Differences Between the Actual Service Period Increment (FHSZ / Yıpranma Payı) and Radiation Leave (Şua İzni), and the SGK Retirement Calculation

Are FHSZ, Radiation Leave, Notional Service and Service Determination the Same Thing?

No. The costliest mistake in these files is to merge different legal institutions under a single “wear-and-tear” heading.

A decision obtained in a radiation leave case may be useful in an FHSZ case; however, the two cases are not the same. Radiation leave mostly depends on actual hours in the controlled area, whereas FHSZ depends on the day/hour equivalent spent under risk that must be reported to the SGK. Moreover, the SGK is not considered automatically bound by every result of a decision on a claim arising from employment to which it was not a party.

What Is the Difference Between 90-Day and 60-Day FHSZ for Health Workers?

In the table in Article 40 of Law No. 5510, there are two separate legal gateways in the health field.

Row 11: Work Performed with Radioactive and Radioionizing Substances — 90 Days

Those who actually work in jobs performed with natural or artificial radioactive, radioionizing substances or other corpuscular emanation sources earn 90 days of FHSZ for every 360 covered days. X-ray, computed tomography, fluoroscopy/scopy, angiography, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy activities may fall within this scope in terms of the specific device and duty.

A title alone is not sufficient. For a radiology technician who works only with MRI or ultrasound, the 90 days is not applied without proof of ionizing-radiation work. Conversely, an employee with a different title whose device, duty and actual exposure conditions are met may be assessed under row 11 on the basis of concrete evidence.

Row 20: Work Relating to Human Health — 60 Days

Row 20, added on August 3, 2018 by Law No. 7146, covers those who are considered members of the health professions under Law Nos. 1219, 6283 and 6197 and who work in preventive, diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitative services for human health. 60 days are added for every 360 covered days.

This right cannot be applied retroactively to health services before August 3, 2018 merely because one is a health worker today. If there is another basis for the earlier period, such as row 11, Supplementary Article 5 of Law No. 506 or Article 32 of Law No. 5434, that period is examined under its own conditions.

Are Both 90 and 60 Days Earned for the Same Day?

No. Under Article 9/5 of the Actual Service Period Increment Regulation, the higher rate applies to an insured person who is subject to more than one FHSZ job at the same time. Therefore, a calculation of 60+90=150 days cannot be made for the same radiological procedure day.

Who Can Benefit from FHSZ?

Article 40 of Law No. 5510 covers persons working under an employment contract within the scope of 4/1-a and public servants within the scope of 4/1-c. Work subject to the long-term insurance branches is required. Retirees working with a social security support premium (sosyal güvenlik destek primi) and persons subject only to the short-term insurance branches cannot, as a rule, benefit.

Status 4/1-b (Bağ-Kur) is not included in the personal scope of Article 40. However, if dependent work lies behind an “invoice through a company” appearance, whether the real relationship is a 4/a employment contract should first be examined as a separate insured-status dispute. One should not move directly to an FHSZ calculation without making this characterization.

A concrete investigation of duty and status is needed for the following persons:

• Employees of private hospitals and medical centers
• 4/D permanent workers in public hospitals
• Persons who worked in public hospitals during the service-procurement/subcontracting-employer (alt işveren) period
• Civil servants subject to Law No. 657 and 4/B contracted personnel
• University and city hospital employees
• Radiology specialists, medical imaging technicians, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy personnel
• Teams working with angiography, operating rooms and mobile C-arm fluoroscopy
• Medical physicists and employees with radiation safety duties

Is a Title Alone Sufficient for FHSZ?

No. As a rule, the Regulation requires both actually working in the job/workplace listed in the table and being exposed to the risk of that job. Short-term observation for control, supervision or administration; management without actually doing the work; and situations in which the risk has genuinely disappeared because of automation or advanced technology may fall outside the scope.

For this reason, a correct examination answers the following four questions:

1. Which device or source was used; does it produce ionizing radiation?
2. On which dates did the employee personally perform which duty?
3. Did the risk of the job continue in that manner of working?
4. With which FHSZ rate and document type were these periods reported to the SGK?

