In Türkiye, national holidays and general holidays are determined by the Act No. 2429 on National Holidays and General Holidays.
In this context, general holidays are as follows:
- Public holidays
- Religious holidays
- New Year’s Day
- May 1st
- On July 15th.
Likewise, the official holidays are as follows:
- April 23 is National Sovereignty and Children’s Day.
- May 19 is the Commemoration of Atatürk and Youth and Sports Day.
- August 30 is Victory Day.
In addition, religious holidays are as follows:
- Feast of Ramadan; It lasts 3.5 days, starting from 13.00 on the day of Eve.
- Eid al-Adha; It is 4.5 days from 13.00 on the day of Eve.
Public holidays other than those above are as follows:
- January 1 is the New Year’s holiday.
- May 1 is Labor and Solidarity Day.
- July 15 is Democracy and National Unity Day.
Official offices and organizations are closed on national, public and religious holidays, New Year’s Day, May 1st and July 15th.
At national holidays and general holidays which are enlisted above when Friday evening ends, the entire following Saturday is to be closed.
Provisions in the special laws of organizations that, by their nature, must operate on a permanent basis are reserved.
Private workplaces are required to close on the date of October 29 in accordance with the Act No. 2429.
Rules about the General Holidays in the Turkish Labour Law
Special provisions have been introduced in the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857 regarding national holidays, religious holidays and general holidays:
In accordance with the Article 44 of Law No. 4857, it is decided by collective bargaining agreements or employment contracts whether to work in workplaces on national holidays and public holidays. If there is no provision in the contracts, the employee’s approval is required to work on those days.
Wages for these days should be calculated as follows: If workers working in workplaces within the scope of the Labour Code No. 4857 do not work on days that are considered national holidays and general holidays by law, they will be paid their full wages for that day without any work in return. If they work without a holiday, they will also receive a deduction for each day worked. daily fee is paid.
In workplaces where the percentage method is applied, national holiday and general holiday wages of workers must be paid to the worker by the employer.
Even if the monthly wage workers are paid in full, even if they are excused due to illness, leave or other reasons, if they work on national holidays and public holidays, they must also be paid a daily wage for each day they work.
Weekends, national holidays and general holidays are considered as work in terms of annual leave. Likewise, when calculating annual paid leave days, national holidays, week holidays and general holidays that coincide with the leave period are not counted as leave period.
While the annual leave wage is calculated and paid in advance before the leave, the weekly holiday, national holiday and general holiday fees that coincide with the annual paid leave period are required to be paid separately.
In the Article 64 of Code No. 4857, the reason for workplace closure before or after national holidays and general holidays is listed among the situations in which compensatory work can be carried out.
