The Turkish Labour Code No. 4857, which is the primary law of the Turkish Labour Legislation, does not have a working regime that is essentially compatible with flexible working arrangements. According to the law, the working method is determined with its general elements and the principle of working full-time and indefinitely is accepted as the basis.
However, Law No. 4857 has also defined the concept of “part-time work”. According to the law, work done up to two-thirds of the comparable work done with a full-time employment contract in the workplace is defined as “part-time work”.
Within the scope of this definition, a “part-time worker” in a workplace where work is 40 hours per week (with the calculation of 40×2/3) can work a maximum of 26.67 hours per week. Likewise, a “part-time worker” in workplaces where work is 45 hours per week (with the calculation of 45×2/3) can work a maximum of 30 hours per week. The working hours exceeding these defined periods will be defined as “overtime” and an increased wage will be required.
It should be noted that there is also an opinion that if the periods defined above are exceeded, the employment contract will be considered as “full-time” rather than “part-time”. In the 2018 Year Court of Accounts Report of the Social Security Institution, the Court of Accounts auditors stated that the working model exceeding 2/3 of the weekly working hours is not part-time work and should be evaluated as “full-time work”, and it was recommended that the number of premium service days for insured individuals in this way be requested to be completed to 30 days per month.
For the reasons stated above, it is important to pay attention to the condition of 2/3 of the weekly working hours in the part-time working model.
In addition, it should be noted that the condition of “working at a rate of 2/3 of the normal working hours” for “part-time work” also affects the employee’s entitlement to a weekly holiday. Because, even if the employee does not complete 45 hours per week, he/she will be entitled to a weekly holiday if he/she works on all working days of the week. For example, in a workplace where a total of 45 hours are worked for 5 days a week, employees who work 5 days and 2 hours each day may be entitled to weekly holiday pay.
The following example can be examined regarding the entitlements of employees to weekly holiday pay for the condition of “working 2/3 of normal working hours” for “part-time work”:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | 6 hours | OFF | OFF |
A worker who works 30 hours a week in a workplace operating as shown in the example above will be entitled to 5 hours of weekly holiday pay as a result of these works. In this case, the worker’s wage should be calculated based on 35 hours per week. Likewise, there is a risk that the worker’s work may be considered “full-time work” rather than “part-time work” in a probable labour inspector’s examination.
