Rest break rules in Türkiye: how long, and does a break count as work?

How long is the break? The art. 68 table

A rest break is given around the middle of the working day, arranged according to local custom and the needs of the work (art. 68). Its length depends on how long that day’s work lasts:

Source: Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 art. 68. These are minimums; a contract may extend them, not shorten them.

Example. Someone working 08:00–17:00 is at work 9 hours gross; since that exceeds 7.5 hours, a break of at least 1 hour is due and net work is 8 hours. Working like this five days a week makes 40 hours.

Does the break count as working time?

No. Rest breaks are not counted as working time (art. 68). The break is therefore deducted when calculating the 45-hour week, the 11-hour day and the 7.5 hours of night work. Taking gross time (clock-in to clock-out) as net time is the most common error inflating overtime in timesheets.

Can the break be split?

The law requires the break to be given in one piece. However, considering climate, season, local custom and the nature of the work, it may be given in parts by contract. A 1-hour break, for example, may be split into 30 + 15 + 15 minutes if the contract says so. Breaks may be given to everyone at the same time or at different times.

When a break is not a break: art. 66

Even if called a break, some periods count as working time by law. Art. 66 lists some of them:

• Time the employee spends at work, ready to work at any moment, waiting for work without being given any.
• Travel time of an employee sent by the employer to work somewhere other than the workplace.
• Time set for nursing mothers to breastfeed their children.
• Time spent on collective, regular transport to remote workplaces required by the work (transport offered purely as a social benefit excluded).

The practical test: if the employee cannot leave the workplace during the break and has to answer the phone or customers, that time is not a real rest break.

How breaks appear in the timesheet

If the statutory minimum break is not given, the missing time should count as worked; if it is given, it should be deducted from net time. If breaks are not recorded, the planned break in the shift definition is used, but that is an assumption and days where plan and reality differ cannot be defended later.

In our workforce management system shifts are defined with a planned break, a break definition below the statutory minimum is not saved, break start and end are recorded and a forgotten break ends automatically; the timesheet is calculated on net time. Details: shift scheduling.

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