Three numbers govern working time in Turkey: forty-five hours a week, eleven hours a day, and two hundred and seventy hours of overtime a year. The weekly figure can be averaged across an adjustment period, but the daily eleven hours is a hard ceiling that no agreement can raise, and the annual overtime limit attaches to the individual worker rather than to the workplace.
This page sets out those limits and how they interact, what counts as working time even when no work is done, the distinction between the two kinds of extra work and the different rates they carry, the consent rule as it now stands, and the records an employer has to keep.
The Limits
| Limit | Rule | Can it be varied? |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly working time | 45 hours, divided equally across the days worked unless otherwise agreed | May be distributed unevenly by agreement |
| Daily working time | 11 hours | No. A hard ceiling in every arrangement |
| Adjustment period | The weekly average must not exceed 45 hours over two months | Extendable to four months by collective agreement |
| Annual overtime | 270 hours, calculated per worker | No. It attaches to the individual, not the workplace |
| Night shift | 7.5 hours; night runs from 20:00 at the latest to 06:00 at the earliest | Limited exceptions defined in the legislation |
| Rest on a shift change | A continuous rest of at least 11 hours before the next shift | No |
| Preparation and cleaning work | Up to 2 extra hours a day, within the 11-hour daily ceiling | Together with overtime, capped at 270 hours a year |
| Jobs limited to 7.5 hours | Certain work is restricted to 7.5 hours a day on health grounds | No overtime is permitted in those jobs |
Because the weekly forty-five hours may be averaged across an adjustment period, employers often assume the daily figure is equally flexible. It is not. Eleven hours is the ceiling in every arrangement — with uneven distribution, with make-up work, with preparation and cleaning work included, and with the worker’s consent.
A schedule that produces a twelve-hour day is unlawful even where the weekly average is well under forty-five and the worker has agreed in writing. This is the point at which otherwise careful shift rosters fail.
What Counts as Working Time
Certain periods count as working time even though the worker performs no work. Excluding them from the calculation understates hours and, where overtime rates apply, underpays.
- Time spent travelling when the employer sends the worker from the workplace to another location
- Idle time when the worker is present, ready to work and waiting to be assigned
- Time spent away from the primary job because the employer has sent the worker elsewhere
- Time spent at the employer’s home or office, or anywhere in connection with the employer
- Nursing breaks for mothers breastfeeding a child
- Time spent in collective transport to sites away from workers’ residences, such as railway, road and bridge works
- Descent and ascent time in mines, quarries and underground or underwater work
- Time on a vehicle provided purely as a welfare benefit, unconnected to the nature of the job, is not working time
Rest Breaks and Night Work
Rest breaks
- Work of 4 hours or less
- 15 minutes
- More than 4, up to 7.5 hours
- 30 minutes
- More than 7.5 hours
- 60 minutes
- Nature
- Minimum and continuous May be split by agreement
- Counted as working time?
- No
Night work
- Night period
- From 20:00 at the latest to 06:00 at the earliest, maximum 11 hours
- Shift length
- 7.5 hours
- Before employment
- A medical report confirming fitness for night work
- Periodically
- Medical screening at least every two years, at the employer’s cost
- Under 18
- May not be employed at night
Where a worker produces a report showing that their health has deteriorated because of night work, the employer assigns them to day work suitable for their condition where possible. On continuous day-and-night operations, the rotation must be arranged so that a worker on nights in one week moves to days in the second following week; a two-week rotation is also permitted.
Overtime and Extended Hours
Turkish law distinguishes two kinds of extra work and pays them at different rates. Treating them as one is the most common payroll error in this area.
Overtime
- When it arises
- Weekly working time exceeds 45 hours
- Rate
- Hourly rate plus 50%
- Time off instead
- 1 hour 30 minutes for each hour worked
- Annual limit
- 270 hours per worker
Extended hours
- When it arises
- Contracted hours are below 45 and the worker works beyond them, up to 45
- Rate
- Hourly rate plus 25%
- Time off instead
- 1 hour 15 minutes for each hour worked
- Annual limit
- Counts toward the same 270 hours
Where time off is taken instead of payment, the worker must request it in writing, and it is used within working days on dates the employer sets according to the needs of the business, with no deduction from pay. Time off may not be taken on non-working days or days off. The worker notifies the employer in writing within six months.
Where the adjustment mechanism is used and hours are distributed unevenly, a week above forty-five hours does not by itself create overtime, provided the average across the adjustment period stays within normal weekly working time.
That is the point of the mechanism and it is legitimate. What it does not do is suspend the eleven-hour daily ceiling, and it does not apply unless the uneven distribution was actually agreed with the worker.