A “0” or low value in dosimetry does not by itself automatically remove the right; the device, workflow, area classification and protective measures are assessed together. On the other hand, merely being near the radiology unit does not automatically create FHSZ either.

Are Radiation Leave Days Included in the FHSZ Calculation?

As a rule, no. Radiation leave is a rest period in which the employee is removed from the radiation area. FHSZ, on the other hand, is the counterpart of actually working in covered work and being exposed to the risk. For this reason, even if the days on which radiation/health leave is used may be reported as paid days for ordinary insured status, they are not separately shown as FHSZ covered days.

The table concerns radiation and health workers. The fact that the law contains special exceptions for some other occupational groups does not apply automatically to these workers.

Pregnancy, Maternity and Nursing Leave Periods

Where a pregnant employee is removed from radiation risk and assigned to a risk-free unit, the period not actually spent in the controlled area is not added to FHSZ days. Work not performed under actual risk because of maternity leave, medical report or nursing leave follows the same logic. However, these periods may have different consequences for the person’s ordinary insured status, purchase of service periods or personnel law; the conclusion “there is no FHSZ” does not mean that all social security days are disregarded.

How Is FHSZ Calculated?

The basic formula is as follows:

FHSZ days = Actual covered days × additional days in the relevant row / 360

For radiation work:

FHSZ = actual row 11 days × 90 / 360

For health service:

FHSZ = actual row 20 days × 60 / 360

Completing 360 days is not a precondition for the right to arise; periods of fewer than 360 days are calculated proportionally. The conversion of day fractions and in-month hours into days must be made according to the SGK’s reporting procedure in force.

Example 1: 300 Days of Actual Radiation Work

If an employee actually performed row 11 radiation work for 300 days in a year:

300 × 90 / 360 = 75 days of FHSZ

Even if the total insured days appear as 360, if the actual radiation days are 300 because of 30 days of radiation leave, 20 days of annual leave and 10 days of medical report, FHSZ is 75 days, not 90.

Example 2: 300 Days of In-Scope Health Service

For a member of the health professions who actually worked 300 days under the row 20 conditions:

300 × 60 / 360 = 50 days of FHSZ

Example 3: 240 Days of Radiation and 60 Days of Other Health Work in the Same Year

If the days do not overlap:

• Row 11: 240 × 90 / 360 = 60 days
• Row 20: 60 × 60 / 360 = 10 days
• Total: 70 days of FHSZ

It is not possible to calculate the 240 radiation days a second time from the 60-day health row.

How Is the Calculation Made for Part-Time Workers or Those Who Work for Part of the Day?

FHSZ is not specific to full-time contracts. For those who work in covered work for only part of the day, the in-scope hours in the month are added up and divided by the statutory daily working time to find the day equivalent. In the health field, the daily working time must be determined by taking Law No. 3153 and the specific work arrangement into account; 7.5 hours should not be assumed automatically in every file.

Example: If 70 hours of actual radiation work in a month is proven in a job with a statutory daily time of 7 hours, there are 10 covered days. The remaining normal working days of the same month are reported with the standard document, and these 10 days with the relevant FHSZ document type. The monthly total for the same insured person cannot exceed 30 days.

The reporting of part-time work should be built on an hourly basis with shifts, device sessions, procedure logs and payroll. An abstract witness statement such as “the employee worked two days a week” alone may not be sufficient for the calculation.

How Does FHSZ Affect Premium Days and Retirement Age?

FHSZ has two separate effects:

1. Addition to premium payment days: The calculated FHSZ is added to the premium days in the long-term insurance branches, not exceeding five years in total for health/radiation workers.
2. Reduction from the age limit: If at least 3,600 days have been worked in covered work, half of the FHSZ earned is deducted from the retirement age limit, up to a maximum of three years.

