Compassionate leave in Türkiye: marriage, bereavement and paternity leave

Additional art. 2: statutory excuse leave

Source: Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 additional art. 2 (current text). Leave for a disabled child requires a medical report and is used by only one of the working parents.

Older sources give paternity leave as “5 days”; in the current text of the law it is ten days. Because the law changes, do not rely on lists that carry no date.

Is it paid, and is it deducted from annual leave?

• It is paid. Additional art. 2 leave is set out as “paid leave”.
• Not deducted from annual leave. Other leave granted during the year cannot be offset against annual leave (art. 56).
• Counts as worked. Additional art. 2 leave counts as worked when calculating the annual leave right (art. 55) and is treated as a worked day for weekly rest pay (art. 46).

How are the “days” counted?

For annual leave, weekly rest days and public holidays are not counted (art. 56); additional art. 2 has no such rule and says “days”, not “working days”. Secondary sources therefore read excuse leave as calendar days. In case of doubt, the reading in the employee’s favour is not to count a weekly rest day falling within the leave; set your company policy in writing.

Example. For an employee who does not work Saturday and Sunday and whose father dies on a Friday, the calendar-day reading ends the leave Friday–Sunday and they return on Monday; the employee-favourable reading gives Friday, Monday and Tuesday off.

Excuses not in the law

Moving house, an exam or a child’s school registration are not listed in the law. Leave for these is at the employer’s discretion: it may be paid, deducted from annual leave (if the employee wishes) or given as unpaid leave. Because unpaid leave can move the annual leave anniversary forward (art. 54), the choice of type matters.

An employee spending annual leave somewhere other than where the workplace is must, on request and with proof, be given up to four days of unpaid travel leave in total (art. 56); this is a right tied to annual leave, not excuse leave.

Documents and records

The marriage certificate, death certificate, birth certificate or the medical report for a disabled child is kept in the leave file. A medical report contains health data and is special-category personal data; access to it should be restricted.

In our workforce management system marriage, paternity and bereavement leave are separate leave types; approved leave flows into the timesheet automatically and does not touch the annual leave balance. Documents such as reports are stored encrypted. Details: workforce management.

This guide is for information only and is not legal or payroll advice. Your collective agreement or employment contract may contain more favourable terms.