wage for each day worked.

An employee’s written consent is required for overtime work. Employers can obtain this consent either during the signing of the employment contract or when the need for overtime arises, and it’s stored in the employee’s file. If an employee decides not to engage in overtime or extended hours, they can retract their consent with a 30-day written notice to the employer.

Public Holidays on Weekends: In Turkey, when a public holiday falls on a weekend, it doesn’t automatically shift to the subsequent Monday. Hence, the ensuing Monday remains a standard working day.

Compensation for Work on a Transferred Public Holiday: Since public holidays don’t typically move to the succeeding Monday in Turkey, the pay rate would remain consistent with a regular working day’s rate.

[1]Labor Law no 4857 (OG. 10.06.2003/25134) available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c446f4c2.html [accessed 14 May 2021]

[2] OG. 06.04.2004: 25425

[3] OG. 06.04.2004: 25425

[4] Law no 4857, Art. 66

[5] Law on 6333 on Occupational Health and Safety (OG. 30.06.2012/28339)