What is a puantaj and why does it matter?
The puantaj is the monthly timesheet that shows how each of an employee's days was spent: days worked, weekly rest days, public holidays, paid and unpaid leave, sick days, absences and overtime hours. Payroll is calculated from it, and the number of premium days and missing day reasons reported to SGK (the Social Security Institution) come from it too.
An error in the timesheet ripples into payroll, the MUHSGK filing (the combined monthly withholding tax and social security premium declaration) and the employee's social security record. In disputes about working time, the timesheet and its underlying records are the employer's evidence. Because the limitation period for wage claims in Turkey is 5 years, these records must be kept in good order.
For foreign companies, the Turkish puantaj often differs from timesheets used at headquarters: it is built around a 30 day month, a 45 hour week and specific SGK missing day codes. Understanding these conventions avoids most payroll surprises.
Which data goes into the timesheet?
A correct timesheet brings several sources together at month end:
- Attendance records: clock data from the PDKS (time and attendance system) or signed attendance sheets
- Shift plan: which hours the employee was scheduled to work and the weekly rest day
- Leave: annual leave, statutory excuse leave (marriage and bereavement 3 days, paternity 10 days), maternity leave, unpaid leave
- Sick notes: medical and work accident rest reports
- Overtime: approved overtime requests and actual hours worked
- Calendar: public holidays, religious holidays and half day eves
- Joiners and leavers: start and termination dates within the month
See the time and attendance system guide for collecting attendance data and the annual leave guide for leave entitlements.
Which day codes are used in a timesheet?
Giving every day a code makes the timesheet easier to read and to feed into payroll. Codes vary by company; what matters is that each code's effect on pay and SGK premium days is clearly defined. The Turkish abbreviations below are common in local practice.
| Code | Meaning | Pay effect | SGK premium day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ç | Day worked | Paid | Counts |
| HT | Weekly rest day | Paid | Counts |
| GT | Public holiday | Paid; one extra day's pay if worked | Counts |
| Yİ | Annual leave | Paid | Counts |
| Mİ | Excuse leave (marriage, bereavement, paternity) | Paid | Counts |
| Üİ | Unpaid leave | Not paid | Missing day |
| R | Sick day | Employer usually does not pay (SGK pays temporary incapacity allowance) | Missing day |
| D | Absence | Not paid | Missing day |
A collective agreement or employment contract may require the employer to top up pay on sick days; check your own practice. Missing day reasons are reported to SGK with the relevant code and supporting documents. For more, see the unpaid and sick leave payroll guide.
How are missing days calculated for monthly paid employees?
For monthly paid employees, pay is calculated on a 30 day basis regardless of how many days the month has. Daily rate = gross monthly salary / 30. For every unpaid day (unpaid leave, absence or sick day), one day's pay is deducted and the premium days reported to SGK fall by the same number.
With no missing days, the employee is paid for 30 days and 30 premium days are reported. In 31 day months pay and premium days are still 30; in February, an employee with no missing days is also paid for 30 days.
How is overtime pay calculated?
Work above 45 hours a week is overtime, paid at 150% of the normal hourly rate. For monthly paid employees the hourly rate is the gross monthly salary divided by 225 (30 days × 7.5 hours). Overtime may not exceed 270 hours a year and requires the employee's written consent.
Show overtime in the timesheet as hours, separately from day codes. Because the test is weekly, the month end timesheet should make clear how many overtime hours fell in each week. See the overtime rules and pay guide for detail and the overtime calculator for quick checks.
Worked example: 2 days of unpaid leave and 10 hours of overtime
An employee on a gross monthly salary of TRY 60,000 takes 2 days of unpaid leave in September 2026, a 30 day month, and works 10 hours of approved overtime during the month. There are no public holidays that month; Sundays are weekly rest days.
| Day type | Days |
|---|---|
| Days worked (Ç) | 24 |
| Weekly rest days (HT) | 4 |
| Unpaid leave (Üİ) | 2 |
| Calendar days | 30 |
| Paid days and SGK premium days | 28 |
| Overtime | 10 hours |
Calculation (done in Python, rounding half up to the kuruş, the Turkish cent):
| Item | Formula | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rate | 60,000 / 30 | TRY 2,000.00 |
| Unpaid leave deduction | 2,000.00 × 2 | TRY 4,000.00 |
| Pay for normal days | 2,000.00 × 28 | TRY 56,000.00 |
| Hourly rate | 60,000 / 225 | TRY 266.67 |
| Overtime hourly rate | hourly rate × 1.5 | TRY 400.00 |
| Overtime pay | hourly rate × 1.5 × 10 | TRY 4,000.00 |
| Gross earnings for the month | 56,000.00 + 4,000.00 | TRY 60,000.00 |
In this example the unpaid leave deduction and the overtime pay happen to be equal, so gross earnings are still TRY 60,000.00. The timesheet and payroll must still show both items separately: SGK is notified of 28 premium days, not 30, with 2 missing days for unpaid leave. Because earnings subject to premiums are TRY 60,000.00, the SGK employee share is TRY 8,400.00 and the unemployment insurance employee share TRY 600.00.
Watch the rounding: if the hourly rate is first rounded to TRY 266.67 and then multiplied by 1.5 and 10, the result is TRY 4,000.05. Small differences like this add up across many employees and months. Set in your payroll policy at which step rounding happens; in this example it is applied only to the final amount. For income tax, the minimum wage exemption and stamp duty, see how to calculate payroll in Turkey, and check results with the salary calculator.
How is leave recorded in the timesheet?
Annual leave and statutory excuse leave are paid and count as premium days; they are paid as if worked but shown with their own code. Annual leave by seniority is 14 days for 1 to 5 years, 20 days for 5 to 15 years and 26 days for 15 years and over (at least 20 days for employees aged 18 or under and 50 or over). Weekly rest days and public holidays falling within annual leave are not counted as leave days, so leave approval and the timesheet must use the same calendar.
Unpaid leave is taken at the employee's request with employer approval; both should be documented in writing. Maternity leave is 24 weeks in total (8 before and 16 after birth; for multiple pregnancy 2 weeks are added before birth, 26 weeks in total; with a doctor's approval the employee may work until 2 weeks before birth and the weeks worked are added after birth), during which the employee receives maternity allowance from SGK for the whole period; it is shown with the relevant missing day code. Nursing leave is 1.5 hours a day and counts as working time. Use the annual leave calculator to check balances.
How are public holidays and weekly rest days shown?
Employees must have at least 24 hours of uninterrupted rest in each 7 day period; this weekly rest day is paid. Public holidays are also paid, and an employee who works on a public holiday receives one extra day's pay for that day. Show public holiday work with a separate code or line, otherwise the extra pay is easily missed. Special cases such as half day eves before religious holidays mean the calendar must be updated every year. See the public holiday pay guide for detail.
How do you handle joiners and leavers mid month?
For an employee who joins mid month, the timesheet starts on the start date; earlier days are left blank and pay is calculated on days actually served. For a leaver, the timesheet closes on the termination date. In both cases, premium days and missing days must be consistent with SGK start and termination notifications. The start notification is due before work begins and the termination notification within 10 days.
What are common timesheet mistakes?
- Recording unpaid leave or absence without reporting the missing day reason to SGK
- Calculating overtime on the monthly total instead of the weekly 45 hour test
- Treating a worked public holiday as a normal working day
- Reporting sick days as missing days without the supporting document
- Changing the timesheet after payroll close without a difference payroll
- Rounding at every step and creating kuruş differences