These two results must not be confused. For example, the FHSZ of a person with 1,800 covered days may be added to premium days; however, since the 3,600-day threshold has not been completed for radiation/health work, no age reduction is applied yet.

Are 3,600 Days Ten Calendar Years?

Often not. Because leave, medical reports, public holidays and periods not spent under actual risk are subtracted, reaching 3,600 covered days may take longer than ten calendar years. The total premium days in the e-Devlet service statement may not be the same number as the actual days within the scope of Article 40.

Retirement Example for a Radiation Worker

For an employee with a total of 4,320 row 11 covered days over 12 years:

• FHSZ: 4,320 × 90 / 360 = 1,080 days
• Addition to premium days: 1,080 days
• Since the 3,600-day threshold is met, age reduction: 1,080 / 2 = 540 days (1 year 6 months)

This example shows only the effect of FHSZ. The person’s actual retirement date is calculated separately according to first insurance entry, date of birth, gender, 4/a–4/c status, combination of service periods, EYT/transition provisions, purchases of service periods and total premium days. For every person, an assumption of “normal age 60” or “necessarily 7,200 days” cannot be made.

Practical Maximum Effect in the 60-Day Health Row

In row 20, theoretically 30 years × 60 days = 1,800 days of FHSZ are obtained; half of that is 900 days, that is, a 2-year 6-month age reduction. Although the general ceiling of the age reduction in the law is three years, in the 60-day health row alone, the practical ceiling is 2 years 6 months because of the five-year FHSZ upper limit and the half reduction. If there are other FHSZ periods and transition regimes, a combined calculation is made separately.

Why Do October 1, 2008 and August 3, 2018 Matter?

Provisional Article 7 of Law No. 5510 provides that services before 2008 are assessed according to the old law to which they were subject. Therefore, it is wrong to calculate an entire career with a single 90/360 formula.

Which rule a former Pension Fund participant will be subject to in public service after 2008 must be examined together with Provisional Article 4 of Law No. 5510 and the SGK/HİTAP records. Categorical generalizations such as “I entered civil service before 2008, and my whole period after 2008 is unlimited under Law No. 5434” or its exact opposite are not safe.

Does FHSZ Move the Start of Insurance Back?

FHSZ is added to the number of premium payment days and, if the conditions are met, deducted from the age limit; this does not mean that the insurance start date will be moved back on the calendar in every case.

In its decision E.2024/10-151, K.2024/359, the Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) held that the actual service term increment earned under Law No. 5434 will be taken into account in retirement procedures in terms of service and age, but that in the pension award calculation under Law No. 506 it cannot create a new start date by moving the insurance start back. The decision is particularly important in files where former public service and later 4/a service are combined.

For this reason, a date found with the “subtract FHSZ days from the first entry” method in an online calculator is not, by itself, a reliable retirement date.

What Are the Differences for 4/a Workers, 4/c Public Officials and 4/b Workers?

The “contracted personnel” label under Article 4/B of Law No. 657 does not, by itself, give a 4/a or 4/c result. The basis of the relevant contract, the date of entry into service, the SGK registration status and the personnel regime of the institution must be read together.

Why Is the Jurisdiction Dispute Critical for Public Employees?

In its decision E.2022/134, K.2022/213, the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes (Uyuşmazlık Mahkemesi) held that a case in which FHZ and an old-age pension were requested on the basis of former public service under Law No. 5434 is to be heard in the administrative courts. The reasoning of the same decision distinguishes that social security disputes arising from Law No. 5510 of persons who came within 4/c for the first time after Law No. 5510 entered into force will be resolved in the ordinary courts.

For this reason, the following questions must be answered first: On what date was the claimed period spent? Which regime was the person subject to on that date? Does the case target the SGK’s award/registration act, or the public institution’s failure to assign duty or issue a premium document? The wrong judicial branch leads to loss of time and expense.

How Is It Checked Whether FHSZ Was Correctly Reported to the SGK?

The first check can be made through the e-Devlet 4A Service Statement, 4C Registration/Service and HİTAP service information. However, total premium days alone are not enough. It must be examined whether the months were separated by document type in accordance with the FHSZ rate and whether the additional days were entered into the service record.

