What Is Compensatory Work?
In cases where work is suspended due to compulsory reasons, the closure of the workplace before or after national holidays and public holidays, a significant reduction in regular working hours in the workplace, the inability to work due to reasons arising from the employer or the employee, the employer may request the employee to work in order to compensate for the time he/she was unable to work by abiding certain conditions, which is called compensatory work.
Compensatory work is separate from overtime work or work at extra hours therefore the employee is not entitled to an additional wage for compensatory work.
Examples Of Compensatory Work
-Significantly reduced or non-existent working hours due to the Covid-19 pandemic
-Inability to work due to the extension of Eid al-Adha by combining it with the weekend
-Inability to work due to workplace painting
-Inability to work when an employee takes leave for reasons other than legal leaves (annual leave, new job search leave, maternity leave…)
What Are The Conditions For Compensatory Work?
-Compensatory work requested by the employer can be conducted for up to 4 months following the end of incomplete work or the inability to work and the beginning of regular work.
-Compensatory work cannot be conducted during times considered holidays, such as national holidays or the weekly day off. For example, in workplaces where the weekly day off is only on Sundays, compensatory work can be conducted on Saturdays. However, in workplaces where the weekly day off includes both Saturday and Sunday, compensatory work cannot be conducted on Saturdays.
-Compensatory work should have a maximum duration of 3 hours per day.
-In any case, compensatory work should not exceed the daily working limit of 11 hours. For example, in a workplace with a regular working hour of 9 hours, the employer can request a maximum of 2 hours of compensatory work for an employee per day.
-The employer is obligated to inform the employee in advance about the reasons for compensatory work as specified in the Labor Code (‘‘The Code”) and the beginning date of the employee’s compensatory work.
Sanctions For Conducting Compensatory Work Improperly
We have discussed the conditions that must be abided by the employer when conducting compensatory work above. Pursuant to The Code, employers who do not comply with these conditions and have their employees conduct compensatory work improperly are subject to an administrative fine of 2,666.00 TL for each employee as a sanction for the year 2024.
In addition, if compensatory work is conducted without abiding by the conditions discussed above, the work may not be considered compensatory work. However, if the necessary conditions are met, it may be considered overtime work or work at extra hours, and the employee may be entitled to additional wages.
Conclusion
Under Turkish Law, The Code has granted employers a right to compensate for significantly reduced or non-existent working hours. Within the scope of this right, the employer provided that they abide by the conditions specified in The Code, is able to compensate for the reduced or non-existent work.
ATT. Cemre Zeynep EROĞUZ
TARLAN LAW FIRM
ATT. AYLİN TARLAN
Tarlan Avukatlık Bürosu Bloğu 