Does a 6-Month Employee in Turkey Have Annual Leave Rights?
Employees in Turkey earn no statutory paid annual leave until they complete one full year of service, probation included (Labor Law No. 4857, Article 53). A six-month employee therefore has zero vested leave days. Employers may grant leave in advance by contract or company policy, but the law does not require it.
Leave vests all at once — there is no pro-rata accrual
Unlike the monthly pro-rata accrual common across the EU, Turkish annual leave works on a vesting model: under Article 53 of Labor Law No. 4857, the entitlement arises as a single block only when the employee completes one full year of service, and any probation period counts toward that year. At six months of service the statutory balance is zero days — not seven.
Once the first anniversary passes, the full first tier vests at once: 14 days for employees with one to five years of service (Article 53). Under Article 56 only national and general holidays and the weekly rest day falling within the leave are excluded — per settled Yargıtay case law a non-worked Saturday still counts against the leave unless the contract designates it a weekly rest day. The statutory figures are minimums, so contracts and company policy can grant more — including leave taken before the first anniversary. Turkish practice calls this advance leave (avans izin): a voluntary early grant drawn against the entitlement that will vest later. Nothing in the law obliges an employer to offer it.
Counting the first year — and what happens at each anniversary
The qualifying year runs from the actual start date, probation included. Article 54 adds an aggregation rule that surprises many foreign employers: periods previously worked for the same employer, in one or several workplaces, are combined. An employee who spent five months at your company, left, and returned completes the qualifying year after seven further months.
Every later year is also anchored to the service anniversary, not the calendar year: under Article 54, the next one-year qualifying period starts on the day the previous entitlement vested. Seniority tiers (14, 20 and 26 days under Article 53) and the minimum 20 days for employees aged 18 or younger or 50 and over ride on the same anniversary schedule.
If employment ends before the first anniversary, no leave payout is owed. Article 59 monetizes only leave that has vested and gone unused at termination — and before one full year, nothing has vested. This is a common reconciliation point in EOR and payroll handovers: a six-month leaver's final settlement includes no annual-leave component.
| Qualifying service | 12 months, probation included (Art. 53) |
| Statutory leave at 6 months | 0 days |
| Accrual model | Vests on the service anniversary — no pro-rata |
| First-tier entitlement | 14 days after year one (Art. 53) |
| Advance leave | Allowed by contract or policy, never required |
| Exit before year one | No leave payout owed (Art. 59) |
| Prior service, same employer | Aggregated toward the year (Art. 54) |
Frequently asked
Turkish statutory annual leave does not accrue monthly or pro-rata. The entitlement vests as one block on each service anniversary (Labor Law No. 4857, Articles 53-54). Before the first anniversary the vested balance is zero. Employers may still run a more generous accrual scheme contractually, since the statutory figures are floors.
Probation counts in full toward the qualifying year. Article 53 of Labor Law No. 4857 states this expressly, so the year is measured from the employee's start date, not from the end of probation.
Granting leave before the first anniversary is lawful and entirely at the employer's discretion. Because the durations in Article 53 are minimums, contracts or policy can provide earlier or extra leave — commonly structured as advance leave (avans izin), drawn against the entitlement that vests at the anniversary.
No annual-leave payment is owed when employment ends before one full year of service. Article 59 of Labor Law No. 4857 requires payment only for leave that vested and was not used. With no vested entitlement, the final settlement contains no annual-leave component.