Because employer document types may change over time and by insurance branch, a single “29” or “32” code should not be accepted as correct in every file. The current Withholding and Premium and Service Declaration / SGK document type list should be compared with the rule in force in the disputed month. Within the same month, for example, out-of-scope days can be separated with the standard document and in-scope days with the relevant 60- or 90-day FHSZ document type; the total report cannot exceed 30 days.

SGK Record Checklist for Employees

• [ ] Download the e-Devlet service statement as a “barcoded document.”
• [ ] Record each month’s premium days, workplace registry number and document type.
• [ ] Mark radiation leave, annual leave and medical report days on a separate calendar.
• [ ] Separate the days on which radiation work was performed from the days of other health service.
• [ ] Check that the 60- and 90-day rows were not reported twice for the same day.
• [ ] Compare the employer payroll with the SGK day/earnings subject to premium record.
• [ ] If you are a public employee, request the HİTAP/FHZ determination certificate from your institution.
• [ ] Before the retirement application, request a written and reasoned service/pension award calculation from the SGK.

What Steps Should Be Followed If FHSZ Was Reported Incompletely or Incorrectly?

1. Classify the Period and the Type of Claim

First, it must be determined which of the following three groups the dispute falls into:

1. Work never reported: The insured days are not in the SGK.
2. Missing days or earnings: The work was reported; some days/earnings are missing.
3. Missing FHSZ status/code: Normal premium days were reported, but the days in covered work were not shown with the FHSZ document type.

Although the third dispute is called “FHSZ determination” in practice, it should not be assumed to be automatically subject to the same time-limit and party rules as a classic determination of unreported service.

2. Request Records from the Employer and the Public Institution

The employee’s written application should specify in which periods, with which device, in which unit and for how many days/hours the employee worked; and should request the MUHSGK/APHB correction declaration, the FHZ determination certificate for public personnel and the HİTAP update.

3. Apply to the SGK

Under Article 4 of the Labor Courts Law No. 7036, apart from requests for the determination of compulsory insured periods, applying to the SGK before filing a case is mandatory in social security disputes. If no answer is given to the application within 60 days, the request is deemed rejected; the time elapsed during the application is not taken into account in calculating the statute of limitations and the time limit for bringing an action (hak düşürücü süre).

In requests to correct FHSZ status/code, the safe method is to apply in writing with evidence, after the employer application, to the relevant Provincial Social Security Directorate (Sosyal Güvenlik İl Müdürlüğü)/Social Security Center (Sosyal Güvenlik Merkezi). Even if the mere determination of unreported compulsory insured status falls within the exception in Article 4, an application to the SGK is useful in most files in terms of administrative review and gathering evidence.

Sample Request Paragraph to the SGK

“Between [start–end], I worked as [unit and duty] at [employer/institution]. The attached duty, shift, device, dosimeter and system records show that during this period I actually performed the work within row [11/20] of the table in Article 40 of Law No. 5510. I request that my days reported as normal service, or reported with incomplete FHSZ, be reviewed month by month and day by day; that they be corrected with the appropriate FHSZ document type/rate; that the additional premium and service days be registered; that, for 4/c services, the HİTAP/FHZ records be updated; and that the result be notified to me with reasons.”

The application should include the T.C. identity number, workplace registry number, period table and list of attachments; patient data should not be attached unnecessarily.

4. Request an SGK Inspection or Workplace Review

Article 6 of the Regulation allows the workplace, the scope of the job and the actual work to be examined by SGK inspectors, labor inspectors or experts. Device license, area classification and workflow can be determined by an on-site review.

5. File the Right Case in the Competent Court

In FHSZ and compulsory insured status disputes within 4/a, the labor court is, as a rule, the competent court. The SGK must be a defendant or a party in a statutory position, depending on the nature of the claim, in a case that will affect the social security record. Which employers the case will be directed against is determined according to the registered employer in the disputed period, the transfer of the workplace and the subcontracting-employer relationship; the formula of joint and several liability in a radiation leave wage claim cannot be copied as is to an FHSZ case.

