Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 regulates the working conditions in jobs that are operated by employing workers in shifts, one after the other, or in jobs that are carried out by workers in shifts, as they work continuously due to their qualifications. Accordingly, special procedures and principles regarding working hours, night work, week holidays and breaks in jobs working in shifts are regulated by the regulations issued in accordance with the Turkish Labour Law.
In this context, the employer or employer representatives are obliged to organize the number of posts, the start and end times of each post, the names and surnames of the workers they employ in posts, breaks, week holidays and changes related to these, and announce them in a way that workers can easily see and read in the workplace.
General Rules for Arranging Work Shifts
The following principles should be taken into consideration when determining employee posts by the employer:
Since workers’ posts work continuously due to their qualifications, the number of posts should be arranged so that at least three workers’ posts are employed in a 24-hour period, in jobs carried out by employing workers in rows, one after the other. However, in the works where tourism, private security and health services are carried out, and in the works carried out by the subcontractor operating in the workplaces where these works are carried out, the arrangement can be made as two posts per 24 hours.
In other jobs other than those mentioned above and carried out by workers’ posts, the number of workers’ posts to be employed within a 24-hour period and the working time of each worker post should be arranged in such a way that the daily working time specified in the Regulation stipulated in the third paragraph of the Article 63 of the Labour Law No. 4857 should be regulated.
In jobs that require 7.5 hours or less of work per day in terms of health rules, the number of worker posts and the working hours of each post should be arranged in such a way that they do not exceed the daily working hours specified in the Regulation stipulated in the last paragraph of the Article 63 of the Labour Law No. 4857.
Prohibition of Working at Night Hours
It is prohibited to employ children and young workers under the age of 18 in labor positions between the hours of 20.00 and 06.00, which corresponds to the night period defined in the first paragraph of the Article 69 of the Labour Law No. 4857.
No Fee Discount Can Be Made
Workers’ wages cannot be reduced in any way, in any way, due to the decrease in working hours as a result of increasing the number of double or more posts in jobs carried out with one worker post, or determining the daily working hours below 7.5 hours in workplaces where workers work in three posts.
Change Time for Workers’ Posts
Posts in jobs that are operated day and night and are carried out by working shifts; workers who work at night for a maximum of one work week are arranged to work during the day in the second work week after that, and the posts are arranged in such a way that they replace each other.
Workers’ post cannot be changed unless necessary. However, in accordance with the Article 69 of the Labour Law No. 4857, the employer, to the extent possible, assigns a job appropriate to his situation in the daytime position to the worker who documents with a report that his health has deteriorated due to night work.
Taking into account the nature and execution of the work, occupational health and safety, a two-week rotation basis can also be applied in day and night shifts.
During postal exchange, workers cannot be employed continuously without at least eleven hours of rest. This provision also applies to workers whose postage has been changed.
