Contact: Pelin Baydar; Erdem & Erdem (Turkey)
The Working Time Regulation Concerning the Labor Act (“Regulation”), issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, sets forth the principles governing the application of working time.
Working Time
Article 3 of the aforementioned Regulation defines working time as the period of time the employee spends at the workplace. The Regulation does not contain any other provisions as to which periods should be treated as working time; for this purpose, it refers to Article 66 of the Labor Act No. 4857 (“Labor Act”).
Article 66 of the Labor Act reads as follows:
"Time periods deemed as part of working time:
a. the time required for employees working in mines, stone quarries or any other underground or underwater labor to descend into the pit or workings or to the actual workplace and to return therefrom to the surface;
b. traveling time, if the employee is sent to a place outside the workplace by the employer;
c. the free time spent by the employee at the workplace by remaining at the employer's disposal;
d. the time spent by the employee during which the employee is sent to a place outside the workplace or employed by the employer in his household or office, instead of performing his own duties;
e. the time allowed to a female employee, who is a nursing mother, to enable her to feed her child; and
f. the time necessary for the normal and regular transportation of groups of employees engaged in the construction, maintenance, repair and alteration of railways, roads and bridges to and from a workplace at a distance from their place of residence.
Time spent for transportation to and from the workplace which is provided by the employer solely as a social relief, shall not be regarded as part of working time."
According to Article 68 of the Labor Act, rest breaks are not deemed as part of working time.
Normal Weekly Working Time
Article 4 of the Regulation regulates the normal weekly working time. In accordance with said provision, the working time shall not exceed 45 hours per week. Unless otherwise agreed, working time shall be divided equally by the days of the week worked. The working time shall not exceed 11 hours per day by any means.
Working Based on Adjustment
Article 5 of the Regulation states that the normal weekly working time can be unequally distributed between the working days of the week, without exceeding 11 hours per day by a written contract. In this case, the total working time is adjusted after the intensified work week or weeks, in a way that it does not exceed the maximum period that the employee shall work. Adjustment shall be completed within two months and this period may be increased by up to four months by collective labor contracts.
The provisions of this Regulation related to the adjustment shall also be applied for work that is paid according to base rate, piece rate or in lump sum.
The employer shall determine daily and weekly working time, and the beginning and the end of the adjustment period.
Part Time Working
Article 6 of the Regulation defines part time work. Part time work is defined as work where the employee works up to two thirds of full working time, determined pursuant to a full time labor contract.
Make Up Work
Article 7 of the Regulation sets forth the conditions under which make up work may be performed. According to this provision, make up work may be performed if an employee misses work time due to force majeure, declaration of holiday in the workplace before or after national feasts or legal holidays, other reasons which totally interrupts or reduces the normal working time considerably in the workplace or due to additional permissions granted to the employee aside from the permissions set forth in the Labor Act, labor contracts and collective labor contracts upon his request.
An employer requesting make up work must explicitly inform the relevant employees about the reasons for and the commencement date of the make up work.
Make up work shall be performed within two months after the end of the force majeure causing the interruption and the commencement date of normal working. Make up work shall not be more than 3 hours per day and must not exceed the daily maximum working time of 11 hours. Make up work shall not be performed on holidays.
Announcement and Certification of the Daily Working Time
According to Article 8 of the Regulation, the beginning and end of the daily working time and rest breaks shall be announced to employees in the workplace. Depending on the nature of the work, the beginning and ending hours of work may be arranged differently for different employees.
According to Article 9 of the Regulation, the employer must certify the working time of employees with appropriate means.
Conclusion
The Working Time Regulation Concerning the Labor Act, issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, sets forth the principles governing the application of working time and defines working time as the period of time the employee spends at the workplace.
The aforementioned Regulation stipulates that the maximum weekly working time shall not exceed 45 hours, and that, unless otherwise agreed, this period shall be divided into equal intervals for each working day of the week without exceeding 11 hours per day. According to the Regulation, the beginning and end of the workday, as well as the time allotted for rest breaks, shall be announced to employees by appropriate means.