If a former public service under Law No. 5434 or a personnel/administrative act is involved, the time limits and jurisdiction of the administrative courts must be checked separately.

Does the Five-Year Period Always Apply in an FHSZ Dispute?

No. The five-year time limit for bringing an action in Article 86/9 of Law No. 5510 is provided for the determination of compulsory insured work never reported to the Institution. The period, as a rule, starts from the end of the year in which the service was rendered; the rules of suspension and interruption differ from those of the statute of limitations.

However, if the service itself was reported to the SGK and only the FHSZ document type or the nature of the job was shown wrongly, the dispute is not merely “unreported work.” In Court of Cassation practice, documented periods of which the Institution was aware of the work are distinguished from unreported periods. For this reason, two generalizations, “there is normal premium in the SGK, so a case can be filed without any time limit” and “five years have passed, so all FHSZ is definitively lost,” are both wrong.

Old Law No. 5434 services, administrative application/annulment action time limits and old-age pension award acts are assessed separately. In making the time-limit analysis, the year of work, SGK reporting documents, departure from work, uninterrupted work, the Institution’s determination and the result of the claim in the judgment should be written separately.

Is Mediation Required?

A mere SGK registration, FHSZ record or compulsory insured status determination request is not a claim arising from employment; the mandatory mediation rule for employee/employer claims and compensation in Article 3 of Law No. 7036 does not automatically apply to this request. By contrast, if radiation leave pay, overtime, severance pay or other claims arising from employment arising from the same event are requested, mediation as a condition precedent to litigation must be carried out separately for these monetary claims.

Although the FHSZ determination and radiation leave pay may be asserted in the same file or in separate files, the jurisdiction, parties, time limits and litigation technique differ. Writing the claims in a single sentence as “all my employee rights” is risky.

How Is Actual Radiation Work Proven?

Because FHSZ leads to a social security result relating to public order, the court should not be satisfied with party statements alone; within the framework of the principle of ex officio investigation, it should establish the fact of work with strong, period-specific evidence.

Special Evidence Set for the Operating Room, Angiography and Mobile Fluoroscopy

Mobile C-arm fluoroscopy or portable X-ray exposures may not always be recorded in PACS under the employee’s name. In these jobs, the operating room case register, the device worklist/raw console log, the anesthesia monitoring form, the surgical team record, dosimeter, shift and turnstile records should be examined together. The absence of a personal user record in PACS does not by itself show that there was no work.

Extracting Evidence in Compliance with KVKK

While proving their own right, employees should not unnecessarily multiply patients’ identity and health data. In screenshots, fields such as patient name, T.C. identity number, protocol number and diagnosis should be masked; procedure type, date, time, device and employee/user fields should remain visible as far as possible. It is preferable for the actual data to be requested from the institution by the court, with the audit trail preserved and access authority limited.

What Can Be Done Before the Evidence Disappears?

Because of the retention periods of HBYS/PACS logs and system conversions, preservation of evidence before the case may be considered. Under Article 400 of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK), preservation of evidence; under Articles 219–220, production of certain digital records held by the employer may be requested. The request should not be disproportionate, such as “all hospital records”; it should be limited by person, period, user, device and log type.

Sample request:

“We request that the user sessions, DICOM procedure times, device and approval records and audit trail data of the plaintiff between [period], held in the HBYS, PACS/RIS and device console databases within the defendant’s organization, be submitted with patients’ personal data masked, and that a firm deadline be given under Articles 219–220 of the HMK for the format, time zone and integrity of the data to be explained by a system administrator’s record.”

What Defenses May the Employer and the SGK Raise?

How Is a Radiation Leave Claim Decision Used in an FHSZ Case?

A final radiation leave decision may have determined that the employee performed ionizing-radiation work in the controlled area in a certain period, that employer records and automation logs conflict, or that the employee actually worked on a date shown as leave. These findings may have the nature of supporting written evidence in the FHSZ file.

