09.06.2026 08:40
The Court of Cassation has made a very important decision closely affecting millions of employees. The High Court ruled that weekly holiday days coinciding with periods when workers use their annual paid leave cannot be counted as part of the annual leave period and cannot be deducted from the leave.
A landmark decision from the Court of Cassation has been issued regarding the 'annual leave rights' of employees, which are protected by law but violated in practice by some employers.
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, reviewing a case upon the Ministry of Justice's request for appeal in the interest of law, ruled that weekly holiday days coinciding with periods when the worker uses paid annual leave cannot be deducted from the leave period. The High Court decided that these days must be evaluated separately, stating that the employee is entitled to leave pay for these unused days.
4-DAY BALANCE EMERGED
In the case reflected in the file, the calculation was made as follows:
The plaintiff worker had a total of 28 days of paid annual leave entitlement. According to documents submitted by the employer to the court, the worker appeared to have used all 28 days of leave in two different periods. However, the Court of Cassation determined that there were a total of 4 weekly holidays within the date ranges when the worker used leave.
Since these 4 days cannot be counted as leave by law, it was finalized that the worker had actually used 24 days of annual leave and thus had a remaining balance of 4 days of unpaid paid annual leave. Due to the work schedule of 6 days per week at the workplace, weekly holidays were calculated as one day per week.
Additionally, the decision reminded that 'termination of the employment contract is required for the annual leave right to be converted into pay.'
WHAT DOES THE LABOR LAW SAY?
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation clearly outlined the boundaries of Labor Law No. 4857 in the reasoning of its decision. Article 56/5 of the Labor Law, which forms the basis of the decision, states the following:
'In calculating the days of paid annual leave, national holidays, weekly holidays, and general holidays falling within the leave period are not counted as part of the leave period.'
Meanwhile, with this precedent decision, it has been reaffirmed that the burden of proving that the worker has fully used their annual leave rests with the employer. Employers will be required to transparently document the tracking of employees' leave by deducting holiday days.