Weekly working hours in Türkiye: how the 45 hours are spread and how long a working day can be

How many hours is the working week?

As a general rule, working time is at most 45 hours a week (Labour Law art. 63/1). It is a ceiling, not a target: a contract may set a shorter week, such as 40 or 37.5 hours. In underground mining the limits are 7.5 hours a day and 37.5 hours a week.

Unless agreed otherwise, the 45 hours are divided equally over the working days of the week. Where one working day is worked only partly, the hours of that day are deducted from 45 and the rest is divided over the other days (Regulation on Working Time art. 4).

The law ties weekly rest not to the calendar week but to a seven-day period, within which at least 24 hours of uninterrupted rest are given (art. 46). Setting in writing which day starts that period keeps the weekly total beyond dispute — especially when a night shift runs from Sunday night into Monday morning and it must be clear which week the hours belong to.

How many hours is a working day?

The daily hours are the weekly hours divided by the working days: 7.5 hours on a six-day week, 9 hours on a five-day week. However the week is arranged, the working day, overtime included, may not exceed 11 hours (Regulation on Working Time art. 4).

Rest breaks do not count as working time (Labour Law art. 68): 15 minutes for work up to 4 hours, half an hour for over 4 up to 7.5 hours (inclusive), one hour above 7.5 hours. In the 5.5-day row, 45 − 4 = 41 hours are divided over five days.

For break lengths and splitting see the rest break guide. Daily start and finish times and break times must be announced to employees at the workplace (art. 67).

Can the 45 hours be spread unevenly?

Yes. By agreement of the parties the normal weekly hours may be spread differently over the working days, provided no day exceeds 11 hours (art. 63/2). The regulation requires that agreement to be in writing (Regulation on Working Time art. 5).

In that case the weekly average over two months may not exceed 45 hours — this is working-time averaging. The averaging period can be extended to four months by collective agreement, and in tourism from four up to six months. Under averaging, weeks above 45 hours within a period whose average stays at 45 are not overtime (art. 41/1). How a period is set up is covered in the averaging guide.

Six example weeks

The weeks below are for a full-time employee with a 45-hour contractual week; the hours are net work after breaks.

In rows C and E no single day may exceed 11 hours: a 54-hour week can be built, for example, from five days of 10.8 hours. Row F shows that a correct total does not permit breaching the daily limit.

To enter your own week hour by hour and see net time, missing breaks and the 11-hour and night limits, use the working hours calculator.

Above 45 hours: overtime and extra hours

Within the conditions set by law, work beyond 45 hours a week is overtime and each hour is paid at the normal hourly rate plus fifty per cent (art. 41/1–2). Where the contract sets a week shorter than 45 hours, work above that and up to 45 hours is extra hours (fazla sürelerle çalışma) paid at plus twenty-five per cent (art. 41/3).

• Consent. Overtime requires the employee’s written consent, obtained when the contract is signed or when the need arises, and kept in the personnel file (Overtime Regulation art. 9). Compelling reasons and emergencies are treated separately.
• Time off in lieu. Instead of premium pay the employee may choose one hour thirty minutes off for each overtime hour and one hour fifteen minutes for each extra hour, to be used within six months (art. 41/4–5).
• Rounding. In overtime calculations periods under half an hour count as half an hour, and periods over half an hour as one hour (Overtime Regulation art. 5).

The premium pay calculation is a separate topic, covered with examples in the overtime guide.

The 270-hour annual cap

Total overtime may not exceed 270 hours a year (art. 41/8). The cap applies to the individual, not the workplace (Overtime Regulation art. 5): hours of a person working at two branches are counted together.

Example. An employee doing 6 hours of overtime every week reaches 45 × 6 = 270 hours after 45 weeks; for the rest of the year no more overtime may be required. About 5.2 hours a week is the ceiling that can be spread across the whole year. In a business with a busy season the cap can run out mid-season, which is why planning at the start of the year matters.

Night work: 7.5 hours

In working life, night is the period beginning at 20:00 at the latest and ending at 06:00 at the earliest, lasting at most 11 hours; night work by employees may not exceed 7.5 hours (art. 69). In tourism, private security, health services and the petroleum work listed in the law, night work above 7.5 hours is possible with the employee’s written consent. No overtime may be worked at night (art. 41/6).

Example. A 22:00–06:00 shift with a half-hour break is 7.5 hours of net work and sits exactly at the limit. Adding one hour breaches the night limit even if the weekly total stays below 45. For the night-shift test and shift rotation, see the night work guide.

Who may not be asked to work overtime?

For some employees the 45-hour week is also an absolute ceiling: they may not be asked to work overtime. Article 8 of the Overtime Regulation lists them, and article 7 lists the work in which overtime is not allowed.

Weekly hours in part-time and on-call work

A contract whose normal weekly hours are set considerably lower than those of a comparable full-time employee is a part-time contract (art. 13). The part-time employee’s weekly hours are written in the contract, and divisible benefits such as pay are paid in proportion to the hours worked.

In on-call work, if the parties have not set how much will be worked in a week, month or year, 20 hours a week is deemed agreed; unless agreed otherwise the employer calls at least four days in advance and, if daily hours are not agreed, employs the worker for at least four consecutive hours per call (art. 14). For the SGK side of part-time work, see the part-time work guide.

How does make-up work affect the weekly total?

When work stops for compelling reasons, the workplace closes before or after a public holiday, or leave is granted at the employee’s request, the employer may require make-up work for the hours not worked within four months; this is not overtime (art. 64). Make-up work may not exceed three hours a day, must stay within the maximum daily hours, and may not be required on rest days.

Example. A five-day team takes a bridge day off at the employees’ request and then works 1 extra hour a day in the following weeks. A make-up week may show 50 hours, but those 5 hours are not overtime; the make-up day itself, at 9 + 1 = 10 hours, must stay under 11. Details: make-up work guide.

Which time counts as working time?

Working time is not only time at the desk. Travel time when the employer sends the employee to work somewhere other than the workplace, time spent idle while ready to work and waiting for work, and nursing breaks count as daily working time (art. 66). Rest breaks do not (art. 68).

The employer must document employees’ working hours by suitable means (Regulation on Working Time art. 9). The limits apply to the individual employee, not to the workplace (art. 11); it is the employer’s records that will prove the 45 hours and the 11 hours.

In our shift scheduling screen, a shift definition whose daily work exceeds 11 hours or that does not meet the minimum rest break cannot be saved, and a night shift above 7.5 hours triggers a warning. In the overtime request–approval flow, approval that would breach the 270-hour annual cap is refused, and overtime cannot be approved for an employee without recorded consent. 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.