What Is the Right to Annual Paid Leave?

The right to annual paid leave is a rest right regulated under Articles 53 through 60 of the Labor Law No. 4857, which an employee earns upon completing at least one year of work. This right is the concrete reflection in labor law of the right to rest guaranteed by Article 50 of the Constitution and is inalienable in nature.

The purpose of annual leave is to ensure that the employee rests physically and mentally after working for a year and addresses social and familial needs. For this reason, annual leave is considered a right too important to be left to the individual will of the employee and is specifically protected by the legislator.

The right to annual leave cannot be waived. Pursuant to Article 53/2, the right to annual paid leave cannot be waived. Even if the employee and employer agree, not granting annual leave or eliminating the leave right by paying leave wages is legally invalid. Annual leave is a right that must be actually exercised.

The employer has an obligation to grant annual leave. The employer is required to ensure that employees use their annual leave and to take necessary measures in this regard. An employer who fails to grant leave may face administrative fines pursuant to Article 103 [TO BE VERIFIED - current penalty amounts should be checked].

What Are the Conditions for Earning Annual Leave?

To earn the right to annual paid leave, the employee must have worked for at least one year at the workplace or workplaces belonging to the same employer, including the probation period. This condition is explicitly regulated in Article 53/1.

In calculating the one-year working period, the periods specified in Article 55 are also counted as if worked. These include annual leave periods, pre- and post-natal leave periods for female workers, rest periods due to work accidents or occupational diseases (up to 1.5 years), weekly rest days, national holidays and general public holidays, and strike and lockout periods.

If the employee works at different workplaces of the same employer, all these periods are combined for evaluation. Working periods with different employers generally cannot be combined. However, in the case of a workplace transfer, the working period with the transferring employer is added to the working period with the receiving employer.

Workers employed in seasonal work or campaign work cannot benefit from annual leave provisions, pursuant to Article 53/3. Leave rights do not accrue based on their working periods. However, workers employed in work that continues throughout the year but varies in intensity (not seasonal in nature) may benefit from the right to annual leave.

What Are the Annual Leave Periods by Seniority?

Article 53 of the Labor Law No. 4857 establishes annual leave periods progressively based on the employee's seniority. The periods prescribed by law are minimum periods and may be increased by employment contract or collective bargaining agreement but may not be decreased.

For employees under 18 and over 50 years of age, the annual leave period may not be less than 20 working days. This regulation, found in Article 53/4, aims to ensure that employee groups requiring special protection due to age have longer rest periods.

Leave periods are calculated in working days. Weekly rest days, national holidays, and general public holidays falling within the annual leave period are not included in the leave period. For example, if an employee using 14 working days of annual leave has 2 weekly rest days and 1 general holiday within the leave period, the actual calendar leave is 17 days.

Travel leave to be added to annual leave periods should also be considered. Pursuant to Article 56/4, an employee who will spend their annual leave in a location other than where the workplace is situated may, upon request and submission of supporting documents, be granted up to 4 days of unpaid travel leave for round-trip travel.

What Are the Rules for Using Annual Leave?

Annual leave is, as a rule, granted at a time determined by the employer. Pursuant to Article 56, the employer determines the leave time in line with the employee's request and business requirements. The employer may decide to grant annual leave collectively during a specific period of the year.

Annual leave cannot be divided by the employer unilaterally; however, it may be divided by agreement of the parties. Pursuant to Article 56/3, annual leave periods may be used in portions by agreement of the parties, provided that one portion is not less than 10 days. In other words, while the principle is that the full 14 days of annual leave should be used at once, the remaining portion may be used in shorter periods as long as at least a 10-day portion is used continuously.

Annual leave periods are calculated excluding Saturdays and Sundays. National holidays and general public holidays falling within the leave period are also not added to the leave period. These days effectively extend the leave period.

The employer cannot indefinitely postpone a leave request without valid reason. The employee's annual leave request should be accommodated as long as it does not disrupt the order of work. However, if the employer has legitimate reasons (intensive production period, critical project, etc.), it is possible to determine leave timing in line with business requirements.

Carryover of Annual Leave and Statute of Limitations

The right to annual leave should be used within the year it is earned. However, unused annual leave carries over to the next year and accumulates. There is no provision in the Labor Law for unused annual leave to lapse (expire). Therefore, unused annual leave continues to accumulate as long as the employment relationship continues.

It is not possible to convert annual leave into money while the employment relationship continues. The employee cannot claim wages for accumulated leave while still working. Annual leave pay only becomes relevant upon termination of the employment contract.

The employer has an obligation to keep annual leave records. Pursuant to Article 56/5, the employer is required to document that annual leave has been granted. An annual leave register or equivalent records must be maintained. The burden of proof regarding whether annual leave was granted lies with the employer.

How Is Annual Leave Pay Calculated?

Pursuant to Article 57, the employer must pay the employee the wages for the annual leave period in advance before the leave begins or provide an advance. Leave pay is calculated based on the employee's bare (basic) wage; the dressed wage is not used.

In calculating annual leave pay, the employee's most recent bare gross wage is taken into account. The daily wage is found by dividing the monthly gross wage by 30 and multiplying by the number of leave days. For example, an employee with a monthly gross wage of 25,000 TL has a daily wage of 25,000 / 30 = 833.33 TL. This employee's leave pay for 14 days is 833.33 x 14 = 11,666.67 TL gross [TO BE VERIFIED - the net amount varies based on current minimum wage and tax rates].

