Working Hours in Labor Law

Working hours are regulated in articles 63 and following of the Labor Law No. 4857. Although the Labor Law No. 4857 does not define working hours, article 3 of the Regulation on Working Hours Related to the Labor Law states:

"Working time is the period an employee spends at the job. The periods mentioned in the first paragraph of Article 66 of the Labor Law are also considered as working time."

There is no doubt that the time periods an employee actually spends working will be counted as working hours. The provisions of the Working Hours Regulation specify that certain cases envisaged by the Law, apart from actual working, will also be counted as working hours. In other words, our legislation makes a dual distinction regarding working hours, recognizing part of it as actual working time and the other part as hypothetical working time.

The time an employee spends actually working is referred to as actual working time, while the periods not spent in actual work but limitedly enumerated in the Law and considered as if worked are known as hypothetical working times.

Hypothetical Working Times

In the first paragraph of Article 66 of Labor Law No. 4857, it is stated, "The following periods shall be counted as part of the employee's daily working hours," thus indicating the cases to be counted as working time. In addition, cases that are counted as working time outside of Article 66 of the Labor Law are also regulated in our legislation.

The issues listed in Article 66 of the Labor Law are limitedly enumerated. The wording of the Law, "the following periods," suggests that new situations not listed in the article text should not be counted as hypothetical working time, by way of example. However, it is possible to agree that certain periods not listed in the article will also be counted as working time in favor of the employee, if agreed upon by the parties to the employment contract.

1. Time Spent Descending and Ascending in Underground and Underwater Works

According to Article 66/1-a of the Labor Law, "the time required for workers in mines, quarries, or any kind of underground or underwater works to descend or enter into shafts, tunnels, or their actual workplaces and to ascend from these places" will be counted as working time.

According to the above regulation, in cases where workers work underground or underwater, such as in mines and quarries, the entire duration spent descending to and ascending from these places will be counted as working time.

Apart from the mines and quarries exemplified in the mentioned clause, the same rule will apply to periods worked underground and underwater in metro, tunnel, sewerage, cable laying, or port, breakwater construction.

2. Time Spent on the Road When Sent to Work Elsewhere

According to Article 66/1-b of the Labor Law, "the periods spent on the road when workers are sent by the employer to work elsewhere than their workplaces" will be counted as working time.

In this regulation, the aspect to be counted as hypothetical working time is the duration spent on the road without working when the employer sends the worker to another place to work during the regular working hours. For example, if a construction worker is sent by the employer from one construction site to another, the time spent on the road will be considered as working time for the worker.

3. Time Spent by the Employee Waiting on Standby for Work

According to Article 66/1-c of the Labor Law, "the periods during which the employee, while being at work and ready to perform tasks at any moment, waits without being employed and spends time idly waiting for work to emerge" will be counted as working time.

In some jobs, the nature of the work may require the employee to wait. In these cases, the time the employee spends waiting on standby for work will be counted as working time. For example, the time a waiter or a shop assistant spends waiting for customers, a driver waiting for a truck to be loaded, healthcare workers in emergency services, firefighters, and employees in similar jobs waiting for work to emerge or actual work to commence are instances where the waiting time in a ready state will be counted as working time.

4. Time Spent When the Employee is Employed Outside the Workplace Without Performing Their Main Job, Upon the Employer's Instruction

According to Article 66/1-d of the Labor Law, "the periods during which the employee is sent by the employer to another place or is engaged in the employer's house or office, or at any place related to the employer, without performing their main job" will be counted as working time.

As per the regulation, the periods during which the employee is sent to a place upon the employer's instruction or is engaged in a task related to the employer at any location, even though the employee is occupied with a task other than their main job, these periods will be counted as working time. For example, the time spent by an employee who is sent by the employer to buy a product from the market or to pick up an item for the employer's house will also be counted as working time.

5. Breastfeeding Time for Women Employees Who Nurse Children

According to Article 66/1-e of the Labor Law, "the periods specified for women workers who breastfeed their children to feed them" will be counted as working time. This matter is reiterated in the final paragraph of Article 74 of the Labor Law.

The Regulation on the Working Conditions of Pregnant and Nursing Women and on Nursing Rooms and Child Care Nurseries, in its Article 10, referencing Article 74 of the Labor Law, reiterates that it is necessary to grant a nursing leave of 1.5 hours daily to the female worker until her child reaches the age of one. In this case, the breastfeeding time for a nursing woman will be counted as working time.

