1. INTRODUCTION
The right to annual paid leave
is one of the fundamental rights afforded to employees to enable them to rest
physically and mentally after working throughout the year, and it is also
guaranteed under the Constitution. Paragraph 3 of Article 50 of the
Constitution provides that “All workers have the right to rest and leisure.”,
thereby placing employees’ right to rest under constitutional protection and
recognizing it as one of the social and economic rights. Furthermore, paragraph
4 of the said article reads as follows: “Rights and conditions relating to
paid weekends and holidays, together with paid annual leave, shall be regulated
by law.”, thereby expressly providing that the principles governing the
right to annual paid leave are to be prescribed by the applicable laws. [1]
Annual paid leave is a period of
rest to which an employee becomes entitled upon completing a certain period of
service and during which the employee continues to receive remuneration.
Pursuant to Article 53 of the Labor Law, employees are obligated to take annual
paid leave for the minimum period prescribed according to their length of
service.
Annual paid leave constitutes a
period during which the employment contract is suspended. During this period,
the employee does not perform any work but continues to receive remuneration.
In this respect, annual paid leave is not merely a period of “non-performance
of work” but a statutory period of rest protected by law.
However, the method of
calculating the duration of annual paid leave and determining which days are to
be included in that period have given rise to various disputes in practice. In
particular, the effect of the weekly rest day and days on which no work is
actually performed at the workplace on the calculation of annual paid leave has
remained a controversial issue in both legal doctrine and judicial decisions.
This article focuses specifically on whether Saturdays on which no work is
performed should be deducted from an employee's annual paid leave entitlement.
2. THE EFFECT OF THE WEEKLY REST
DAY ON THE CALCULATION OF THE DURATION OF ANNUAL PAID LEAVE
Article 46 of the Labor Law Nr.
4857 expressly sets out the weekly rest day by providing that: “In
workplaces falling within the scope of this Law, employees shall be granted an
uninterrupted rest period of at least twenty-four hours within a seven-day
period (weekly rest day), on condition that they have worked on the working
days prescribed under to Article 63 prior to the rest day.” Pursuant to
this provision, employers are under a statutory obligation to grant employees
at least one uninterrupted weekly rest day. In practice, this day is most
commonly Sunday.
Paragraph 5 of Article 56 of the
Labor Law Nr. 4857, entitled ‘Implementation of Annual Paid Leave’, provides
that: “In calculating the duration of annual paid leave, national holidays,
weekly rest days and public holidays coinciding with the leave period shall not
be counted as part of the annual paid leave.” As is evident from this
provision, and in line with the settled case law of the Court of Cassation, the
weekly rest day—which in practice is generally observed on Sunday—is not
included in the calculation of the annual paid leave to which the employee is
statutorily entitled. In other words, where an employee's weekly rest day
coincides with a period of annual paid leave, that weekly rest day is not
deducted from the employee's annual paid leave entitlement. This principle has
also been affirmed by the Court of Cassation in a decision rendered upon an
appeal in the interest of law.
Decision, bearing the Basis
number 2025/9525, the Decision number 2026/757 and dated 10.06.2026, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation reads as follows:
“The dispute concerns whether
the plaintiff is entitled to compensation in lieu of unused annual paid leave.
Article 59 of the Labor Law Nr. 4857 (the Law Nr. 4857) provides that, upon the
termination of the employment contract for any ground, the employee shall be
paid, on the basis of the employee’s final remuneration, for any accrued but
unused annual paid leave. The termination of the employment contract is
required for the right to annual paid leave to be converted into a monetary
claim. In this respect, neither the manner in which the employment contract was
terminated nor whether the termination was based on just cause is of any
relevance.
The burden of proving that
annual paid leave has been granted rests with the employer. The employer must
prove that the employee has taken annual paid leave with a signed leave
register or an equivalent document. As the burden of proof rests with the employer
in this regard, the employer may offer the employee the opportunity to take an
oath.
