13.06.2026 09:51
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled in its precedent decision published in the Official Gazette that weekly holidays coinciding with the annual leave period cannot be deducted from the leave period. According to the decision taken unanimously upon the Ministry of Justice's appeal in the interest of law; even if the employment contract ends, it has become mandatory to pay all leave periods miscalculated due to weekly holidays to employees in cash based on their final gross salary.
A landmark judicial decision that breaks the mold in annual leave calculations in working life, directly affecting millions of workers and employers, has been made. According to the Court of Cassation decision published in the Official Gazette; days coinciding with weekly holidays cannot be deducted from the statutory leave period in annual leave calculations. This new, highly significant decision makes it a legal obligation to reimburse all past miscalculated leave periods to the worker in cash and as wages, even if the employment contract has been terminated.
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation has taken a historic step regarding common calculation errors made when employees exercise their right to annual paid leave. This latest decision, published in the Official Gazette on June 9, definitively found the practice of merging and consuming annual leave days with weekly holidays to be against the law. According to details reported by Social Security Expert İsa Karakaş in his column, the legal process was officially brought to the Court of Cassation's agenda following a worker's lawsuit for receivables and the Ministry of Justice's subsequent appeal in the interest of law.
LOCAL COURT'S LEAVE CALCULATION FOUND FLAWED
The background process of the case began when a worker filed a lawsuit in the Labor Court, stating that his annual leave right was not granted at the company where he worked in three different periods and that his employment contract was unjustly terminated, requesting the collection of severance pay and annual leave compensation. The defendant employer, defending himself in court, claimed that the worker had resigned and had no outstanding annual leave receivables from the company, demanding the complete dismissal of the case. The local court, meticulously examining the file, determined that there was no official document supporting the employer's resignation claim. However, regarding the annual leave receivable, based on the documents in the file, it decided to partially accept the case, stating that the worker had used a total of 24 days of leave and had no remaining balance.
Since the avenue of direct appeal was legally closed for this decision given by the court of first instance as final regarding the amount, the Ministry of Justice stepped in to protect employee rights.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE REQUESTED APPEAL IN THE INTEREST OF LAW
The Ministry of Justice, determining that there was a clear violation of law and procedural error in this decision made by the local court, brought the file to the highest judicial authority, the Court of Cassation, within the scope of its authority for 'Appeal in the Interest of Law'.
In the justification of the objection submitted by the Ministry against the court decision, it was clearly stated that the worker's statutory leave entitlement based on his service period was actually 28 days, not 24, and that deducting weekly holidays (Sundays) falling on the worker's leave days from the annual leave period was entirely contrary to the existing labor legislation.
COURT OF CASSATION REMINDED FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ANNUAL LEAVE
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, thoroughly examining the file before it, very clearly underlined the following basic legal rules regarding leave usage and legal burden of proof in working life:
- Burden of Proof Lies with the Employer: The employer is obliged to prove that the worker used annual leave with a signed leave register or an equivalent legal document.
- Converts to Wage at Contract Termination: Regardless of the reason for the termination of the employment contract, the wage for unused leave must be paid in cash based on the last gross salary.
- The Legal Article is Clear: Pursuant to Article 56/5 of the Labor Law, national holidays, weekly holidays, and general holidays coinciding with the leave period shall not be counted as part of the leave period in calculating annual paid leave days.
WEEKLY HOLIDAY CANNOT BE INCLUDED IN LEAVE PERIOD
Examining the concrete case before it within the framework of these legal rules, the Court of Cassation individually determined that the plaintiff worker was shown to have a total of 28 days of leave on paper, but exactly 4 days of weekly holiday (Sunday) fell within this leave period. The Court ruled definitively that the weekly holiday is the worker's constitutional and legal right and therefore cannot be merged with the annual leave period.
Accordingly, it was stated that the worker had an additional 4 days of annual leave right reserved and that the gross wage for this period must be paid to the worker, and the erroneous decision made by the Labor Court was unanimously overturned in the interest of law. With this new decision published in the Official Gazette and entering into force, it has now become a legal obligation for companies' human resources departments to completely separate Sundays and all official holidays from the annual leave period in their leave calculations.