ANNUAL PAID LEAVE IN TURKISH LABOR LAW

Abstract

According to the provisions of the Constitution titled working conditions and right to rest; rest is an acknowledged right of
employees. The scope of the right and conditions of paid week and holidays as well as the paid annual leave are regulated by
law (a.50/III-IV). The Labor Law regulates the provision as mandatory and states that the right to annual paid leave cannot be
waived (Labor Law 53/II).
In order to be entitled to annual paid leave, the employee must have actually worked at least one year from the date of
commencement of work at the workplace (Labor Law 53/I). This period includes the trial period as well. In the case of
employment contracts where a year is not full yet, the annual leave cannot be used in proportion to the period worked. As a
result of this provision, employees are required to use their annual paid leaves they are entitled only during the next working
year (Labor Law 54/IV). In cases where the employee is employed in different workplaces of the same employer, the date on
which the employee started working at the first workplace of the same employer is taken into account in the calculation of the
time required to qualify for annual paid leave (Labor Law 54/I). This calculation is made in the same way even if there is time
gap between the employee's employments. The provisions of the Labor Law related to the annual paid leave do not apply to
workers who work in seasonal or campaign jobs for less than a year (Labor Law 53/III). However, this rule is a relative
mandatory provision, and it is possible to apply annual leave to workers employed at seasonal and campaign jobs by changing
the rule in the favor of the worker if parties agree mutually in the contract. In addition, if a worker who is employed in a
workplace to perform seasonal works performs different jobs in the same workplace during the out-of-working season, it is a
requirement to allow this worker to benefit from the right to annual paid leave. Employees with work contracts based on parttime or on-call work also benefit from annual paid leave equally as full-time employees and they cannot be treated differently
(Annual Paid Leave Regulation a. 13/I). These workers use their annual paid leaves they are entitled by not working on days
that fall within the next year's leave (Regulation a. 13/II).
The annual leave period to be granted to workers varies according to the period they worked in a workplace, their job and age.
So much so that, annual leave less than fourteen days for those with a term of service from one year to five years (including
five years), less than twenty days for those with a service term of more than five less than fifteen years (including fifteen
years), less than twenty six days for those with a service term of fifteen years (included) and more cannot be given. The
annual paid leave period of workers employed in underground worker is increased by four days (Labor Law 53/IV). However,
the annual paid leave period granted for those workers who are eighteen years old or younger cannot be less than fifty, on the
other hand for workers who are older cannot be less than twenty days (Labor Law 53/V). Annual leave periods can be
increased with labor contracts and collective agreements (Labor Law 53/VI)