07.02.2025 15:10
Studies on the flexible working model are ongoing. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is finalizing its preparations regarding the legal framework of the issue and its impact on the markets. The details of the new model being developed have become clear.
Preparations are underway at full speed for a change that will fundamentally alter working life in Turkey. According to the new working arrangement, which will affect millions of people working in both the public and private sectors, while weekly and monthly working hours will remain the same, the number of holiday days will increase.
THE CHANGE IN SOCIAL LIFE IS FORCING A CHANGE IN WORKING LIFE
With the declining population and increasing retirement in Turkey, many changes have been planned for years to ensure that the flow of working life is not disrupted. New working arrangements such as hybrid work and remote work entered our lives with the coronavirus pandemic. Some regulations are being introduced to protect workers' rights regarding these arrangements.
Especially during the coronavirus pandemic, while there was a curfew, the hybrid, or remote working model spread in Turkey just as it did worldwide. Depending on changing needs, that model is now being taken a step further, allowing employees to work in different locations on certain days and fulfill their working hours.
THE FIRST STEP HAS BEEN TAKEN IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
The legislative changes needed for the flexible working model for public employees have come into effect. Incentives for the private sector will also accelerate the process at this point. The fundamental principle of the new regulation is that the total working hours on the days the employee is on duty will be extended somewhat, but the total weekly and monthly working hours will remain the same. In contrast, the number of weekly and monthly leaves will increase.
WORKING 4 DAYS A WEEK WILL BE SUFFICIENT
Currently, someone who works 5 days a week will now work 4 days by increasing their daily working hours by one hour and will be able to take 3 days off per week. Similarly, someone who currently takes 1 day off per week will now have the right to take 2 days off.
WHICH SECTORS WILL IT APPLY TO
It is possible to implement the new working arrangement in almost every profession, but it is anticipated that sectors that have recently adopted the hybrid model will be able to act more quickly in this regard. Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan stated in his remarks about these sectors, "We will prepare the legal framework to establish hybrid and remote working models, especially in the fields of information technology, finance, education, consulting, and services."
LEGAL REGULATIONS WILL BE MADE
Minister Vedat Işıkhan indicated that some legal regulations would be made for the new arrangement and continued his speech as follows: Taking into account the effects of remote work on workers' rights, regulations regarding social security and working hours will be implemented. We will further increase our incentives for supporting working methods compatible with digitalization, particularly for freelance and project-based working models. The platform economy has begun to become a very important economy. We will work on creating mechanisms to secure the rights of workers in this area, which we can categorize as e-commerce, freelance work, and digital services. Finally, I will give just a couple of examples of the work we will do to strengthen the work-life balance. New practices that will increase employee productivity and prevent burnout syndrome will be encouraged.