In calculating payment in lieu
of annual paid leave, it is necessary to take into consideration Article 56(5)
of the Law Nr. 4857, which provides that: “In calculating the duration of
annual paid leave, national holidays, weekly rest days and public holidays
coinciding with the leave period shall not be counted as part of the annual
paid leave.”
In the present case, it is
established that, having regard to the plaintiff’s period of employment with
the defendant , the plaintiff was entitled to a total of 28 days of annual paid
leave. The annual leave records contained in the case file demonstrate that the
plaintiff took a total of 28 days of annual paid leave during the periods from
12.03.2018 to 26.03.2018 and from … 06.2020 to 15.06.2020. However, those
periods included a total of four weekly rest days. Accordingly, the plaintiff is
found to have a four days of annual paid leave that had not been used.
Therefore, it must be concluded that the plaintiff is entitled to payment in
lieu of the outstanding four days of annual paid leave.
For the reasons set out above,
the appeal in the interest of law must be upheld, and the judgment of the Court
of First Instance must be quashed in the interest of law.” [2]
3. THE EFFECT OF SATURDAYS ON
THE CALCULATION OF ANNUAL PAID LEAVE IN LIGHT OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN “A
CONTRACTUAL DAY OFF” AND “THE WEEKLY REST DAY”
One of the most controversial
issues concerning annual paid leave is whether Saturdays, like Sundays, should
be included in the calculation of annual paid leave. The effect of Saturdays on
the calculation of annual paid leave essentially depends on the legal character
attributed to that day within the establishment’s working arrangements. This is
because Saturday is not directly designated as a weekly rest day under the
Labor Law Nr. 4857. Instead, it may be classified under an individual or
collective employment agreement, or pursuant to establishment’s practice, as a “non-working
day”, “a contractual day off”, or “a weekly rest day”.
Accordingly, whether Saturday
qualifies as a weekly rest day or merely as a contractual day off forms the
basis of the debate as to whether it should be counted as part of an employee's
annual paid leave.
Pursuant to Article 46 of the
Labor Law Nr. 4857, the minimum 24-hour weekly rest period granted to employees
may be extended in favor of the employee. Accordingly, the parties may agree,
under an individual or collective employment agreement, that the weekly rest
period will exceed one day—for example, by providing for two weekly rest days.
In such a case, the additional rest day agreed in excess of the statutory
weekly rest day is regarded as “a contractual day off”. A contractual day off
is an additional day of rest expressly agreed upon in the employment contract,
separate from the statutory weekly rest day. However, whether such a day is to
be treated as a working day or as a weekly rest day should be expressly
stipulated in the agreement between the parties. [3]
In other words, where an
individual or collective employment agreement provides that work will be
performed only five days a week (in practice, typically from Monday to Friday),
and the non-working day other than the statutory weekly rest day is not expressly
designated as a weekly rest day, that day is deemed to constitute a contractual
day off.
In this regard, once it has been
determined whether a non-working Saturday constitutes a weekly rest day or a
contractual day off, three different scenarios arise regarding the effect of
that day on the calculation of annual paid leave.
The first scenario arises where,
in addition to Sunday, which is recognized as the weekly rest day, the
non-working Saturday is expressly designated as a “weekly rest day” under an
individual or collective employment agreement. In such a case, Saturday, like
Sunday, is not taken into account in calculating annual paid leave and
therefore is not deducted from the employee's annual paid leave entitlement.
For example, where an employee spends one week on annual paid leave, neither
Saturday nor Sunday will be counted as leave days. Accordingly, the employee
will be deemed to have used only five days of annual paid leave.
However, a different scenario
arises where the individual or collective employment agreement expressly
provides that Saturday shall be treated as a “working day” or shall be
“deducted from the employee's annual paid leave entitlement” or contains words
to that effect. In such a case, unlike Sunday, which constitutes the weekly
rest day, Saturday is treated as a working day and is not therefore deducted in
calculating the employee's annual paid leave entitlement. Continuing with the
previous example, in this second scenario only Sunday is excluded from the
calculation of annual paid leave during a one-week period of annual leave, with
the result that the employee is deemed to have used six days of annual paid
leave. The settled case law of the Court of Cassation likewise adopts this
approach.
