What is The Overtime Duration Under The Labor Law??

The weekly working hour is 45 hours according to the legislation. If your working hours exceed 45 hours after deducting lunch breaks and rest periods, you are entitled to overtime pay. However, the employee and employer may agree on a shorter working period. For instance, the parties may have agreed that the weekly working period will be 35 hours. In this case, work performed between 35 and 45 hours will also be considered as overtime.

The daily working period is a maximum of 11 hours according to the legislation. Work exceeding 11 hours daily will be considered overtime, even if the weekly 45-hour limit is not met.

There are jobs where the daily working period should be 7.5 hours or less. Such as carbide and acid industries, welding and underground work, and work involving radioactive materials. Employees in these jobs are entitled to overtime pay for work exceeding 7.5 hours daily.

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As a rule, the total duration of overtime cannot exceed 270 hours in a year. However, non-compliance with this rule by employers is not subject to an administrative sanction. In Supreme Court Decisions, working more than 270 hours of overtime is considered a just cause for termination by the employee. For the employer, contractual provisions stating that overtime up to 270 hours annually is included in the wage are considered valid.

Night work is also regulated as a maximum of 7.5 hours in the legislation. Overtime pay will also be paid for night shifts exceeding 7.5 hours.

In workplaces where the weekly working period exceeds 45 hours, overtime pay is paid with a 50% increase. Let's explain how overtime pay is calculated with a small example. Let's assume an employee works 9 hours a day, 6 days a week. If the lunch break is one hour, then 6 days x 8 hours = 48 hours of weekly working time is found. In this case, the employee will be entitled to overtime pay for 3 hours, which is the working time exceeding 45 hours.

The calculation starts from the employee's bare gross monthly wage. The monthly wage is first divided by 30 to find the daily wage, and the daily wage is then divided by the daily working time, which is 8 hours in our example, to find the hourly wage. Because of the 50% premium provided by the Labor Law, each hour of overtime is paid at 1.5 times this hourly wage. As the employee in our example works 3 overtime hours per week, the weekly entitlement equals 1.5 times the hourly wage multiplied by three hours; the monthly entitlement is found by applying the same method to the hours exceeding 45 per week during that month.

If the weekly working time has been contractually reduced below 45 hours, work performed between the agreed period and 45 hours counts as work at excess hours and is paid at 1.25 times the hourly wage, that is with a 25% premium. Since wages are redetermined every year, the calculation must be based on the payroll of the period in which the claim arose, and the current figure must be confirmed from that payroll.

Days when the employee could not work due to leave are not included in the calculation. Overtime assessment is done weekly. Therefore, weekly rest days are not deducted. However, annual leave, national holidays, and general public holidays are deducted.

How is Overtime Pay Proven?

The employee who performs overtime work must prove it. The employee proves this with written documents or witness statements. In addition, the employee can use workplace records, workplace correspondence, and entry/exit documents as evidence. If there are no written documents, witness statements can also be resorted to.

After calculating their overtime pay as explained above, employees should check their monthly payrolls. If the amount they are entitled to has not been deposited into their account, they should not sign their payrolls or should sign them with a reservation stating that the overtime pay was incorrectly calculated. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court expects employees to act like legal professionals. If a lower overtime pay than you are entitled to has been deposited and you have signed your payroll, you must prove with written evidence that you worked more than what is stated on the payroll.

Which Professions Cannot Claim Overtime Pay?

If an employee in a managerial position is paid a high salary due to their duties and there is no other employee giving tasks and instructions in the workplace, it is not possible for the said employee to claim overtime pay.

In practice, employees with flexible working hours or those who determine their own working hours cannot claim overtime pay. For example, concierges or medical sales representatives cannot claim overtime pay.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Overtime?

Article 32 of the Labor Law stipulates that employee wages are subject to a 5-year statute of limitations.

What is an Overtime Consent Form?

It is a document that must be signed by the employee by the employer for the employee to perform overtime work. The employee is not obliged to sign this document. Obtaining written consent from the employee once will be sufficient for the entire duration of the employee's employment at the same workplace.

How is Nurse Overtime Pay Determined?

Healthcare professionals, just like other employees, receive increased pay for their overtime work. In public health institutions, shift duty is paid over an hourly on-call rate set by the legislation. This hourly amount is not a single figure; it varies according to the following criteria:

• The education level of the staff member, that is whether they are a high school or a university graduate,
• The unit where the shift is performed, that is a normal ward or a specialized unit such as intensive care,
• Whether the shift falls on a religious holiday; holiday shifts are paid at an increased rate.

Because these hourly on-call amounts are redetermined every year, no figure is given here; the amount in force at the time of payment must be confirmed from the current legislation and from the payroll unit of the institution. For employees of private health institutions the Labor Law applies, and the hourly overtime pay is calculated according to the method explained above.

Supreme Court Decision Regarding Overtime – 1

”It is understood from the expert reports, which formed the basis of the judgment in the files of the plaintiff's witnesses of a precedent nature, that according to this finding, the plaintiffs worked 21 hours of overtime per week in 2012 and 2013, and that the full overtime pay was not paid, and the difference was determined and the overtime pay receivable was calculated. Accordingly, considering both the plaintiff's witness files of a precedent nature and the examination report dated 30.10.2013 by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Directorate of Labor Inspection Board, along with the payrolls present in the file, it was erroneous to rule for dismissal with a written justification instead of determining whether the plaintiff had an overtime pay receivable, thus necessitating reversal.” (Supreme Court, 9th Civil Chamber, 2020/3446 E., 2020/19925 K.)

Supreme Court Decision Regarding Overtime – 2

“Regarding the proof of overtime, workplace records, especially documents showing entry and exit to the workplace, and internal workplace correspondence, constitute evidence. However, if overtime cannot be proven with such written documents, the outcome should be reached through witness statements presented by the parties. In addition, some generally known facts can also be taken into consideration at this point. Whether there is overtime should also be investigated based on the nature and intensity of the work actually performed by the employee.

If it is understood from signed payrolls that overtime pay has been made, it is not possible for the employee to claim that they actually worked more. However, if the employee has a reservation stating that their overtime receivable is higher, proof of working more than what appears on the payroll can be made with any kind of evidence. On the other hand, even if the payrolls are signed and without reservation, the employee must prove with a valid written document that they worked more than what is stated on the payroll. If there is an accrual on the payrolls but the payrolls are unsigned, then relevant period bank and all payment records, if any, should be summoned, and the amounts determined to have been paid should be deducted from the calculation made. Proof of overtime with written evidence or witnesses is possible. The testimonies of witnesses who do not know and cannot possibly know the working arrangements at the workplace cannot be given weight.” (Supreme Court, 9th Civil Chamber, 2020/4386 E., 2020/19212 K.)

Overtime pay, along with severance and notice pay, are among the receivables where employees are most frequently subjected to injustice. You can calculate your severance and notice pay receivables from our compensation calculation page.

Av. Mehmet Yücesoy

İzmir Attorney & Legal Consultancy