Turkish Labor Law
Related Articles
Some of the employees, especially the ones in services sector, are obliged to work in the Feast of Ramadan due to nature of the business they are in.
In general, employees may receive overtime pay or use free time for overtime or work at extra hours. However, this is not valid for the national and general holidays listed below;
- New Year’s Day, January 1st (Tuesday)
- National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, April 23rd (Tuesday)
- Labor and Solidarity Day, May 1st (Wednesday )
- Commemoration of Atatürk and Youth and Sports Day, May 19th (Sunday)
- Ramazan Bayramı* (Feast of Ramadan) June 4th-6th (Tuesday to Thursday)
- 15 July Democracy and National Unity Day July 15th (Monday)
- Kurban Bayramı* (Feast of the Sacrifice), August 11th -14th (Monday to Wednesday)
- Victory Day, August 30th (Friday)
- Republic Day*, October 28th (half day) and 29th (Tuesday)
* Eves of both feast days and Republic Day are also given as half day holiday.
In above said holidays employees get paid their wage without working. In case they work in these days, they should get another extra payment for each day worked.
WHAT IS OVERTIME WORK?
Overtime work is work which exceeds forty-five hours a week. As employee is deemed to work in general holidays without actually worked, working in these days is considered as exceeding 45 hours.
The wage for each hour of overtime work is paid by raising the hourly rate of the regular working wage by fifty percent. In other words, wages for each hour of overtime shall be remunerated at one and a half times the normal hourly rate.
WHAT IS WORK AT EXTRA HOURS?
In cases where the weekly working time has been set by contract at less than forty-five hours, work that exceeds the average weekly working time which may last only up to forty-five hours weekly is deemed to be work at extra hours. In work at extra hours, the wage for each extra hour is paid by raising the hourly rate of the regular working wage by twenty-five percent; in other words each extra hour shall be remunerated at one and a quarter times the normal hourly rate.
If the employee who has worked overtime or at extra hours so wishes, rather than receiving overtime pay he may use, as free time, one-hour and thirty minutes for each hour worked overtime and one hour and fifteen minutes for each extra hour worked.
But as it is explained above this is not applicable for the days worked in general holidays, and employees must be paid overtime pay.
