According to the Turkish Labor Code No. 4857, the normal daily working time in workplaces is generally 7.5 hours and the normal weekly working time is 45 hours at most. Unless otherwise agreed, this period is applied equally to the working days of the week in workplaces. The working hours of workers working in underground mines is determined as a maximum of seven and a half hours per day and a maximum of thirty-seven and a half hours per week, as taking into account the heavy nature of these works.
With the agreement of the parties, the normal weekly working time may be distributed differently among the working days of the week in workplaces, provided that it does not exceed eleven hours a day.
In this case, the employee’s average weekly working time cannot exceed the normal weekly working time within a two-month period. This is called the equalisation practice. The equalisation period can be increased up to four months by collective bargaining agreements. In the tourism sector, the average weekly working time of a worker within a four-month period cannot exceed the normal weekly working time. The equalisation period can be increased up to six months by collective bargaining agreements.
In workplaces where the equalisation procedure is applied, even if the worker’s average weekly working time exceeds 45 hours in total in some weeks, provided that it does not exceed the normal weekly working time, this work is not considered overtime.
Within the framework of the Turkish Labour Code, work exceeding 45 hours, which is the normal weekly working time, is considered overtime. Overtime may be done for reasons determined by the employer, such as the general interests of the country or the nature of the work or due to increasing production.
The wage for each hour of overtime must be increased by fifty percent of the normal hourly wage. In cases where the weekly working hours are determined by contracts to be less than 45 hours, work exceeding the average weekly working hours and up to 45 hours is called “extra hours working”. In case of extra hours working, the wage for each hour must be paid by increasing the normal working wage per hour by twenty-five percent.
If the worker who works overtime or works for extra hours wishes, he/she has the right to use one hour and thirty minutes for each hour he/she works overtime, and one hour and fifteen minutes for each hour he/she works as extra-hours work, as free time, instead of an increased wage for this work. The worker will be able to use the free time he/she deserves within six months, within his working hours and without any interruption in his/her salary.
An annual upper limit has been introduced for overtime working hours in the Turkish Labour Law. Accordingly, the total of overtime working hours cannot exceed 11 hours per day and 270 hours in a year. This time limit relates to the individuals of the workers, not to the workplaces or the work carried out.
In calculating overtime, periods less than half an hour are considered as half an hour, and periods exceeding half an hour are considered as one hour.
