Overtime in night work is indeed subject to special rules grounded in the principle of protecting workers' health, and these rules differ from the general provisions on overtime.
Below we set out in detail how overtime (work for extra hours) in night work is calculated and what its limits are:
1. Definition of the Night Period and Working Hours
Under Labour Law No. 4857, "night" in working life is the period that begins no later than 20.00, ends no earlier than 06.00 and in any case lasts no more than eleven hours.
The basic rule for the night period, under Article 69/3 of the Labour Law, is that workers' night work may not exceed seven and a half hours (7.5 hours).
In workplaces where workers are employed in shifts, if more than half of a shift's working time falls within the night period, that shift's work is regarded as night work.
2. The Overtime Limit and Its Exceptions
In night work, the 7.5-hour period sets the upper limit of daily work and therefore the threshold for overtime. This limit applies even if the statutory weekly working time of forty-five hours has not been exceeded; in other words, as soon as night work exceeds 7.5 hours, overtime pay must be paid for the excess.
There are two main exceptions to this rule:
1. Work for Compelling and Extraordinary Reasons: The 7.5-hour limit in night work applies to overtime performed for general (ordinary) reasons. Where overtime is performed for compelling reasons under Article 42 of the Labour Law or for extraordinary reasons under Article 43 of the Labour Law, overtime exceeding 7.5 hours is possible even during the night period.
2. Special Service Sectors (With Written Consent): In tourism, private security and healthcare services, night work exceeding 7.5 hours may be required, provided that the worker's written consent is obtained.
o In these special service sectors, if the worker has given written consent, work exceeding 7.5 hours does not entitle the worker to overtime pay as long as the consented period is not exceeded.
o However, if the worker has not given written consent, they may claim overtime pay for work exceeding 7.5 hours.
3. Calculating Overtime Pay in Night Work
Points to note when calculating overtime pay for work exceeding the 7.5-hour period in night work:
✦ Premium Rate: The portion of night work exceeding 7.5 hours counts as overtime. If the weekly 45-hour limit has not been exceeded, the normal (non-premium) part of the overtime is deemed to have been paid within the monthly wage, so the worker must be paid only the fifty per cent (50%) premium portion for these excess hours.
✦ Different Calculation in Shift Work (Court of Cassation Practice): In special working systems such as 24 hours on followed by 24 or 48 hours off (for example, for firefighters), the established practice of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) is to take the maximum daily working time of 11 hours as the basis instead of the 7.5-hour night work limit. In such systems, work exceeding 11 hours a day is regarded as overtime, and night overtime is not recognised. However, some academics argue that where most of the work falls at night, it would be more appropriate to take the 7.5-hour limit as the basis.
4. Persons Prohibited from Working Overtime
In the context of night work, stricter restrictions apply to certain groups of workers:
✦ Child and Young Workers: Workers under the age of 18 may not be employed during the night period specified in the Labour Law (20.00-06.00). In any event, these workers may not, as a general rule, be made to work overtime.
✦ Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women: Pregnant or breastfeeding employees may not be made to work more than 7.5 hours a day. In addition, pregnant or breastfeeding female employees may not be employed on night shifts for a certain period after giving birth (generally one year). As a general rule, these workers may not be made to work overtime either.
In summary, the rule in night work is that every hour exceeding 7.5 hours counts as overtime and must be paid with a premium of at least 50%, even if the weekly 45 hours have not been reached, subject to exceptional cases and statutory prohibitions.