6. Time Spent in Transporting the Employee from Their Residence to a Distant Workplace Along with Other Workers

According to Article 66/1-f of the Labor Law, "the periods spent during the collective and regular transportation of workers to and from workplaces located at a distance from their places of residence, in works such as the construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of railways, roads, and bridges" will be counted as working time.

The regulation stipulates that for the time spent on the road by workers to be counted as working time, the first condition is that the work must be located in a distant place, the second condition is that the workers must be transported collectively and regularly, and the third and final condition is that the work must be of a nature that does not have a fixed workplace and requires constant change of location. As exemplified in the regulation, reference is made to "railways, roads, and bridges." Railway, road, and bridge works, by their nature, do not have a fixed location and require working in different places. In these cases, the time spent collectively transporting workers will be counted as working time.

7. Time Spent in Occupational Health and Safety Training

According to Article 8 of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Occupational Health and Safety Training for Employees, "the periods spent in trainings" will be counted as working time. The time spent in occupational health and safety training, as required by this Regulation, will be counted as working time.

8. Special Cases for Child and Young Workers Where Certain Time Periods are Counted as Working Time

According to Article 7 of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Employing Child and Young Workers, in addition to the cases counted as working time according to Article 66 of the Labor Law No. 4857: a) Time spent in training provided by the employer, b) Time spent in courses and meetings sent by the employer outside the workplace, as well as time spent in vocational training programs organized by authorized institutions and organizations, c) Times when they cannot attend their jobs due to their participation as representatives in conferences, congresses, commissions, and similar meetings organized by national and international institutions and organizations concerning working children and young people

will be counted as working time.

The time child and young workers spend in certain qualified trainings, vocational training programs, and participating as representatives in conferences, congresses, commissions, and similar meetings under the scope of the Regulation will be counted as working time.

9. Time Spent in the Meetings of the Occupational Health and Safety Board

According to Article 9/1-c of the Regulation

on Occupational Health and Safety Boards, "the time spent in the meetings of the board" will be counted as daily working time. The time spent in boards for activities related to occupational health and safety will be counted as working time.

Cases Not Counted as Working Time

1. Time Spent in Transportation to the Workplace for Social Assistance Purposes

According to the final paragraph of Article 66 of the Labor Law, "the time spent in vehicles during transportation to and from the workplace, not arising from the nature of the work but solely for the purpose of social assistance by the employer" will not be counted as working time.

With this regulation, in practice, when employers provide transportation services to their workers for social assistance purposes, the time spent in these services while being transported to and from the workplace will not be counted as working time.

2. Break Periods

Break periods provided to workers within their daily working hours for fulfilling essential needs are called 'rest breaks'. Rest breaks are regulated in Article 68 of the Labor Law and Article 3 of the Working Hours Regulation.

According to the regulation in Article 68 of the Labor Law, workers should be provided rest breaks arranged according to the customs of the place and the nature of the work, coinciding with an average part of their daily working hours. The Working Hours Regulation also states that in determining rest break durations, factors such as "climate, season, local traditions, and the nature of the work" should be considered and a "continuous rest period of twelve hours within twenty-four hours" should be taken into account.

According to Article 68 of the Labor Law and the practice of the Supreme Court;

• For jobs lasting 4 hours or less, a 15-minute break should be given;

• For jobs lasting more than 4 hours and up to 7.5 hours (inclusive), a 30-minute break;

• For jobs lasting more than 7.5 hours, a 1-hour break;

• For jobs lasting more than 11 hours, a 1.5-hour break should be provided.

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Although the Law mentions a 1-hour break for work exceeding 7.5 hours, in practice, there are workers who work very long hours daily. Therefore, the Supreme Court 9th Civil Chamber in its decision dated 2014/12441 E., 2014/15844 K., and 15.05.2014 stated:

"It is not expected for a worker to work continuously without any break during the daily work hours. Workers need certain times during the day for eating, tea, smoking, or rest. Rest breaks are regulated in Article 68 of the Labor Law No. 4857. According to this provision, the rest break period is determined in a graduated manner according to the daily working hours. Accordingly, for daily work of four hours or less, at least a fifteen-minute rest break, for more than four hours and less than seven and a half hours, at least a thirty-minute break, and for daily work exceeding seven and a half hours, at least a one-hour rest break should be provided. In practice, there are daily working hours much exceeding the seven and a half hours. According to the provision of Article 63 of the Labor Law, since the daily working time cannot exceed eleven hours, the minimum one-hour rest break period determined for work exceeding seven and a half hours by Article 68 should be considered applicable to work up to a maximum of eleven hours daily. In other words, for daily work up to eleven hours (including eleven hours), the rest break should be at least one hour, and for work exceeding eleven hours, it should be at least one and a half hours."

