Tool · Legal data
Turkish labour law reference table:
leave and working time rules.
The Turkish labour law reference table is a data table that brings together the annual leave, working hours, and overtime rules of the Labour Act and the Overtime Regulation with the article number, a link to the official source, and the year in force. Each row summarises the official text; the texts were taken on 24 September 2026, and the annual leave periods come from the first published text.
Last updated:
Labour Act Art. 53-57
Paid annual leave how many days, and how is it taken?
An employee who has worked at least one year, including probation, qualifies for paid annual leave. Leave is at least 14 days for one to five years of service (five included), at least 20 days for more than five and under fifteen years, and at least 26 days for fifteen years and more; employees aged eighteen or under, or fifty or over, get at least 20 days. By agreement, leave can be split, with one part of at least ten days; leave pay is paid in advance, or an advance is given, before the leave starts.
The periods are minimums by length of service and age; a collective or individual agreement may give more. The annual leave calculator works it out for your own employee.
| Topic | Rule | Article | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying for annual leave | At least one year of service, including probation | Labour Act Art. 53/1 | Official Gazette 10.06.2003, no. 25134 | 2003 (first published) |
| Annual leave: one to five years (five included) | At least 14 days | Labour Act Art. 53/4(a) | Official Gazette 10.06.2003, no. 25134 | 2003 (first published) |
| Annual leave: more than five, under fifteen years | At least 20 days | Labour Act Art. 53/4(b) | Official Gazette 10.06.2003, no. 25134 | 2003 (first published) |
| Annual leave: fifteen years (included) and more | At least 26 days | Labour Act Art. 53/4(c) | Official Gazette 10.06.2003, no. 25134 | 2003 (first published) |
| Age rule: aged eighteen or under, fifty or over | Annual leave at least 20 days | Labour Act Art. 53/5 | Official Gazette 10.06.2003, no. 25134 | 2003 (first published) |
| Underground work | Leave periods are increased by four days each | Labour Act Art. 53/4, last sentence | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2014 (Law no. 6552) |
| Splitting leave | By agreement, in parts with one part of at least ten days | Labour Act Art. 56/3 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2016 (Law no. 6704) |
| Travel leave | Up to four days of unpaid leave in total for an employee spending leave elsewhere, on request and with proof | Labour Act Art. 56/6 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Annual leave pay | Paid in advance, or an advance is given, before the leave starts | Labour Act Art. 57/1 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
Labour Act Art. 63
Working hours and averaging: how do they work?
As a rule, weekly working hours are at most 45; unless agreed otherwise, the weekly hours are split equally over the working days. Averaging applies by agreement of the parties: a working day cannot exceed 11 hours and the weekly average over two months cannot exceed normal hours, a period that can be four months under a collective agreement. In the tourism sector the averaging period is four months and can be extended to six under a collective agreement.
| Topic | Rule | Article | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly working hours | As a rule, at most 45 hours a week | Labour Act Art. 63/1 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Averaging | At most 11 hours a day; the weekly average must not exceed normal hours over two months, up to four months under a collective agreement | Labour Act Art. 63/2 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Averaging, tourism sector | Four months; up to six months under a collective agreement | Labour Act Art. 63/2 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2016 (Law no. 6715) |
Labour Act Art. 41 · Regulation Art. 9
Overtime: what are the premium, time off, and yearly cap?
Work above 45 hours a week is overtime, and each hour is paid at the normal hourly wage raised by fifty per cent. Where the agreed week is under 45 hours, each hour above it up to 45 is paid at the hourly wage raised by twenty-five per cent. At the employee's request, time off replaces the premium and is used within six months; total overtime cannot exceed 270 hours a year.