However, the FHSZ case additionally involves:

• The party position of the SGK and the relevant employer,
• The FHSZ day/hour calculation for each month,
• Application of row 11 or 20,
• Normal premium and FHSZ document type,
• Separation of leave/medical report/holiday days,
• The 2008 and 2018 transitions

and these must be examined. The calculation of “28 days’ wages” in a radiation leave judgment does not prove that there are automatically 360 radiation days and 90 days of FHSZ for the same year.

What Checks Should Be Made in the Expert Report?

• [ ] Were the work periods separated by the boundaries of October 1, 2008 and August 3, 2018?
• [ ] Were the 4/a, 4/c, 4/b and Law No. 5434 services classified correctly?
• [ ] Were the row 11 and row 20 days shown separately?
• [ ] Were duplicate 60 and 90 days written for the same day?
• [ ] Were normal premium days other than FHSZ preserved?
• [ ] Were radiation leave, annual leave, medical report, paid/unpaid leave and holidays separated?
• [ ] Were holiday/on-call days actually worked assessed with evidence?
• [ ] Were part-time hours converted to days according to the statutory daily time?
• [ ] Does the monthly total exceed 30 days?
• [ ] Were periods of fewer than 360 days prorated?
• [ ] Was the five-year ceiling on adding days to premium days applied?
• [ ] Was the 3,600 covered-day threshold separately checked for the age reduction?
• [ ] Was the age reduction calculated with half of the FHSZ and the three-year maximum limit?
• [ ] Were the old Law No. 5434/506 periods mixed into the Law No. 5510 formula?
• [ ] Was the retirement date simulated with the person’s personal entry, transition and award conditions?

Compliance Protocol for Employers and Health Institutions

• [ ] Is each employee’s daily duty and device rotation recorded?
• [ ] Are row 11 and row 20 days separated from each other?
• [ ] Are leave, medical report and out-of-scope duty days removed from the FHSZ document?
• [ ] Are the covered and non-covered days of the month reported with the correct document types, without exceeding a total of 30 days?
• [ ] Are the device licenses, controlled area plan and radiation safety records up to date?
• [ ] Are PACS/RIS/HBYS and device audit logs stored with a tamper-proof audit trail?
• [ ] Is the employee given an FHSZ day statement by year and month?
• [ ] Are public personnel’s HİTAP and FHZ determination certificates updated?
• [ ] Have the SGK’s 2026 premium rates and the current document type list been entered into the payroll software?
• [ ] Is the process of voluntary correction and additional premium for incorrect reporting operated?

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Everyone Who Uses Radiation Leave Receive FHSZ?

No. There are many situations in which the rights overlap; however, radiation leave depends on hours in the controlled area, whereas FHSZ depends on actual work in the job in Article 40 and on risk. Each right is proven under its own conditions.

Does a Radiology Worker Automatically Earn 90 Days a Year?

No. 90 days is the counterpart of 360 covered days. After leave, medical report and out-of-scope periods are subtracted, the remaining days are prorated.

Does a Health Worker Receive 60 Days and a Radiation Worker 90 Days?

On a day when radiation work is performed, 90 applies if the row 11 conditions are met; another in-scope health work day is subject to the 60-day rate under row 20 after August 3, 2018. The two rates are not added for the same day.

Does No Right Arise Before 3,600 Days Are Completed for FHSZ?

Incorrect. The addition of FHSZ to premium days is proportional to the covered days worked. 3,600 days is required for the reduction from the age limit for radiation/health workers.

Is 3,600 Days Ten Years of Work?

Generally no. Because days not actually worked within FHSZ scope are subtracted, a longer period on the calendar may be required.

Does an MRI Worker Receive FHSZ?

The MRI device alone does not generate ionizing radiation; therefore, row 11 does not apply automatically. If the person performs in-scope health service as a member of the health professions, row 20 after August 3, 2018 may be examined separately. If the same person has CT/X-ray/fluoroscopy duty on different days, those days are assessed under row 11.