Decision, bearing the Basis
number 2023/1457, the Decision number 2023/4838 and dated 03.04.2023, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation reads as follows:
“Saturday may also be designated
as a weekly rest day. Where individual or collective employment agreements
designate both Saturday and Sunday as weekly rest days, neither day shall,
pursuant to Article 56(5) of the Labor Law Nr. 4857, be included in the
calculation of annual paid leave. In other words, Saturdays and Sundays falling
within the period of annual paid leave shall not be counted as part of the
employee's annual paid leave entitlement. However, where the individual or
collective employment agreement expressly provides that Saturday granted in
addition to the weekly rest day shall be treated as a working day in the
calculation of the annual paid leave or shall not be deducted from the
employee's annual paid leave entitlement, such provision shall be deemed valid.
In that case, pursuant to Article 56(5) of the Labor Law Nr. 4857, only Sundays
falling within the annual paid leave period shall be deducted from the
employee's annual paid leave entitlement.” [4]
The third and last of the
scenarios discussed above concerns the effect on the calculation of annual paid
leave where Saturday is regarded as a “contractual day off”. This situation
arises where, under an individual or collective employment agreement, Saturday
is designated as a non-working day in addition to Sunday, which constitutes the
weekly rest day (without Saturday being expressly designated as a weekly rest
day), or where, despite the absence of any express contractual provision
governing working days or rest days, Saturdays are not worked in practice. In
such cases, in the calculation of the annual paid leave, Saturday is treated as
a working day rather than a weekly rest day and, accordingly, is deducted from
the employee's annual paid leave entitlement notwithstanding the fact that no
work is actually performed on that day. Continuing with the example above,
where Saturday is not expressly designated as a weekly rest day but is
nevertheless not worked in practice, only Sunday is excluded from the
calculation of annual paid leave during a one-week period of annual leave, with
the result that the employee is deemed to have used six days of annual paid
leave.
A leading decision of the Court
of Cassation addressing all three scenarios discussed above is set out below:
Decision, bearing the Basis
number 2021/897, the Decision number 2021/5272 and dated 02.03.2021, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation reads as follows:
“...The issue of how Saturday,
where designated as a weekly rest day, should be treated in the calculation of
annual paid leave was also examined. In this regard, pursuant to Articles 46
and 63 of the Labor Law Nr. 4857, the weekly rest day consists of a
twenty-four-hour period following the completion of the statutory 45-hour
working week. Accordingly, Saturday is, as a rule, a working day. Where
Saturday is observed as a contractual day off, it is not treated as a weekly
rest day for the purposes of calculating annual paid leave. In other words,
where an employee does not work on Saturdays because they are observed as
contractual days off, such Saturdays cannot be regarded as weekly rest days in
calculating annual paid leave.”
“Saturday may also be designated
as a weekly rest day. Where an individual or collective employment agreement
designates both Saturday and Sunday as weekly rest days, neither day shall,
pursuant to Article 56(5) of the Labor Law, be included in the calculation of
annual paid leave. In other words, Saturdays and Sundays falling within a
period of annual paid leave shall not be counted as part of the employee's
annual paid leave entitlement. However, where the individual or collective
employment agreement expressly provides that the additional Saturday granted in
addition to the weekly rest day shall be treated as a working day for the
purposes of calculating annual paid leave or shall not be deducted from the
employee's annual paid leave entitlement, such provision shall be regarded as
valid. In that case, pursuant to Article 56(5) of the Labor Law, only Sundays
falling within the period of annual paid leave shall be deducted from the
employee's annual paid leave entitlement.” This has been the established
approach consistently adopted by this Chamber.
…
“The collective employment
agreement sets out that: “Employees shall be given Saturday as a day of rest.
Sunday shall be the weekly rest day.” Furthermore, Article 25, entitled “Annual
Paid Leave,” of the said agreement provides that: “In calculating the duration
of annual paid leave, national holidays and public holidays falling within the
leave period shall not be counted as part of the annual paid leave.”