The definition is in the overtime glossary entry, and the steps of the hours and pay calculation in how to calculate overtime.
| Topic | Rule | Article | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overtime | Work above 45 hours a week; under averaging, the weekly average counts | Labour Act Art. 41/1 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Overtime pay | Each hour is paid at the normal hourly wage raised by fifty per cent | Labour Act Art. 41/2 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Extra hours | Where the agreed week is under 45 hours, each hour above it up to 45 is paid at the hourly wage raised by twenty-five per cent | Labour Act Art. 41/3 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Time off in lieu | At the employee's request, instead of the premium: 1 hour 30 minutes per overtime hour, 1 hour 15 minutes per extra hour; used within six months | Labour Act Art. 41/4-5 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Yearly overtime cap | Total overtime cannot exceed 270 hours a year | Labour Act Art. 41/8 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| When overtime is not allowed | Not allowed in short or limited-hour work for health reasons (Art. 63, last paragraph) or in night work (Art. 69) | Labour Act Art. 41/6 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2003 (first published) |
| Underground mine workers | No overtime except in the cases of Art. 42 and 43; there, each hour above 37.5 a week is paid at no less than a hundred per cent extra | Labour Act Art. 41/9-10 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Law 4857 consolidated text | 2014 (Law no. 6552); wording 2015 (Law no. 6645) |
| Employee consent | Written consent of the employee is required; not required for compelling reasons or emergencies | Overtime Regulation Art. 9/1 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Overtime Regulation | Year of first publication not verified |
| Withdrawing consent | The employee may withdraw consent with thirty days' written notice to the employer | Overtime Regulation Art. 9/2 | mevzuat.gov.tr, Overtime Regulation | 2017 (Official Gazette 25.08.2017, no. 30165) |
Comparison · Six countries
How do annual leave and working time compare in other countries?
The same three rules, annual leave, working time, and overtime, are written differently in six countries. The table puts them side by side for foreign companies building a team in Türkiye and for Turkish businesses employing staff abroad. Each value was taken from the country's official statute on 25 September 2026; collective agreements, sector rules, or regional provisions may also apply, and the table is not legal advice.
| Country and law | Paid annual leave | Normal working time | Overtime premium | Overtime cap | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Türkiye · Labour Law No. 4857 | At least 14, 20, or 26 days depending on length of service (Art. 53) | At most 45 hours a week (Art. 63) | Fifty per cent; twenty-five per cent for extra hours (Art. 41) | 270 hours a year (Art. 41/8) | mevzuat.gov.tr |
| Germany · BUrlG and ArbZG | At least 24 working days a year, counting all days except Sundays and public holidays (BUrlG §3) | 8 hours a day; up to 10 if the average over six calendar months or 24 weeks stays within 8 (ArbZG §3) | No statutory rate; set by collective or individual agreement | No statutory yearly cap; the limit is the averaging rule of §3 | gesetze-im-internet.de |
| France · Code du travail | 2.5 working days per month worked, at most 30 working days a year (L3141-3) | 35-hour legal week (L3121-27); at most 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week (L3121-18, L3121-20) | Without an agreement, 25 per cent for the first 8 hours and 50 per cent after (L3121-36); at least 10 per cent by agreement (L3121-33) | Without an agreement, 220 hours per employee a year (D3121-24) | legifrance.gouv.fr |
| Russia · Labour Code | 28 calendar days (Art. 115) | At most 40 hours a week (Art. 91) | At least one and a half times for the first two hours, at least double after (Art. 152) | 4 hours over two consecutive days, 120 hours a year (Art. 99) | pravo.gov.ru |
| Azerbaijan · Labour Code | At least 21 calendar days (Art. 114); 2, 4, or 6 calendar days are added for length of service (Art. 116) | 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week (Art. 89) | At least double the hourly rate (Art. 165) | 4 hours over two consecutive working days (Art. 100); no yearly cap in the code | e-qanun.az |
| Saudi Arabia · Labour Law | At least 21 days a year; at least 30 days after five years of continuous service with the employer (Art. 109) | 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week (Art. 98) | The hourly wage plus fifty per cent of the basic wage (Art. 107) | The yearly cap is set by ministerial decision (Art. 106) | hrsd.gov.sa |
The six-country comparison also downloads as a Turkish CSV and an English CSV; each row carries the country code, source URL, and check date.
Law · Software · Business
What does the law require, what does software make easier, and what stays with you?