Consent and Records
Written consent to overtime and extended hours used to be taken from workers at the beginning of each year. That requirement was removed. Consent is now obtained once — either when the employment contract is made or when the need arises — and kept in the personnel file.
In exchange, the worker may withdraw it. A worker who no longer wishes to work overtime or extended hours may revoke consent by giving the employer thirty days’ written notice. Employers still collecting annual consent forms are following a repealed rule, and more importantly are usually unaware of the withdrawal right.
- Written consent is required for overtime and for extended hours
- Consent is taken once, at contract stage or when the need arises, and kept in the personnel file
- The worker may withdraw consent on thirty days’ written notice
- Consent is not required in cases of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances
- The employer must keep a record showing who worked extra hours and how many
- The record is signed and kept in the worker’s personnel file
- Extra hours are shown separately on the payslip
- Periods under thirty minutes count as thirty minutes; above thirty minutes, as an hour
Who Cannot Work Overtime
| Category | Position |
|---|---|
| Workers under 18 | Overtime is not permitted; they may also not be employed during night hours |
| Workers whose health is unsuitable | Where certified by the workplace physician or another doctor, overtime is not permitted even if the contract or collective agreement provides for it |
| Pregnant workers, those who have recently given birth and those breastfeeding | Overtime is not permitted |
| Part-time workers | Neither overtime nor extended hours are permitted |
| Jobs limited to 7.5 hours on health grounds | No overtime in the job itself, and no other work after the daily maximum |
| Day work performed during night hours | Overtime is not permitted, subject to the exceptions in the regulation |
| Underground and underwater work | Mining, cable laying, sewerage and tunnel construction: overtime is not permitted |
Adjustment, Make-Up Work and Short-Time Working
Weekly hours may be distributed unevenly by agreement, provided no day exceeds eleven hours and the weekly average stays within forty-five hours across two months. A collective agreement may extend the period to four months. Without agreement the default equal distribution applies.
Where work stops through force majeure, the business closes around national or public holidays, or workers take days off at their own request, the employer may require make-up work within two months. It is limited to three hours a day within the eleven-hour ceiling, is not permitted on non-working days, and is not treated as overtime.
Where a general economic crisis or force majeure causes a substantial temporary reduction in weekly hours, or operations stop wholly or partly for at least four weeks, workers may receive a short-time working allowance from unemployment insurance. The employer notifies the employment agency and any union, and the ministry assesses whether the request is appropriate.
For work whose nature prevents hours being divided across weekdays — road, rail and inland water transport — hours are calculated across a work period of two to six months, multiplying the number of weeks by forty-five. The average across the period may not exceed forty-five hours a week.
The employer does not decide to enter short-time working. The request is notified with its reasons and the ministry determines whether it is appropriate; the allowance is paid to workers who meet the conditions for unemployment benefit in terms of hours worked and premiums paid.
The period may not exceed three months, and where the legislation permits extension that is done by presidential decision rather than by the employer. Sickness and maternity premiums for the period are transferred from the unemployment insurance fund.
Common Mistakes
- Treating the eleven-hour daily ceiling as flexible. It cannot be exceeded by agreement, by averaging, or with the worker’s consent.
- Paying all extra hours at the same rate. Overtime carries 50% and extended hours 25%; the two arise in different circumstances.
- Collecting consent forms at the start of every year. That rule was repealed; consent is taken once and is withdrawable on thirty days’ notice.
- Not knowing the worker can withdraw consent. Thirty days’ written notice ends the obligation to work extra hours.
- Treating the 270 hours as a workplace limit. It attaches to each individual worker.
- Excluding waiting and travel time from working hours. Idle time on standby and travel at the employer’s direction both count.
- Requiring overtime from part-time workers. Neither overtime nor extended hours are permitted for them.
- Keeping no signed record of extra hours. The record must be signed and held in the personnel file, and the hours shown separately on the payslip.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are normal working hours in Turkey?
Can the eleven-hour daily limit be exceeded by agreement?
What is the difference between overtime and extended hours?
What is the annual overtime limit?
Does written consent to overtime have to be renewed every year?
Can a worker take time off instead of overtime pay?
Which periods count as working time even when no work is done?
How long are rest breaks?
As the Ozbek CPA team, we advise employers in Turkey on working time — setting shift rosters against the daily and weekly ceilings, applying the adjustment mechanism correctly, distinguishing overtime from extended hours in payroll, putting consent and record-keeping on the current footing, and calculating the entitlements that arise. See also our pages on weekend pay, employment contracts, payroll services and Turkish labour law. Contact us.
