Public holiday pay in Türkiye: weekly rest and holidays under art. 46 and 47

Weekly rest pay: the entitlement condition

Provided the employee has worked the working days set under art. 63 before the rest day, they are given at least 24 consecutive hours of rest within any seven-day period (art. 46). The unworked rest day is paid in full without any work in return.

The rest day does not have to be Sunday; it follows the workplace’s schedule and in shift work can differ per person. The law treats some days as worked for this entitlement: periods counted as working time by law, statutory compassionate leave, other leave granted by the employer within the week, and sick and rest leave on a doctor’s report.

A provision added in 2025 allows licensed tourism accommodation businesses to give the weekly rest day within four days after the day it is earned, with the employee’s written request or consent (art. 46, Law No. 7553).

Which days are public holidays?

National and public holidays are listed in Law No. 2429. Religious holiday dates shift each year, so the timesheet calendar has to be rebuilt every year.

Source: Law No. 2429 on National and Public Holidays. All official half days are afternoons and start at 13:00.

Public holiday pay: what is paid for working?

An employee who does not work on a public holiday is paid that day in full without any work in return. An employee who works instead is paid an additional day’s wage for each day worked (art. 47). For monthly-paid staff the holiday is already inside the monthly salary; working it adds one more day’s pay on top.

Example. An employee with a gross monthly salary of 30,000 TL has a daily wage of 30,000 ÷ 30 = 1,000 TL in practice. Working on 19 May earns 1,000 TL of public holiday pay on top of the monthly salary. On a half-day holiday such as an eve, work in the holiday half is paid in practice with an extra half day’s wage.

Whether work takes place on public holidays is agreed in the collective agreement or employment contract; if the contract is silent, working requires the employee’s consent (art. 44).

Working on the weekly rest day

The law does not have a separate article on pay for work on the weekly rest day. Hours worked on that day count towards the week’s total; any part above 45 hours is overtime under art. 41 and paid at a premium. Court of Cassation practice assesses pay for rest-day work separately as well; agree with your payroll accountant how the amount is calculated.

In our workforce management system clocking in on a weekly rest day or public holiday is not blocked; the employee is asked and the manager notified. Rest-day work appears as a separate item in the timesheet, and the public holiday work report gives the holiday days worked per person (full day 1, half day 0.5). The amount is calculated by your accountant in payroll. Details: timesheet 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.