As is apparent from the above
provisions of the collective employment agreement, in addition to Sunday, which
the parties recognized as the weekly rest day, Saturday was also designated as
a day of rest. However, Saturday was neither expressly designated as a “weekly
rest day” nor was there any express provision stating that it should be
excluded from the calculation of annual paid leave. In light of these findings,
it is clear that the judgment of the Court of First Instance was inconsistent
with the approach adopted in the settled case law of this Chamber.
Accordingly, the decision of the
Court of First Instance, rendered without regard to the Chamber's settled case
law, must be quashed.”
[5]
4. CONCLUSION
The right to annual paid leave
is one of the social rights, constitutionally guaranteed, that enables
employees to rest and recuperate, and is comprehensively set out under the
Labor Law Nr. 4857. In practice, however, the determination of which days are
to be included in the calculation of annual paid leave has given rise to
various disputes, with particular importance attached to the legal character of
the weekly rest day and other days on which no work is performed within the
establishment.
It is expressly provided by law
that days designated by the legislator as weekly rest days are not to be
included in the calculation of annual paid leave, and the settled case law of
the Court of Cassation has consistently adopted the same approach. Accordingly,
the weekly rest day, which is in practice generally observed on Sunday, is not
deducted from the employee's annual paid leave entitlement, thereby ensuring
that the employee continues to benefit from this statutory protection.
By contrast, the effect of
Saturday on the calculation of annual paid leave varies depending on its legal
characterization. This is because Saturday is not designated by law as a weekly
rest day and may instead be regulated in different ways under an individual or
collective employment agreement or pursuant to establishment’s practice.
Accordingly, different legal consequences arise depending on whether Saturday
is characterized as a weekly rest day or a contractual day off.
In this regard, three principal
scenarios may be identified. First, where Saturday is expressly designated as a
weekly rest day under an individual or collective employment agreement, it
will, like Sunday, not be included in the calculation of annual paid leave and
therefore will not be deducted from the employee's annual paid leave
entitlement. Secondly, where Saturday is expressly treated as a working day, it
retains its character as a working day in the calculation of annual paid leave
and is therefore counted as part of the employee's annual paid leave.
The third, and most
controversial, scenario arises where the agreement does not expressly designate
an additional day of rest or, even if it does, does not expressly identify
Saturday as a weekly rest day, but Saturday is in practice observed as a
contractual day off on which no work is performed. In such a case, according to
the settled case law of the Court of Cassation, Saturday is included in the
calculation of annual paid leave and is therefore deducted from the employee's
annual paid leave entitlement.
In conclusion, there is no
single or absolute rule governing the effect of Saturday on the calculation of
annual paid leave. Rather, this issue must be determined on a case-by-case
basis, taking into account the working arrangements at the establishment, the
contractual provisions, and the settled practice. Accordingly, in each case,
the legal characterization of Saturday must be determined separately in order
to ensure the correct calculation of annual paid leave.
Alperen Furkan Balat, Legal
Intern
References:
1. Hatice Kübra POLAT, “4857 Sayılı İş Kanunu
Çerçevesinde Yıllık Ücretli İzin Hakkı” (“The Right to Annual Paid Leave
under the Labor Law Nr. 4857”), Marmara University, Institute of Social
Sciences, Department of Private Law, Master's Thesis, 2021, p. 4.
2. Decision, bearing the Basis number
2025/9525 and the Decision number 2026/757 and dated 10.06.2026, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation
3. Nihan Gizem KANTARCI ATEŞ, “Türkiye'de Akdi
Tatilin İş Hukukundaki Rolü ve Dinlenme Sürelerinin Yetersizliği” ("The
Role of Contractual Holidays in Turkish Labor Law and the Inadequacy of Rest
Periods"), Nuh Naci Yazgan University, Faculty of Law Journal, Vol. 8,
Issue: 1, 2025, pp. 7–8.
4. Decision, bearing the Basis number
2023/1457 and the Decision number 2023/4838 and dated 03.04.2023, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation
5. Decision, bearing the Basis number
2021/897 and the Decision number 2021/5272 and dated 02.03.2021, of the 9th
Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation
