What is a missing day in Turkish payroll?
A missing day (eksik gün) is a day in the month that is not reported to SGK (Social Security Institution, Turkey's social security authority) as a premium day. When a monthly-paid employee works the full month, 30 days are reported to SGK. In cases such as unpaid leave, sick leave with a medical report, unexcused absence, or joining or leaving mid-month, the count falls below 30 and the difference is reported as missing days.
Missing days affect the whole payroll, not just the SGK filing: pay, the SGK premium base (PEK, earnings subject to premiums), the minimum wage exemption, income tax, stamp duty and net pay all change together. This guide explains, with a worked example, how unpaid leave and sick leave days flow into payroll for foreign companies operating in Turkey.
Which situations count as missing days?
- Unpaid leave: Leave days without pay, taken at the employee's request with the employer's approval.
- Sick leave with a medical report: Days covered by a report for illness, work accident, occupational disease or maternity. An employee who meets the conditions receives an SGK benefit for this period.
- Unexcused absence: Days the employee did not come to work without a valid reason.
- Joining or leaving mid-month: Days not worked by an employee who starts or leaves during the month.
- Part-time and timesheet-based work: Contracts under which fewer days are worked in the month.
- Strike, lockout, detention, arrest and other legal situations.
Paid leave such as annual leave, paternity leave, marriage and bereavement leave does not create missing days; these days are reported as worked. Weekly rest days and public holidays are also included in the full month for monthly-paid employees.
How is the reason for missing days reported?
In the monthly premium and service report filed with SGK, the number of missing days and the reason are reported separately for every employee reported with fewer than 30 days. Reasons are selected from codes defined by SGK: unpaid leave, sick leave, disciplinary penalty, detention, part-time work, timesheet records, absence, joining or leaving mid-month, a combination of reasons and so on. Choosing the right code matters; for example, reporting medical report days under the unpaid leave code can create a mismatch with the SGK benefit.
Some reasons require supporting documents. Keep the employee's written request and the employer's approval for unpaid leave, an incident record for absence, and the medical report for sick leave in the personnel file, ready to present to SGK if asked. For the current code list and document requirements, check current conditions in the latest SGK announcement.
The monthly report is filed through MUHSGK (the combined withholding tax and social security return) by the 26th of the following month. Missing-day information is part of this return.
How is pay calculated in a month with missing days?
For monthly-paid employees, the common practice is to divide the gross monthly salary by 30 to get the daily rate and deduct pay for the days not worked. A 30-day month is used regardless of how many days the calendar month has.
The most important point in a month with missing days is the SGK limits. The SGK premium base floor and ceiling are monthly amounts for 30 days; in months with missing days they are prorated by the number of days reported. For 2026 the monthly floor is TRY 33,030; for an employee reported with 27 days the floor is TRY 33,030 / 30 × 27 = TRY 29,727. The ceiling is prorated from TRY 297,270 in the same way.
In practice the minimum wage income tax and stamp duty exemptions are also prorated by days worked. Do not apply full-month exemption amounts directly in a month with missing days.
Example: how do 3 days of unpaid leave affect payroll?
An employee with a gross monthly salary of TRY 60,000 takes 3 days of unpaid leave in January 2026. A 30-day month is used.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rate | 60,000 / 30 | TRY 2,000.00 |
| Days reported | 30 - 3 | 27 days |
| Gross pay for the month | 2,000 × 27 | TRY 54,000.00 |
| SGK floor (27 days) | 33,030 / 30 × 27 | TRY 29,727.00 |
| SGK premium base | Pay is above the floor | TRY 54,000.00 |
| SGK employee share (14%) | 54,000 × 14% | TRY 7,560.00 |
| Unemployment insurance, employee (1%) | 54,000 × 1% | TRY 540.00 |
| Income tax base | 54,000 - 7,560 - 540 | TRY 45,900.00 |
| Calculated income tax (15%) | 45,900 × 15% | TRY 6,885.00 |
| Minimum wage income tax exemption (27 days) | Based on the 29,727 floor | TRY 3,790.19 |
| Income tax payable | 6,885.00 - 3,790.19 | TRY 3,094.81 |
| Stamp duty (0.759%) | 409.86 - 225.63 exemption | TRY 184.23 |
| Net pay | TRY 42,620.96 | |
| Employer SGK (19.75%, outside manufacturing) | 54,000 × 19.75% | TRY 10,665.00 |
| Employer unemployment (2%) | 54,000 × 2% | TRY 1,080.00 |
| Employer cost | TRY 65,745.00 |
For comparison, the same employee's net pay in a full January is TRY 47,356.63 and the employer cost is TRY 73,050.00. Three days of unpaid leave reduce net pay by TRY 4,735.67 and employer cost by TRY 7,305.00.
The employer SGK rate in the example applies outside manufacturing. In 2026 the total employer SGK share is 21.75%; the Treasury discount is 2 points outside manufacturing (pay 19.75%) and 5 points in manufacturing (pay 16.75%). In manufacturing the employer cost for the same month is TRY 64,125.00; without the discount the employer pays 21.75% and the cost is TRY 66,825.00.
In this example pay is above the prorated SGK floor, so the premium base equals the pay actually earned. For a lower-paid employee, the base must not fall below the prorated floor. If a minimum wage employee takes 3 days of unpaid leave, pay for the month is TRY 29,727, exactly equal to the 27-day floor.
Checking the calculation in Python
You can use the short Python snippet below to check your payroll software's result independently. It uses the Decimal type and round-half-up to avoid floating-point errors.
from decimal import Decimal as D, ROUND_HALF_UP
y = lambda x: x.quantize(D("0.01"), ROUND_HALF_UP)
gross, missing = D("60000"), 3
days = 30 - missing
pay = y(gross / 30) * days # 54000.00
floor = y(D("33030") / 30 * days) # 29727.00
ceiling = y(D("297270") / 30 * days)
pek = min(max(pay, floor), ceiling) # 54000.00
sgk, unemp = y(pek * D("0.14")), y(pek * D("0.01"))
tax = y((pay - sgk - unemp) * D("0.15")) # 6885.00
tax_exempt = y((floor - y(floor * D("0.14")) - y(floor * D("0.01"))) * D("0.15"))
stamp = y(pay * D("0.00759")) - y(floor * D("0.00759"))
net = pay - sgk - unemp - (tax - tax_exempt) - stamp
print(net) # 42620.96You can try other salaries and day counts with the salary calculator. For full-month payroll steps see how to calculate payroll in Turkey, and for current rates and amounts see the payroll parameters.
How do sick leave days affect payroll?
When an employee is on sick leave with a medical report, the employee does not work during the report period, so as a rule the employer pays no salary and these days are reported as missing days. An employee who meets the conditions receives an SGK benefit for this period. From which day and under which conditions the benefit is paid depends on the type of report; check current conditions in the latest SGK announcement.
Some workplaces pay salary during sick leave, or top up the difference between the SGK benefit and salary, under a collective agreement, employment contract or company policy. To avoid double payment, the written policy should state whether the benefit is offset against salary. The SGK and tax treatment of pay during sick leave depends on how it is structured, so review it with your payroll specialist.
What the employer needs to do:
- Check that the report issued by the health provider appears in the SGK system.
- Confirm in the SGK system that the employee did not work during the report period; this confirmation is needed for the benefit to be paid.
- Mark report days with a separate leave type in the timesheet and report them as missing days with the correct reason.
What should employers watch for with unpaid leave in Turkey?
Apart from certain cases set out in law, unpaid leave is based on the employee's request and the employer's approval. The employer cannot put an employee on unpaid leave unilaterally; that amounts to non-payment of wages and may give the employee grounds for justified termination.
- Get the request in writing, signed by the employee, with the date range clearly stated.
- Mark unpaid leave days in the timesheet and leave records.
- Select the correct missing-day reason in the SGK report.
- For an employee on unpaid leave for the whole month, the premium day count for that month is zero; for consequences such as general health insurance, check current conditions in the latest SGK announcement.
- Assess separately how long unpaid leave affects seniority and annual leave; use the annual leave calculator for entitlement.
For special cases such as unpaid leave and half-time work after birth, see the maternity leave employer guide.
What are common mistakes with missing days?
- Applying the full-month SGK floor (TRY 33,030) in a month with missing days and overstating the premium base.
- Deducting the full-month minimum wage exemption and understating tax.
- Changing the daily rate based on whether the month has 31 or 28 days; for monthly pay the basis is 30 days.
- Reporting medical report days under the unpaid leave code.
- Not getting the employee's written request for unpaid leave.
- Day counts in the timesheet and the SGK report not matching.