This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Analık İzni, Süt İzni ve Babalık İzni.
Maternity leave is eight weeks before and eight weeks after the birth — sixteen weeks in total (İş K. art. 74). In a multiple pregnancy, two weeks are added to the pre-birth period. Maternity leave and the nursing break are paid, and an employment contract cannot be terminated because of childbirth — doing so gives rise to discrimination compensation.
Childbirth is one of the points at which rights are most often lost in working life, though the Labour Act is quite specific about them.
Maternity Leave
İş K. art. 74: female employees are in principle not to work for a total of sixteen weeks — eight before and eight after the birth.
In a multiple pregnancy, two weeks are added to the eight-week pre-birth period.
Where her health permits and with a doctor's approval, a female employee may work up to three weeks before the birth if she wishes; the time worked is then added to the post-birth period.
Premature birth: the pre-birth leave not taken is added to the post-birth period.
Death of the mother: where the mother dies at or after the birth, the unused post-birth periods are given to the father. An employee who gives birth to a child with a disability receives thirty days in addition to the post-birth leave.
Adoption: a spouse or an individual adopting a child under three years old is given eight weeks of maternity leave.
The Nursing Break
İş K. art. 74, final paragraph: female employees are given a total of one and a half hours a day to nurse a child under one year old.
Between which hours, and in how many parts, that time is taken is decided by the employee herself. It counts as working time.
- The employee, not the employer, sets the timing. The employer cannot say "take it at lunchtime".
- The time counts as working time; no deduction may be made from pay and no making up may be required.
In practice the break is often not given at all, or is recorded as given when it was not. A nursing break not given can be treated as overtime and its pay claimed, proved by entry and exit records, timekeeping records and witnesses.
Rights After the Birth
Half-time work allowance. Under İş K. art. 74, from the end of maternity leave, for the care and upbringing of a living child, a female employee — or a man or woman adopting a child under three — is on request given unpaid leave amounting to half the weekly working time for:
- Sixty days on a first birth;
- One hundred and twenty days on a second;
- One hundred and eighty days on subsequent births.
Thirty days are added to each in a multiple birth, and the period is three hundred and sixty days where the child is born with a disability.
Six months' unpaid leave. On request, a female employee is given up to six months' unpaid leave after the sixteen weeks — or eighteen in a multiple pregnancy. It is also available to a spouse or individual adopting a child under three.
This period is not counted in calculating entitlement to annual paid leave.
Part-time work. After maternity leave, until the beginning of the month following the start of compulsory primary schooling, either parent may request part-time work. The request is granted and is not a valid ground for termination.
| Leave | Duration | Paid? |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity leave (before birth) | 8 weeks | Paid |
| Maternity leave (after birth) | 8 weeks | Paid |
| Additional period in multiple pregnancy | +2 weeks (before birth) | Paid |
| Nursing break | 1.5 hours a day until the child is one | Paid |
| Paternity leave | 5 days | Paid |
| Unpaid leave after maternity leave | Up to 6 months | Unpaid |
| Right to part-time work | Until compulsory schooling begins | Pro rata |
| Marriage leave | 3 days | Paid |
Unpaid leave taken after the birth is not counted towards annual leave entitlement; whether it counts towards length of service is assessed separately.
Paternity and Compassionate Leave
Additional art. 2 of the Labour Act provides:
- Three days on marriage or adoption;
- Five days when a spouse gives birth — paternity leave;
- Three days on the death of a parent, spouse, sibling or child;
- Up to ten days a year, in one period or in parts, for the treatment of a child with a disability of at least seventy per cent or a chronic illness, on a medical report and used by only one working parent.
These are paid and cannot be deducted from annual leave. Under art. 55, time spent on them is treated as worked for annual leave entitlement.
Dismissal Because of Childbirth
Dismissal because of pregnancy or childbirth is among the clearest prohibitions in Turkish employment law.
İş K. art. 18/3: sex, and absence during the periods in art. 74 when female employees may not be required to work, do not constitute a valid ground for termination.
Under art. 25/I-b, the employer's right of immediate termination for illness, accident, childbirth and pregnancy arises only once the absence exceeds the notice period in art. 17 by six weeks; for childbirth and pregnancy that runs from the end of the art. 74 period.
Discrimination compensation: İş K. art. 5 prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex and, where it is breached, entitles the employee to compensation of up to four months' wages according to the gravity of the breach. It is claimed in addition to severance and notice pay.
An employee dismissed after a birth may also bring a reinstatement action: an application to a mediator must be made within one month of notice of dismissal.
A nursing break of one and a half hours a day is given for a child under one; the employee decides the hours and how it is divided, and the time counts as working time. A break not given can be claimed as overtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is maternity leave?
Sixteen weeks — eight before and eight after the birth. Two weeks are added before the birth in a multiple pregnancy.
Can I work before the birth?
Where your health permits and with a doctor's approval, up to three weeks before; the time worked is added to the post-birth period.
How long is the nursing break?
One and a half hours a day for a child under one. The employee sets the timing and it counts as working time.
How long is paternity leave?
Five days' paid leave when a spouse gives birth.
Can I be dismissed because of childbirth?
No. Sex, and absence during the periods when female employees may not be required to work, are not valid grounds; compensation of up to four months' wages may also be claimed.