Which leaves did the 2026 amendment change?
Law No. 7578, through its provisions that entered into force on May 1, 2026, amended Article 74 and Supplementary Article 2 of the Labor Law. The post-birth part of maternity leave was raised from eight weeks to sixteen weeks, and the general total from sixteen weeks to twenty-four weeks. The last period in which an employee in suitable health may work with a physician’s approval and at her own request was also shortened from three weeks before birth to two weeks. The paid leave of an employee whose spouse gives birth was raised to ten days. [K02][K03]
That an old brochure or institutional page still says sixteen weeks does not change the new statutory provision. On the other hand, it is also not correct to apply the new period without limit to all leaves completed in the past. The date of the event, whether the leave was ongoing and the scope of the transitional provision must be determined separately. The employer’s leave software, payroll system and human resources form should use the same current arrangement.
The transitional provision is not a continuously open right of application
The law’s temporary provision provided, for some employees whose former maternity leave had ended on the date of entry into force, where the twenty-four-week period from birth had not been completed as of April 1, 2026, for eight weeks of additional leave on condition of a request within ten working days from entry into force. This dated condition is not an application period that anyone can use again as of October 29, 2026. When a request made or rejected in the past is examined, the application date and the conditions on that date should be investigated from the file. [K02]
The distinction between employees and civil servants
That the same law also amended provisions for civil servants does not mean that all of an employee’s rights are the same as a civil servant’s. For example, whether leave given to a foster family is paid may differ according to status. Labor Law Article 74 contains a special provision stating that it also applies to employees working under an employment contract who fall outside the general scope of the Law. For other rights, the law to which the person is subject is determined separately. [K01][K02]
How is maternity leave planned?
General period and multiple pregnancy
In a single pregnancy, eight weeks before and sixteen weeks after birth are taken as the basis. In a multiple pregnancy, two weeks are added to the pre-birth period; the general total reaches twenty-six weeks. These periods are not days to be deducted from the employee’s annual paid leave. At the start of the leave, the expected date of birth and the date the report was issued should be recorded together, and when the birth takes place the calculation should be redone according to the actual date. [K01][K02]
Continuing to work with a physician’s approval
A female employee in suitable health may work up to two weeks before birth, provided that, besides a physician’s approval, her own request exists. The employer’s workload or staffing need alone is not sufficient. Pre-birth periods worked in this way are added to the post-birth period. An employee’s not wishing to work cannot be used as a ground for pressing her to give up the leave she may lawfully use. [K02]
In the carry-over calculation, the report and actual work are assessed together
Hypothetically, if six weeks of the eight-week pre-birth period were worked in a single pregnancy with a physician’s approval and at the employee’s request, that period is carried over to the post-birth period. Its applicability is verified by the dates covered by the report and the actual work record. Hypothetical days set in a calendar should not be used as a definite return date without knowing the employee’s actual date of birth.