Are Radiation Leave Days Also Deleted from Normal Premiums?

No. A paid leave day may be a premium day for ordinary insured status. The distinction here is that the day is not separately counted as an FHSZ covered day.

Can the Employer Correct FHSZ Retroactively?

Depending on the period of the error and the type of report, supplementary/cancellation/correction documents, premium difference and an SGK review may be needed. The employer’s written application and submission of documents make the process easier; if the SGK does not accept, the judicial route is considered.

What Should I Do If FHSZ Does Not Appear in the e-Devlet Service Statement?

First request the employer’s periodic reports, then the SGK/HİTAP record, in writing. Preserve the device, shift and log evidence. Do not be satisfied with only a verbal human resources answer.

Is Mediation Mandatory Before an FHSZ Case?

As a rule, no, for a mere social security registration/FHSZ determination. For radiation leave pay, severance pay or other claims arising from employment, mandatory mediation is separately required.

Is There a Five-Year Period in FHSZ Determination?

For compulsory insured status never reported, the five-year time limit for bringing an action under Article 86/9 of Law No. 5510 comes up. The same result does not follow automatically in the correction of the FHSZ status and code of reported service. A definitive answer about the time limit should not be given without seeing the file documents.

By How Many Years at Most Does FHSZ Reduce the Retirement Age?

For radiation and health workers, half of the FHSZ, if the 3,600-day threshold in the law is met, is deducted from the age for a maximum of three years. In the 60-day health row alone, because of the five-year premium addition ceiling, the practical maximum half reduction is 2 years 6 months. Old Law No. 5434/506 services are calculated separately.

Does FHSZ Move the Insurance Start Date Back?

No, in every case. The 2024 decision of the Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation emphasizes that the service and age effect of FHSZ differs from moving the insurance start back.

Do Civil Servants and Workers Go to the Same Court?

Not necessarily. 4/a and post-Law No. 5510 social security disputes are mostly heard in the labor court; former public service under Law No. 5434 and administrative act disputes may be heard in the administrative courts. A case should not be filed without determining the period and the claim.

What Work Does Güneş & Güneş Law Firm Carry Out in These Files?

Güneş & Güneş Law Firm plans the following legal and technical work together, depending on the scope of the file:

• Analysis of insured status, work period and competent court
• A period table of Laws No. 506–5434–5510 and rows 11 and 20
• Comparison of e-Devlet, HİTAP, MUHSGK/APHB and award records
• A map of evidence: radiation leave, shift, PACS/RIS/HBYS, device and dosimeter
• Preparation of preliminary applications to the SGK and the employer
• Building the strategy for SGK inspection, labor court or administrative court
• Review of the expert’s FHSZ and retirement calculation
• Coordinating radiation leave claims and FHSZ claims without confusing them with each other

Güneş & Güneş Law Firm has provided legal services since 1999, based in Antalya. The outcome of each file depends on the work records, the start of insurance, the legislative period and the assessment of the competent authority; no guarantee of outcome can be given.

Conclusion

Although FHSZ and radiation leave may touch the same radiation risk, they are two rights with different purposes, calculations and judicial routes. Radiation leave provides for the employee’s rest; FHSZ provides for the correction of premium days and, if the conditions are met, the retirement age, in return for actual work in covered work.

A correct examination does not end with the question “Am I a radiology worker?” On which date the person was subject to which insurance regime, which device and job was performed each day, which of the 90- or 60-day rows applies, how leave is separated, with which document type the SGK was notified, and whether the 3,600-day threshold has been reached in the retirement calculation must be determined together.

Core legal conclusion: The existence of radiation leave does not automatically give rise to FHSZ; nor does the existence of FHSZ show that radiation leave was granted. Each right must be protected through its own material facts and the correct procedural route.

Confidentiality and Legal Information

This content is for general legal information purposes. It does not constitute an individual opinion or a guarantee of outcome without an examination of the specific work period, insured status, device, duty, SGK reporting and retirement conditions.