This indicates that for work exceeding 11 hours, the rest break period should be 1.5 hours.

In the final paragraph of Article 68 of the Labor Law, it is explicitly stated:

"Rest breaks shall not be counted as working time."

Similarly, Article 3 of the Working Hours Regulation states that "rest breaks provided pursuant to the same Law's Article 68" shall not be counted as working time. Therefore, while workers should be provided rest breaks, the time spent during rest breaks will not be counted as working time.

It can be said that the time workers spend for meals, tea, and other necessities during their break periods are examples of rest breaks, and the time spent during these breaks will not be counted as working time.

3. Preparation Time for Work and Time Spent Leaving the Workplace

It may not be feasible for an employee to start working immediately upon entering the workplace or to leave the workplace promptly after finishing their work. In such cases, the employee may need to spend some time at the workplace for preparation and for leaving after work.

For instance, the time spent by an employee getting dressed to start work, changing out of work clothes after work, taking a shower, walking to the workplace within the campus, waiting inside the shuttle for it to depart, and eating in the area where the workplace is located after work, are examples of preparation for work and leaving the workplace, and these times are not counted as working hours.

4. Time Spent in Trainings Other Than Occupational Health and Safety Trainings

It has been mentioned above that time spent in occupational health and safety training is counted as working time. Apart from this, the time spent in informing the employee about the workplace, introducing the workplace, and attending courses, seminars, and programs related to work are not counted as working time.

In its decision dated 2007/1129 E., 2007/39176 K., and 26.12.2007, the Supreme Court 9th Civil Chamber stated:

"The claimant requested that the time spent in the course be recognized as overtime work and that the corresponding wages be calculated and paid as overtime pay, which was granted by the court. No production-oriented work was done during the course, and the knowledge gained there enhanced the claimant's professional skills and yielded benefits for the employee. Therefore, the time spent in the course should not be considered as overtime work and should not be ruled in favor of the employee as overtime pay."

This judgment indicates that the time spent in courses should not be considered for overtime calculations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is working time? Can some situations where the worker does not work be counted as working time?

Working time is one of the most crucial aspects in Labor Law for both employees and employers. It is a comprehensive concept. Primarily, the time an employee actually spends working at their job is considered working time. Additionally, under certain conditions stipulated by the Law, even if the employee does not physically work, they can be deemed to have worked. For instance, time spent when the employer sends the employee to a market, descending in underground works, a woman nursing her baby, and other such situations, even if the worker does not work in the employer's task, will be considered as working time.

Is break time for meals at the workplace counted as working time?

Rest breaks given within the daily working hours for essential needs are called 'rest breaks'. The time spent for meals, tea, and other necessities during these breaks are not counted as working time as per Article 68 of the Labor Law. For example, if an employee's daily working time is 9 hours and they arrive at the workplace at 8:00 AM, they would normally leave work at 5:00 PM. However, if the employee takes a 1.5-hour break during the day, this time will not be counted as working time, so their work will end at 6:30 PM instead.

Is the time spent in trainings provided by the employer considered working time?

This situation requires a dual distinction. Time spent in occupational health and safety training provided by the employer will be counted as working time. This means the employee is considered working while receiving training. However, time spent in informing the employee about the workplace, introducing the workplace, attending courses, seminars, and programs related to work other than occupational health and safety training will not be counted as working time.

Is the time spent in transportation services provided by the employer counted as working time?

Especially in large cities, employers often provide transportation services to their employees. In such cases where employees are transported by a shuttle service from certain points to the workplace, the time spent in the shuttle is not counted as working time. If an employee's work hours start at 8:00 AM and they board the shuttle at 7:30 AM to go to work, the half-hour spent in the shuttle will not be counted as working time, and the employee's working hours will start from 8:00 AM.