There are some special rights provided to pregnant and lactating female employees with the Turkish Labour Law. Two important rights among these are the right to make “half-time work” and to receive “half-work allowance”. Thanks to these rights, which were introduced with the Act No. 6663 in 2016, it is aimed to prevent specific problems that female employees face in working life and to adapt them more easily to their career after giving birth.
According to the Turkish Labour Code, female workers who have children or adopt a child are entitled to unpaid leave equal to half of the normal weekly working time. This practice, called “half-work”, is a leave that must be given by the employer if the worker requests it. The employer is not obliged to pay wage for the period that is not actually being worked, which is half of the weekly normal working time. In this way, it is possible for workers who meet the necessary conditions to receive “half-work allowance” to be paid from the Unemployment Insurance Fund during the unpaid leave period.
Within the scope of the aforementioned right, female employees who have given birth and female or male workers who have adopted a child under the age of three are given the right to half-time work for the purpose of caring for and raising their child, as of the end of temporary incapacity after birth (maternity leave period), provided that the child is alive. Half-work allowance, on the other hand, is a right supported by the Turkish Employment Agency with the periods of half-time work, which requires the employee actually to work half of the weekly working time. As a note, in this period the female employee will not be entitled to breastfeeding leave.
The right to half-work will be given for the following periods in accordance with the number of births:
| Number of births | Singular pregnancy | Multiple pregnancy | In case of birth of a disabled child |
| First born | 60 days | 90 days | If the child be born as disabled 360 days |
| Second born | 120 days | 150 days | |
| Third and further | 180 days | 210 days |
In order for the employee to benefit from half-work allowance during these periods all of the following conditions have to be met:
- The unemployment insurance premium has been declared in the name of the worker for at least 600 days in the last three years before the date of birth or adoption.
- Actualy working up to half of the weekly working time.
- Application should be submitted to the Turkish Labour and Employment Agency within 30 days of the date of birth or adoption after the maternity leave is over—the application should be made with a birth certificate and a half-working post-adoption document.
If these conditions are met, the Turkish Labour and Employment Agency will pay a half-work allowance to the employee for unpaid leave periods. The daily amount of the half-work allowance is the gross amount of the daily minimum wage. These payments are not subject to any taxes and deductions except stamp duty.
Since the minimum daily wage for the calendar year of 2023 is being determined as TRL 333,60, the half-work allowance to be paid for 15 days due to female employee’s giving birth shall be calculated as (TRL 333,60 x 15 days)= TRL 5.004,00. As the stamp duty in the amount of 0.759% to be deducted from this amount, the net amount to be paid will be (5.004,00 – 37,98)= TRL 4.966,02.
The amount of the half-work allowance that is determined to be implemented in the calendar year 2023 is given in the table below:
| Amounts of the half-work allowance | |
| The amount of the monthly minimum wage (Gross amount) | TRL 10,008.00 |
| Daily amount of the half-work allowance | TRL 333.60 |
| Upper-limit of the monthly half-work allowance | TRL 5,004.00 |
| The amount of stamp duty (7,59 per thousand) | TRL 37.98 |
| Monthly net amount of the half-work allowance (Per month) | TRL 4,966.02 |
