Overtime consent form in Türkiye: how to obtain written consent

What is an overtime consent form?

An overtime consent form is a written document showing that the employee agrees to overtime beyond 45 hours a week and to extra hours beyond the contractual week. The Labour Law requires the employee’s consent for overtime (art. 41); the Overtime Regulation requires that consent to be in writing (art. 9).

Neither the law nor the regulation prescribes a document called a “consent form” or any format; what is mandatory is that the consent is written and kept in the personnel file. Consent is a permission: it shows overtime may be worked, not how much was worked. For hour counting and premium pay, see the overtime calculation guide.

When is overtime consent obtained?

Overtime consent is obtained by the employer needing overtime when the employment contract is made or when the need arises, and is kept in the employee’s personnel file (Overtime Regulation art. 9/2, as amended in 2017). The text in force contains no requirement to renew the consent every year.

• At hiring. If overtime is expected by the nature of the job, consent is obtained as a separate paper alongside the contract. A separate, explicit paper is easier to prove than a sentence buried in the contract.
• When the need arises. From an employee who has not consented before, it is obtained before the overtime starts, when the need appears.
• “At the start of each year” in older texts. Some sources say consent must be renewed at the start of each year; art. 9 in force contains no such requirement. Check the date of the source.

Overtime and extra hours: consent must cover both

Written consent is required for two separate kinds of work: overtime beyond 45 hours a week, and extra hours worked by an employee whose contractual week is under 45 hours, beyond that contractual week and up to 45 hours (Regulation art. 3, art. 9). The form should name both.

Source: Labour Law No. 4857 art. 41; Overtime Regulation art. 3, art. 4, art. 6, art. 9. Example: an employee on a 40-hour contract who works 47 hours has 5 extra hours (25%) and 2 overtime hours (50%).

Time off in lieu is also written: if the employee prefers time off to premium pay, they apply to the employer in writing and use the time off within six months, during working days and without loss of pay; time off cannot be given on holiday or leave days (Regulation art. 6). Mentioning this option on the form makes it easier to record the employee’s choice later.

Can consent be withdrawn?

Yes. An employee who no longer wishes to work overtime may withdraw consent by notifying the employer in writing thirty days in advance (Overtime Regulation art. 9/2). Overtime planned within thirty days of the notice may still be worked; at the end of the period the consent lapses.

Example. If the employee gives written notice of withdrawal on 3 November, the consent lapses from 3 December. Overtime planned after that date can only be required with new written consent, unless there is a compelling reason. The withdrawal letter is kept in the personnel file like the consent.

When consent is not required: compelling and extraordinary reasons

The employee’s consent is not required for overtime worked for compelling reasons or in extraordinary situations (Overtime Regulation art. 9/1). Compelling reasons are a breakdown or the possibility of one, urgent work on machines and equipment, or force majeure (4857 art. 42).

• Limit. Overtime for compelling reasons may only be required to the extent needed to restore the workplace’s normal operation, and the employee must be given appropriate rest (art. 42).
• Pay. Not needing consent does not remove the premium: the pay rules of art. 41 apply to overtime worked in compelling and extraordinary cases too (art. 42, art. 43).
• Extraordinary situations. During mobilisation, in workplaces meeting national defence needs, daily working time may be increased by the President (art. 43).
• Record. A “compelling reason” is an exception and will be questioned later; what the reason was, on which day and for how many hours should be written down separately.

Who cannot work overtime even with consent

Some employees, and some types of work, cannot be given overtime even if the employee has consented. The consent form does not lift these bans; consent obtained from an employee within a ban has no legal effect.

Regulation: Regulation on Overtime and Work beyond Contractual Hours under the Labour Law. For night work rules, see our night work guide.

Can consent lift the 270-hour cap?

No. Total overtime cannot exceed 270 hours a year (4857 art. 41), and the cap applies to the individual employee, not to the workplace (Overtime Regulation art. 5). Writing a higher number on the form or the employee giving “unlimited” consent does not remove the cap.

• Rounding. In calculating overtime, periods under half an hour count as half an hour and periods over half an hour as one hour (Regulation art. 5/2). A 20-minute overrun is recorded as half an hour, a 40-minute overrun as one hour.
• Per person. For an employee who changes employer within the year, the cap is considered per person too; the new employer only sees its own records, so the total should be tracked from the nearest record.
• Example. An employee working an average of 6 hours of overtime a week reaches 270 hours in 45 weeks: 6 × 45 = 270. No overtime may be required in the remaining weeks of the year.

What happens if the employee does not consent?

An employee who does not consent cannot be required to work overtime, except in compelling and extraordinary cases. Without consent, overtime does not become a contractual duty of the employee; withholding consent is therefore not in itself a breach of the duty to work.

• Overtime without consent. Overtime actually required without consent does not remove the employee’s right to premium pay; art. 41 ties the premium to hours worked. Requiring it without consent is a breach of the employer’s obligations and may lead to administrative sanctions.
• No discrimination. Treating an employee who withholds consent less favourably in shifts, bonuses or promotion invites equal-treatment disputes. Plan overtime among employees who have consented.
• Withdrawal. The same rule applies to an employee who has withdrawn consent once the thirty days have passed.

What should the form contain?

A good overtime consent form shows on one page who consented, on what date, to which kind of work, and how the consent can be withdrawn. The number of hours is not on the form; it is kept in the separate record of each overtime.

• The employee’s full name, job title and start date
• Scope of consent: overtime (beyond 45 hours) and extra hours (between the contractual week and 45 hours)
• A reminder of the 270-hour annual cap and of the premium pay or time off in lieu option
• Date of consent and the employee’s signature
• Right of withdrawal: written notice thirty days in advance
• Withdrawal section: date of withdrawal and date the consent lapses

For templates you can fill in and use, see our free templates page.

Setting up the consent process step by step

The consent process is set up in five steps: identify who needs consent, separate those under a ban, obtain consent in writing, track withdrawals, and check each overtime against the consent record. Once set up, the work is only to update it when a new employee joins or consent is withdrawn.

• 1. Decide who may work overtime. List the units and roles that need overtime.
• 2. Separate the banned group. Employees under 18, part-time employees, pregnant and nursing employees and those with a medical report are removed from the list (Regulation art. 8).
• 3. Obtain consent in writing. At hiring or when the need arises, as a separate document; a copy goes into the personnel file.
• 4. Track withdrawals. Record the date of the withdrawal notice and the date the thirty days end.
• 5. Check each overtime against the consent. When overtime is planned, check the employee’s valid consent and the hours left under the 270-hour annual cap.

Proof: the consent form alone is not enough

In a dispute the consent form proves that overtime could be required; it does not prove how many hours were worked. The employer must prepare a document showing the overtime hours of each employee concerned and keep a signed copy in the personnel file (Overtime Regulation art. 10).

• Three documents together. Written consent (art. 9) · a signed document showing overtime hours (art. 10) · the pay shown clearly in payroll and on the payslip (art. 10). If one is missing, the chain breaks.
• Personnel file. The employer keeps the documents it must prepare by law in the personnel file and shows them to the authorities on request (4857 art. 75).
• Payment. Overtime pay is paid together with normal pay (Regulation art. 10).

In our workforce management software, overtime cannot be approved for an employee whose overtime consent is not on record (except for compelling reasons); giving or withdrawing consent is logged. Overtime starts with the employee’s own request from their phone, linked to an open shift record; nobody can approve their own request, and an approval that would exceed the 270-hour annual cap is rejected by the system. Every approval is recorded with who and when. Details: workforce management software.

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