Annual leave in Turkey: entitlement by service, and a 2027 plan
Enter your status, length of service and age; the tool gives your statutory annual leave and the most days off it can buy in 2027.
Statutory paid annual leave (Labour Act art. 53)
14 days
By service: 1–5 years 14, 5–15 years 20, 15 years and over 26 days.
| Leave days | 14 |
| If split, one part at least | 10 days |
| Do holidays inside leave count | no (art. 56) |
| Best 2027 use: days off in total | 41 days |
A contract or collective agreement can give more days, never fewer.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Diyanet lists and Law No. 2429 read on 28 October 2026
An employee covered by Turkey's Labour Act is entitled to at least 14, 20 or 26 days of paid annual leave depending on length of service: 14 days from one up to and including five years, 20 days for more than five and less than fifteen years, and 26 days from fifteen years (Law No. 4857, art. 53). Employees aged 18 or under, or 50 or over, get at least 20 days, and underground work adds 4 days. The right arises after one year of service, probation included. Civil servants get 20 days up to and including ten years of service and 30 days beyond (Law No. 657, art. 102). Public holidays and weekly rest days that fall within leave are not counted as leave, which is why placing leave next to the festivals pays off most. In 2027, someone who spreads 14 leave days in the best way gets 41 days off over the year. A contract or collective agreement can give more days, never fewer.
Entitlement by status and service
| Who | Length of service | Minimum leave |
|---|---|---|
| Employee (4857) | 1 up to and including 5 years | 14 days |
| Employee (4857) | more than 5, less than 15 years | 20 days |
| Employee (4857) | 15 years or more | 26 days |
| Employee aged 18 or under, or 50 or over | any service | at least 20 days |
| Employee in underground work | any service | +4 days |
| Civil servant (657) | 1 up to and including 10 years | 20 days |
| Civil servant (657) | more than 10 years | 30 days |
These are legal minimums. A contract or collective agreement may give more; the right cannot be waived, and seasonal or campaign work lasting under a year is outside these rules. An employee with exactly five years of service is in the 14-day band, one with even a day more in the 20-day band; for civil servants the line is ten years. The tool applies the line the same way: enter 5 years and you get 14 days, 5.1 years and you get 20.
Rules for employees: splitting, travel days, pay
Under article 56 of Law No. 4857 the employer cannot split leave on its own and must, as a rule, grant it in one go. By agreement it may be divided, but one part has to be at least 10 days. Other paid or unpaid leave granted during the year cannot be deducted from annual leave. An employee spending the leave away from the workplace's town gets, on request and with proof, up to 4 days of unpaid travel leave in total. Article 57 requires leave pay to be paid in advance, before the leave starts.
Rules for civil servants
Article 102 of Law No. 657 allows up to two days each way for travel in cases of necessity. Under article 103, leave is taken at times the superior approves, all at once or in parts; two consecutive years may be combined, and unused leave older than the previous year lapses. Teachers are treated as on leave during the summer and rest holidays and get no separate annual leave. Whether extra administrative leave is granted around a festival is decided each year (administrative leave 2027).
Joining leave to the 2027 festivals
Because festivals and weekends are not counted as leave, a leave day placed next to a festival turns into the most time off. In 2027, two days of leave around Eid al-Fitr give 9 days off (6–14 March 2027), and two days around Eid al-Adha give 9 (15–23 May 2027). For 14 days of leave the planner suggests: 1–10 January 2027 (5 → 10), 6–14 March 2027 (2 → 9), 17–25 April 2027 (4 → 9), 15–23 May 2027 (2 → 9), 15–18 July 2027 (1 → 4).
| Entitlement | Best total days off in 2027 | Breaks |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days | 41 days | 5 |
| 20 days | 54 days | 6 |
| 26 days | 65 days | 7 |
| 30 days | 71 days | 7 |
A word of caution for employees: these plans use small pieces, which article 56 only allows by agreement with the employer and with one piece of at least 10 days. The long piece can lean on a festival too: covering the 7 working days either side of Kurban Bayramı gives 16 days off, 8–23 May 2027. To try dates one by one, use bridge days 2027 and the holiday length calculator; dates are on Kurban Bayramı 2027, Ramazan Bayramı 2027 and public holidays 2027.
2027: using 14 leave days
2027: using 14 leave days
41 days off
| 1–10 January 2027 | 5 → 10 days |
| 6–14 March 2027 | 2 → 9 days |
| 17–25 April 2027 | 4 → 9 days |
| 15–23 May 2027 | 2 → 9 days |