Income tax, stamp duty, and social security premiums are deducted from annual leave pay. Leave pay is taxed like normal wages and is subject to all statutory deductions.

Unused Leave Pay Upon Termination of Employment Contract

Pursuant to Article 59, if the employment contract is terminated for any reason, the wages for annual leave periods earned but not used by the employee shall be paid to the employee or their beneficiaries based on the wage at the date of termination.

Unused leave pay is paid regardless of how the employment contract ended. Whether the employee resigns, is dismissed for just cause, or the contract ends upon expiration, the employee is entitled to unused annual leave pay. Even an employee dismissed under Article 25/II for disciplinary reasons may claim unused annual leave pay.

In calculating unused leave pay, the employee's bare (basic) gross wage is used. The dressed wage is not taken into account. This differs from severance and notice pay calculations, where the dressed gross wage is used.

Income tax, stamp duty, and social security premiums are deducted from unused leave pay. Annual leave pay is a wage, not compensation, and is therefore subject to all statutory deductions.

Statute of Limitations for Leave Pay Claims

The statute of limitations for annual leave pay claims is 5 years pursuant to Supplementary Article 3 of the Labor Law. This period begins from the date the employment contract is terminated, since the annual leave pay claim becomes due upon termination of the employment contract.

Before October 25, 2017, the statute of limitations for annual leave pay claims was applied as 5 years. With Law No. 7036, this period was explicitly regulated within the Labor Law and maintained at 5 years [TO BE VERIFIED].

The starting date for the statute of limitations is the termination date of the employment contract. The statute of limitations for all accumulated annual leave claims begins from the termination date; separate statute of limitations calculations are not made for each year. This is parallel with severance and notice pay.

Prohibition on Working During Annual Leave and Sanctions

Pursuant to Article 58, an employee may not be employed during the annual paid leave period. If it is established that the employee on leave worked in paid employment elsewhere, the leave pay paid during the leave period may be reclaimed by the employer.

The purpose of this regulation is to ensure that annual leave is used in accordance with its true purpose — rest. Working at another job during the leave period is incompatible with the purpose of leave and is detrimental both to the employee's health and to the work order.

If the employer has the employee work at their own workplace during leave, an administrative fine is imposed pursuant to Article 103. Additionally, the employee's annual leave is deemed not to have been used, and the employee may request the annual leave right again [TO BE VERIFIED].

Annual Leave Committee and Employer Obligations

In workplaces with more than 100 employees, the establishment of an annual leave committee is mandatory pursuant to Article 60. The annual leave committee evaluates employees' annual leave requests and plans leave usage. The committee consists of the employer or their representative and employee representatives.

In workplaces with fewer than 100 employees, the establishment of an annual leave committee is not mandatory. In these workplaces, annual leave administration is conducted directly by the employer.

The employer's fundamental obligations regarding annual leave include: maintaining a leave register or equivalent records, paying leave wages in advance, determining leave periods in compliance with the law, not requiring work during leave, and not restricting leave rights. Violation of these obligations results in administrative fines for the employer.

Court of Cassation Precedents Regarding Annual Leave

The Court of Cassation has rendered many important decisions on annual leave. These decisions clarify problems encountered in practice. Some of the settled precedents of the Court of Cassation include:

• Burden of proof: The burden of proving that annual leave was granted lies with the employer. The employer must demonstrate granting of leave through written evidence such as annual leave registers, leave request forms, and signed documents.
• Leave pay calculation: Unused annual leave pay is calculated based on bare gross wage. Additional payments such as meal, transportation, and bonus allowances are not taken into account.
• Unsigned leave register: An annual leave register not bearing the employee's signature does not constitute sufficient evidence that leave was granted. The employer must prove granting of leave through other evidence.
• Non-transferability of leave rights: The right to annual leave is a personal right that cannot be transferred or inherited. However, unused leave pay claims are paid to the heirs upon the employee's death.
• Collective leave practice: It is possible for the employer to close the workplace during certain periods and grant collective leave. However, in this case, employees who have not yet earned leave rights are also deemed to have used leave, and this period is deducted from their future leave entitlement.

The Court of Cassation also accepts that the statutory interest rate applies from the date of default for annual leave pay. The highest deposit interest rate is not applied; rather, the statutory interest rate applies because annual leave pay is a wage in the broad sense, not in the narrow sense. However, different Court of Cassation decisions exist on this matter, and evaluations are made based on the circumstances of each specific case [TO BE VERIFIED].

Abuse of Annual Leave Rights

Abuse of the annual leave right by the employee may be considered a trust-breaking behavior in the employment relationship. Examples of abuse include the employee working at another job during leave, extending the leave period contrary to facts, or manipulating the leave period by obtaining false medical reports.

Abuse of the annual leave right by the employer is also possible. Behaviors such as not granting annual leave, continuously rejecting leave requests, shortening leave periods, or requiring the employee to work during leave constitute examples of employer abuse of annual leave rights.

If the employer's behavior of not granting annual leave becomes systematic, it may constitute just cause for termination by the employee under Article 24/II due to non-implementation of working conditions. In this case, the employee is entitled to severance pay.

This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek professional support from a lawyer for your specific legal issues.