Overtime calculation in Türkiye begins by identifying the work category and the normal hourly rate. Under Turkish Labour Law No. 4857, work above 45 hours in a week is overtime. This 2026 guide is for international employers with staff in Türkiye; the final payroll result still depends on the contract, time records and employee status.
When does overtime arise in Türkiye?
Overtime arises when weekly work exceeds 45 hours. Each overtime hour is paid with a 50 percent uplift on the normal hourly rate. Do not decide the outcome from a long individual day alone. Check the weekly total, the working-time arrangement, any balancing arrangement and the employment contract.
What is extra-hours work?
Extra-hours work is the time between a shorter contractual weekly schedule and 45 hours. In Turkish this is called fazla sürelerle çalışma. It is different from overtime, called fazla çalışma, and carries a 25 percent uplift rather than the 50 percent overtime uplift.
For example, where a contract sets a 40-hour week, hours 41 to 45 are extra-hours work. Hours after 45 are overtime. This distinction should appear separately in the payroll calculation and in the record reviewed by the employee.
How is the hourly rate calculated?
For a full-time employee working 45 hours a week, the standard Turkish payroll convention is monthly gross pay divided by 225. The 225 divisor comes from 30 days multiplied by the legal daily working time of 7.5 hours. State this assumption in the calculation file; it is not a universal shortcut.
The 225 divisor does not automatically apply to part-time employees or to a contract with different weekly hours. Rebuild the divisor from the actual contracted hours and record the method. This protects an international employer from applying a full-time convention to a different work pattern.
What are the uplift rates and annual limit?
Overtime has a 50 percent uplift and extra-hours work has a 25 percent uplift. Total overtime cannot exceed 270 hours in one year. Track the annual accumulation separately from the monthly payroll calculation. A lawful-looking monthly total may still create a problem when the yearly limit has already been reached.
How does the first overtime calculation work?
Assume a full-time employee works 45 hours a week, earns TRY 45,000 gross monthly and performs 10 overtime hours in 2026. The 225 divisor applies to this example.
- Normal hourly rate: TRY 45,000 / 225 = TRY 200
- Overtime hourly rate: TRY 200 × 1.50 = TRY 300
- Gross payment for 10 hours: TRY 300 × 10 = TRY 3,000
This is a gross-pay illustration. The net payment is calculated separately through the payroll items, tax base and social-security treatment for the relevant month.
How does a shorter contractual week change the calculation?
Assume a contract sets a 40-hour week and the employee works 44 hours. The four additional hours are extra-hours work because the weekly total remains below 45. If the correctly derived normal hourly rate is TRY 250, the result is:
- Extra-hours rate: TRY 250 × 1.25 = TRY 312.50
- Gross payment for 4 hours: TRY 312.50 × 4 = TRY 1,250
If the employee instead worked 47 hours, hours between 40 and 45 would use the 25 percent uplift while the two hours above 45 would use the 50 percent uplift.
Can time off replace payment?
Compensatory time off can replace uplifted payment when the employee requests it. Each overtime hour gives 1 hour 30 minutes of time off. Each extra-hours-work hour gives 1 hour 15 minutes. Keep a clear record showing which worked hours were settled with which time-off balance.
How should records and evidence be kept?
Timesheets, shift plans, clock-in records, manager approval and the payslip should support each other. A calendar invite or chat message alone is not a complete payroll-control system. HR should be able to show actual work time, rest time and the approval trail for the same pay period.
Why do approval and workforce planning matter?
Overtime should not be a number discovered only at the end of the payroll period. Before work is performed, assess workload, shift coverage and available capacity. Link the manager request to the hours actually recorded. The approval view should show the employee work pattern, contract type and accumulated overtime.
Repeated overtime is also a planning signal. If the same team records similar hours every month, review workload allocation, staffing and shift design. Payroll is not only a payment function; its recurring records can highlight an operational risk for management.
How should the result be checked before payroll closes?
First reconcile the timesheet total, then the approval record, then the pay line. Investigate any difference before payment. Where compensatory time off was selected, confirm that the corresponding balance is visible in the leave record. Track the 270-hour annual cap by employee.
Give the employee a clear breakdown of normal hours, extra-hours work, overtime and compensatory time. That transparency makes questions easier to resolve and helps international employers apply the same local rule consistently in the next period.
What mistakes do payroll teams make most often?
Common mistakes are applying 225 to every employee, confusing weekly overtime with daily hours, applying the same uplift to extra-hours work and overtime, failing to monitor the 270-hour annual total and recording compensatory time off loosely. Keep overtime, leave pay and other wage items in separate calculation lines.
Teamso Overtime helps teams organise approvals and work-time records. Source: Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security FAQ on Labour Law and Labour Law No. 4857, Article 41. General information only.
