This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Fazla Mesai Ücreti: Hesap, İspat ve Yüzde 30 İndirim.
Work beyond forty-five hours a week is overtime, and each hour is paid at the normal hourly rate increased by fifty per cent (İş K. art. 41). Total overtime may not exceed 270 hours a year. The real difficulty is not the law but the proof, which is why courts apply an equitable reduction to calculations resting on witness evidence.
You are entitled to the uplift for every hour beyond forty-five a week. In practice the claim is either never paid or paid without appearing on the payslip. This guide covers how overtime is calculated, how it is proved, and the reduction courts apply almost as a matter of routine. İş K. means the Labour Act No. 4857.
What Overtime Is and How It Is Paid
İş K. art. 63 sets working time at a maximum of forty-five hours a week. Article 41 treats work beyond that as overtime.
Overtime is paid at the normal hourly rate increased by fifty per cent.
Where the contract sets weekly hours below forty-five, work exceeding the contractual figure but not reaching forty-five is additional-hours work, paid at the normal hourly rate increased by twenty-five per cent.
The annual cap: total overtime may not exceed 270 hours in a year. The employee's consent is also required.
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| Overtime threshold | Hours beyond 45 a week |
| Rate | Normal hourly rate + 50% |
| Additional-hours work (contract below 45 hours) | Normal hourly rate + 25% |
| Annual cap | 270 hours |
| Employee's consent | Required as a rule |
| Time-off alternative | 1 hour 30 minutes for each overtime hour |
| Overtime treated as included in salary | Valid for at most 270 hours a year |
Overtime may not be worked at night, in work limited to 7.5 hours a day on health grounds, or in mining and similar work.
The Time-Off Alternative
The statute offers an alternative. An employee who has worked overtime may, if they choose, take one hour and thirty minutes of free time for each overtime hour, and one hour and fifteen minutes for each additional hour, instead of the uplifted pay.
The time off is taken within six months, on working days, with no deduction from pay.
The point that is most often missed: this is the employee's choice. An employer cannot unilaterally substitute time off for payment.
Who Cannot Claim Overtime
- Senior managers. A manager who sets their own hours and is not subject to supervision cannot claim overtime as a rule. If they report to a more senior manager and their hours are supervised, the claim is available.
- Where the contract says overtime is included in salary. Such a clause covers at most 270 hours a year; hours beyond that are payable separately.
- Work subject to special rules, such as work limited to seven and a half hours a day on health grounds.
Night work is separately limited: under İş K. art. 69 it may not exceed seven and a half hours.
How Overtime Is Proved
The employee bears the burden of proof. But the employer is obliged to keep records of working time, and a failure to keep or produce them is taken into account against the employer.
The strongest evidence is:
- Timekeeping records and signed schedules
- Turnstile or access card logs
- Entry and exit camera footage
- Company transport times and meal card usage times
- E-mails and messages sent late at night
- Witness evidence — colleagues at the same workplace in the same period
One rule decides many cases: where a signed payslip shows an overtime accrual and the employee signed it without a reservation of rights, the claim for that period must as a rule be proved by documentary evidence. Witness evidence will not suffice.
So check the accruals before signing a payslip, and where they are wrong, sign with the words "with reservation of rights".
The Equitable Reduction
Where overtime is calculated from witness evidence, courts apply an equitable reduction as settled practice.
The reasoning is that days of leave, sickness and absence cannot be identified precisely from witness accounts, so a reasonable deduction is made from the calculated figure.
The rate varies with the file and in practice is often around thirty per cent. Where the calculation rests on documents — timekeeping records, card logs — no reduction is applied.
This is a practical reality to allow for when framing the claim.
The limitation period is five years, running separately for each month's wages. You may claim the five years preceding the date of the action; waiting is a direct loss.
If a signed payslip shows an overtime accrual and was signed without a reservation of rights, the claim for that period must be proved by documents — witnesses will not do. Where the figure is wrong, sign with the words "with reservation of rights". The limitation period is five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is overtime pay calculated?
Each hour beyond forty-five a week is paid at the normal hourly rate increased by fifty per cent. Where the contract sets fewer than forty-five hours, hours up to forty-five carry a twenty-five per cent uplift.
Is there an annual limit?
Yes. Total overtime may not exceed 270 hours a year, and the employee's consent is required.
Can my employer give me time off instead of pay?
Only if you choose it. An employee may take one hour thirty minutes off for each overtime hour, but the employer cannot impose it.
How do I prove overtime?
Timekeeping and access records, camera footage, transport and meal card times, late correspondence and witness evidence. The employer's failure to keep records counts against it.
What is the equitable reduction?
A deduction courts apply to calculations based on witness evidence, often around thirty per cent. It is not applied where the calculation rests on documents.