How Do You Get Paid for Unused Annual Leave When You Leave a Job in Turkey?

In an employment relationship covered by Turkey’s Labour Act No. 4857, annual paid leave days that the employee has earned but not used turn into a pay claim when the employment contract ends. This applies regardless of how the contract ends: resignation, termination by the employer or expiry of a fixed-term contract. How many days are owed, however, depends on the start and end dates of employment, leave already taken, payroll records and the nature of the employment relationship.

Can you ask for leave pay while still employed?

The general rule is that annual leave must be taken as rest. While the contract continues, an employee cannot give up annual leave and ask for money instead. The claim for unused leave pay arises at the moment the contract ends. The distinction matters: the employer’s duty to let the employee take annual leave and the debt of leave pay at the end of the contract belong to different stages.

How many days of leave are you entitled to?

Under the Labour Act, an employee generally becomes entitled to annual paid leave after working at least one year from the start of employment, including the probationary period. The minimum is 14 days for service of one to five years; 20 days for more than five and less than 15 years; and 26 days for 15 years or more. Four days are added for underground work. Employees aged 18 or under and those aged 50 or over are entitled to no less than 20 days.

These are statutory minimums. The employment contract, a collective agreement or established workplace practice may provide longer leave in the employee’s favour. The calculation should therefore not be based on the statutory figures alone.

Which records matter in the calculation?

First, the total number of leave days earned is established, then the days actually taken. The remaining days are paid on the basis of the wage at the date the contract ended. In practice, the following documents are often important:

• the employment contract and the social security start and exit notifications,
• payslips and bank payment records,
• signed leave forms, the leave register or electronic leave records,
• the termination notice and, if one was signed, the content and date of any release (ibraname),
• the collective agreement or internal workplace rules.

The employer must keep records showing that annual leave was taken. A “leave pay” item on a payslip is not, on its own, conclusive in every case; which period and which leave days the payment relates to, whether the leave was actually taken and the nature of the document are assessed together.

What can you do when leaving a job?

1. Ask in writing for your start and end dates, the leave you have taken and the calculation of your remaining days.
2. Keep copies of leave forms, payslips, bank receipts and termination documents.
3. If you have not been paid or the day count is disputed, send your claim in writing and in a way you can prove.
4. Before filing a lawsuit for an employee receivable, mandatory pre-trial mediation (dava şartı arabuluculuk) is generally required. If no agreement is reached, the claim may be brought before the labour court depending on the circumstances.

Common points of confusion

Situation	General approach
The employee asks for “money instead of leave” while still employed	Annual leave generally cannot be converted into pay; it must be granted as rest.
The contract has ended	Earned but unused leave days turn into a pay claim.
The employer says “the leave was taken”	Leave records, signed forms and other documents are assessed in the specific case.
The contract provides more leave	Longer periods in the employee’s favour may also be taken into account.

When is an individual assessment needed?

Working relationships outside the scope of the Labour Act, earlier periods of work for the same employer, changes of subcontractor, transfers of business, unpaid leave or sick leave periods and signed release documents can change the calculation. This text is for general information; especially where the amount is high, the termination is disputed or documents are contested, an individual legal assessment based on the documents may be needed.

Sources

• Labour Act No. 4857 (Turkish): in particular the provisions on annual paid leave, leave pay and leave records (Art. 53, 56, 59 and 60).
• Labour Courts Act No. 7036 (Turkish): the provision on mandatory pre-trial mediation (Art. 3).