Annual Leave Entitlement — Periods, Use and Leave Pay

What is the right to paid annual leave, how long is leave according to length of service, and how is leave pay calculated? A comprehensive guide to annual leave under Labour Law Arts. 53-60.

What Is the Right to Paid Annual Leave?

The right to paid annual leave is a right to rest governed by Articles 53 to 60 of Labour Law No. 4857, which an employee acquires on condition of at least one year's service. This right is the concrete reflection in labour law of the right to rest guaranteed by Article 50 of the Constitution and cannot be waived.

The purpose of annual leave is to enable the employee to rest physically and mentally after a year's work and to meet their social and family needs. Annual leave is therefore regarded as too important a right to be left to the individual will of the employee, and it is specifically protected by the legislature.

The right to annual leave cannot be waived. Under Labour Law Art. 53/2 the right to paid annual leave cannot be waived. Even where employee and employer agree, it is legally invalid to withhold annual leave or to extinguish the right by paying leave pay instead. Annual leave is a right that must actually be taken.

The employer is under an obligation to allow annual leave to be taken. The employer is obliged to ensure that employees take their annual leave and to take the necessary measures to that end. An employer who does not allow leave to be taken may face an administrative fine under Labour Law Art. 103.

What Are the Conditions for Acquiring the Right to Annual Leave?

An employee acquires the right to paid annual leave upon completing at least one year's service from the day they started work at the workplace, including the probationary period. The periods deemed to be worked are exhaustively set out in Labour Law Art. 55. For absence due to illness or accident, the portion found by adding six weeks to the notice period in Art. 25/I-b is taken into account; there is no general limit of “one and a half years”. Periods spent on strike or during a lockout are as a rule not deemed to be worked. Whether the annual leave provisions apply to seasonal or campaign work is examined according to whether the work is genuinely intermittent in nature.

How Long Is Annual Leave According to Length of Service?

The leave period is at least 14 days for those with between one and five years' service (including five years); at least 20 days for those with more than five and fewer than fifteen years; and at least 26 days for those with fifteen years or more. Paid annual leave given to employees aged eighteen or under and to employees aged fifty or over may not be less than 20 days. For underground work the periods are increased by four days.

What Are the Rules for Taking Annual Leave?

As a rule leave may not be divided; by agreement of the parties it may be taken in parts, one of which must be not less than ten days. National holidays, public holidays and weekly rest days falling within the leave period do not count as leave. Whether Saturday counts depends on the working and weekly rest arrangements at the workplace; it cannot be said to fall outside leave in every case. The employer plans leave having regard to the employee's request and the requirements of the business; the right to annual leave cannot be waived.

How Is Annual Leave Pay Calculated?

The employer must pay the wages for the leave period in advance, or give an advance, before the employee begins their leave. The calculation is made on the last ordinary wage; whether overtime, bonuses and social benefits are included is determined under Labour Law Art. 57 and the Wages Regulation. Sample calculations are hypothetical; tax and premium deductions are subject to the legislation in force at the date of payment and to the employee's circumstances.

Pay for Untaken Leave on Termination of the Employment Contract

Whatever the reason for termination, the pay for untaken annual leave is paid to the employee or their beneficiaries on the wage applicable at the date of termination. Limitation runs from the date the contract terminates. A five-year period applies to contracts terminating after 25 October 2017; for earlier terminations the entry into force and transitional provisions are examined separately. Interest is the statutory rate in force in the relevant period, running from the date of default. The general statutory interest rate was 24 per cent per annum between 1 June 2024 and 30 July 2026, and is 31 per cent per annum from 31 July 2026.

The Prohibition on Working During Annual Leave and Its Consequences

Under Labour Law Art. 58, an employee may not be employed during the paid annual leave period. If an employee on leave is found to be working for pay elsewhere, the leave pay paid to them for the leave period may be recovered by the employer.

The purpose of this rule is to ensure that annual leave is used for its true purpose, namely rest. An employee working elsewhere during leave is incompatible with the purpose of leave and is objectionable both for their own health and for the working order.

Where the employer employs an employee on leave at its own workplace, an administrative fine is imposed under Labour Law Art. 103. In addition, the employee is deemed not to have taken their annual leave and may claim their annual leave entitlement afresh.

The Leave Board and the Employer's Obligations

A leave board is established at workplaces employing more than one hundred employees; exactly one hundred employees does not meet that threshold. The employer is obliged to keep a leave record, to allow leave to be taken and to ensure that the employee rests. Administrative fines are updated each year by the revaluation rate; the official amount in force at the date of the breach governs.

Court of Cassation Case Law on the Right to Annual Leave

The employer proves that leave was granted by a signed leave register or equivalent document. An employee's failure to take leave over a long period does not of itself show that the right has been extinguished. Whether the refusal of leave constitutes just cause for the employee to terminate is assessed according to the leave request, the employer's conduct, the persistence of the obstruction and the specific working conditions.

Abuse of the Right to Annual Leave

An employee's abuse of the right to annual leave may be regarded as conduct destroying trust in the employment relationship. Working elsewhere during leave, extending the leave period contrary to the true position, or manipulating the leave period by obtaining a false medical report are examples of abuse. Abuse of the right to annual leave by the employer is also possible. Conduct such as not allowing an employee to take annual leave, persistently refusing leave requests, shortening the leave period or employing the employee during leave are examples of abuse by the employer. Where the employer's refusal to allow leave becomes systematic, it may constitute just cause for the employee to terminate under Labour Law Art. 24/II on the ground that the working conditions are not being applied. In that case the employee becomes entitled to severance pay.

This content is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For your specific legal problems you are strongly advised to obtain professional support from an attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days' leave does an employee with five years' service have?

14 days including five years; 20 days once more than five years.

Are the ages of 18 and 50 inclusive?

Yes; at least 20 days for employees aged 18 or under and 50 or over.

Does Saturday never count as leave?

No; it is determined by the weekly rest and working arrangements.

When does entitlement to pay for untaken leave arise?

When the employment contract terminates, and on the final wage.