Every rule has three sides: what the law requires, what software makes easier, and what the business itself has to do. In the table in this section, the second column lists only functions seen on the Corex360 screen or stated by the company; work it does not do is stated plainly. No software on its own brings a business in line with the law; that comes from the business's own steps, such as obtaining consent, keeping the record right, and calculating pay.
| Topic | What the law requires | What Corex360 has | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | At least 14, 20, or 26 days of paid annual leave depending on length of service; the qualifying period is counted under Art. 54 (Labour Law Art. 53-54). | Leave requests are opened inside the product and go through an approval flow; there is a leave calendar. Corex360 does not calculate leave balances. | Establishing length of service and the days earned, and being able to prove with documents that leave was taken. The Court of Cassation looks for a signed leave book or an equivalent document (22nd Civil Chamber, decision 2018/24505). |
| Consent to overtime | The employee's written consent is required for overtime; the employee can withdraw it with thirty days' written notice (Overtime Regulation Art. 9). | Overtime approvals go through an approval flow; a late clock-out reaches the approval centre as overtime, and the manager approves or rejects it. | Obtaining the employee's written consent and keeping it in the personnel file. A personnel file is not a function Corex360 promises. |
| Overtime pay | Each hour of overtime is paid at the hourly wage raised by fifty per cent, each extra hour by twenty-five per cent (Labour Law Art. 41/2-3). | Clock-ins and clock-outs, time tracking, and the timesheet are in the Human Resources module. Corex360 does not calculate salaries. | Calculating the premium in payroll or, if the employee asks, granting time off in lieu within six months. |
| Yearly overtime cap | Total overtime cannot exceed 270 hours a year (Labour Law Art. 41/8). | Time tracking and timesheet records are kept in the Human Resources module. | Following the yearly total and staying within the cap. |
| Biometric data in time tracking | In its principle decision 2026/921, the Personal Data Protection Board does not consider processing biometric data for time tracking proportionate even with explicit consent, and points to cards, PINs, RFID/NFC cards, or paper sheets instead. | The attendance device connects to the core; clock-ins land on the staff card. | Choosing a non-biometric device or method and informing employees about how their personal data is processed. |
The biometric data row is based on the Personal Data Protection Board announcement; the Court of Cassation reference sits in the decision table of the how to calculate overtime article.
Download the data
The same table downloads as a Turkish CSV and an English CSV. Each row's source URL and check date sit in their own columns.
For information
The table is for information and is not legal advice. The rows summarise the article texts, taken from the official source on 24 September 2026; a collective or employment agreement, or a later amendment, may lead to a different result. For a definite answer consult your accountant or an employment law adviser.
The Corex360 Human Resources module runs leave and advance requests and overtime approvals through an approval flow; see the HR and attendance page. How leave tracking is set up is shown on the leave tracking software page.
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- Plain text
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- APA style
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Version history
- · Labour Law and Overtime Regulation rows, the six-country comparison, and the law, software, and business table; Turkish article texts taken from the official source on 24 September, other countries' statutes on 25 September 2026.
Related questions
- When does overtime begin?
- Under Article 41 of Türkiye's Labour Law, work beyond forty-five hours a week is overtime; if the contract sets a shorter week, work beyond that and up to forty-five hours is 'extended hours' work.
- What are the consent rule and the annual limit for overtime?
- Overtime needs the employee's consent, and under Article 9 of the Overtime Regulation that consent is taken in writing and kept in the personnel file; under Article 41 total overtime may not exceed two hundred and seventy hours a year.
- Can time off be given instead of pay?
- Yes, if the employee wants it: under Article 41, each hour of overtime earns one hour and thirty minutes off, and each hour of extended hours work earns one hour and fifteen minutes off.
- Can an employee withdraw consent to overtime?
- Yes. Under Article 9 of the regulation, an employee who no longer wants to work overtime can withdraw consent by giving the employer thirty days' written notice.
- How is overtime approved and tracked?
- Overtime goes through the approval center in Corex360: a late clock-out lands for approval as overtime with the employee's note and department, and the manager approves or rejects it. Every approval is logged with who and when. Approved overtime and the attendance record show side by side on the same staff card. The term is defined in the Glossary.
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