PACS/RIS/HBYS and patient procedure records may contain special categories of personal data. Documents shared with Güneş & Güneş Law Firm are handled within the framework of attorney professional secrecy, the duty of confidentiality and the legislation on the protection of personal data; patient data should not be sent through insecure channels.

Sources and legal bases

Official Legislation and Institutional Sources

• Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance, in particular Article 40, Provisional Article 4 and Provisional Article 7.
• Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for the Application of the Actual Service Period Increment (Fiilî Hizmet Süresi Zammı Uygulamasının Usul ve Esasları Hakkında Yönetmelik), Official Gazette, September 27, 2008, No. 27010.
• Law No. 7146, Article 11; row 20 relating to members of the health professions.
• SGK — Actual Service Period Increment (Fiilî Hizmet Süresi Zammı), summary of premium days and age reduction.
• SGK — Law No. 5434 and Law No. 5510 (5434 sayılı Kanun ile 5510 sayılı Kanun), explanation of the transition for public officials.
• SGK — 2026 Employer Premium Rates (2026 işveren prim oranları), 4/a FHSZ rates.
• Labor Courts Law No. 7036, in particular Article 4.
• Regulation on Health Services Provided Using Ionizing Radiation and Radionuclides (İyonlaştırıcı Radyasyon ve Radyonüklit Kullanılarak Sunulan Sağlık Hizmetleri Hakkında Yönetmelik), Official Gazette, April 13, 2023, No. 32162.
• Law No. 3153, in particular Supplementary Article 1.

Judicial Decisions

• Court of Cassation 10th Civil Chamber, E.2018/1274, K.2018/6931, September 24, 2018; full text.
• Court of Cassation 10th Civil Chamber, E.2021/11904, K.2022/8443, June 2, 2022; accessible decision record.
• Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, E.2024/10-151, K.2024/359, July 3, 2024; accessible full text.
• Court of Cassation 10th Civil Chamber, E.2024/1392, K.2024/6888; accessible decision text.
• Court of Jurisdictional Disputes (Uyuşmazlık Mahkemesi), E.2022/134, K.2022/213, April 18, 2022; allocation of jurisdiction in an FHZ/pension award dispute from the Law No. 5434 period.
• Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi), E.2010/29, K.2010/90, July 16, 2010; Norm Decisions Information Bank (Norm Kararlar Bilgi Bankası).

Academic Sources

• Çopuroğlu, Çağlar, “Case Review: Actual and Notional Service Period Increment (Karar İncelemesi: Fiilî ve İtibarî Hizmet Süresi Zammı),” Work and Society (Çalışma ve Toplum), 2023/3, pp. 1091–1122; full text.
• Çavuş, Ö. Hakan, “Regulations on the Actual (Notional) Service Period Increment in the Social Security System and Practices of the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Sisteminde Fiilî (İtibarî) Hizmet Süresi Zammı Düzenlemeleri ve Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu Uygulamaları),” Work and Society (Çalışma ve Toplum), 2015/1 (44), pp. 113–150.
• Başbuğ, Aydın, The Actual Service Period Increment in Our Social Security System and Application Problems (Sosyal Güvenlik Sistemimizde Fiilî Hizmet Süresi Zammı ve Uygulama Sorunları), Petrol-İş, Ankara, 2017.
• Tuncay, A. Can / Ekmekçi, Ömer, Lectures on Social Security Law (Sosyal Güvenlik Hukuku Dersleri), 21st ed., Beta, Istanbul, 2021, pp. 549 et seq.
• Arıcı, Kadir, Turkish Social Security Law (Türk Sosyal Güvenlik Hukuku), 2nd ed., Gazi Kitabevi, Ankara, 2022, pp. 520 et seq.
• Pekşen, Miraç Şamil, “Radiation Leave from the Labor Law Perspective (İş Hukuku Boyutuyla Şua İzni),” Work and Society (Çalışma ve Toplum), 2025/4; article page.