Premature birth, extension for health reasons and the mother’s death
In a premature birth, the periods of non-employment that could not be used before birth are added to the post-birth period. Where the state of health and the nature of the work require it, the periods may also be increased by a physician’s report. If the mother dies at birth or afterwards, the post-birth periods that could not be used are allowed to the father. This right rests on a legal ground different from ordinary paternity leave. [K01]
Protection of the employee during pregnancy
A pregnant employee must be given paid leave for periodic check-ups. When a physician’s report finds it necessary, she must be given lighter work suited to her health, with no reduction in her wage on that account. The employer should examine not only the leave date but also the physical load of the work performed, the shift, travel and the requirements of the health assessment. [K01][K12]
It is not appropriate to distribute information on a pregnancy to all managers as a detailed health file. The work restriction and leave date necessary for planning should be separated from medical details; access to health data should be limited by duty and legal necessity. In leave planning, the current processing conditions and security measures in KVKK Article 6 are applied. [K07]
An employee’s pregnancy or maternity leave cannot be turned into a ground for discriminatory dismissal. However, this does not mean that, for all types of contract, pregnancy can never be a ground for termination under any condition. The real reason, the nature of the contract, the scope of job security and Labor Law Articles 5, 18 and 25 and the related provisions are assessed together. In a discrimination claim, timing, earlier performance records, correspondence and treatment of comparable employees matter. [K01]
The leave right and the right to income and allowance are different
SGK maternity allowance
The period during which an employee must not be employed and her receiving a temporary incapacity allowance from the social insurance system are not the same legal relationship. The allowance depends on insurance status and contribution conditions. The employer’s obligation to pay wages, in turn, is determined together with the wage system, the employment or collective agreement and the relevant statutory provisions. For this reason it cannot be said that in every maternity leave the employer will definitely pay the full salary in addition, or that no employer will pay wages. [K01][K02][K13]
The entry of reports into the system, the accuracy of notifications of non-work and the offsetting relationship between allowance and wage should be kept clear in payroll. Showing in the records as not working an employee who is actually made to work during leave is not a safe practice. The changes in the social security provisions of Law No. 7578 should also be reflected together in report and payment processes. [K02]
İŞKUR half-time work allowance
The right to unpaid leave of half the weekly working time after birth or adoption arises from Labor Law Article 74. The İŞKUR allowance, in turn, separately depends on at least six hundred days of unemployment insurance contributions in the last three years, half-time work being carried out, the child being alive and the related application conditions. The conditions for the allowance may not have been met although there is a right to leave. [K09]
The application is made within thirty days from the end of maternity leave. Except for force majeure, the period of delay may be deducted from the total entitlement period. The daily amount is determined on the basis of the gross minimum wage in the legislation; this article does not guarantee a single total payment amount for all employees. [K09]
Half-time work, six months’ unpaid leave and part-time work
| Right | Basic scope | Distinguishing feature |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid leave of half the weekly working time | 60 days for the first birth, 120 for the second, 180 for subsequent ones | If its conditions exist, a separate İŞKUR allowance comes into play. |
| Multiple birth or child with a disability | An additional 30 days for multiple birth; 360 days for the birth of a child with a disability | Special conditions and documentation are required. |
| Unpaid leave of up to six months | On request after maternity leave | It is not the same right as the half-time work allowance. |
| Part-time work until school age | On the request of a parent who meets the conditions | Pay is according to working time; there are separate application and job-type rules. |
The rights in the table should not be thought of as a single leave package stacked without limit at the same time. Which right is used in which period, and the procedure for passing from one right to another, should be determined. During half-time work, daily nursing leave is not additionally applied. The period of six months’ unpaid leave is not taken into account in calculating the right to annual paid leave. [K01][K10]
Part-time work until school age
Under Labor Law Article 13 and the related Regulation, part-time work can be requested until the beginning of the month following the date on which the child reaches compulsory primary school age. As a rule, the request is notified in writing at least one month before use begins. The parents’ employment situation, the exceptions in the regulation and, for some jobs, the condition that the employer finds it suitable are examined separately. [K10]
This form of work is not the same as the half-time work right of sixty or one hundred twenty days. It cannot be assumed that there is a continuing İŞKUR allowance for the part not worked. The employee’s request, the days and hours to be applied, the characteristics of the work and the procedure for returning to full-time should be clarified in writing. Merely using leave or requesting part-time work cannot be made a ground for termination; in a dispute, it is assessed whether the conditions really existed. [K01][K10]
How is nursing leave used?
A female employee is given a total of one and a half hours of nursing leave per day to nurse her child under one year of age. Determining the hours and how to divide them belongs to the employee; this time is counted as part of the daily working time. The employer must set up planning in line with this right. Nursing leave cannot be shown as a meal break or an unpaid break to reduce pay. [K01]
The problem of bulk leave or waiver for money
Eliminating nursing leave, which is regulated to protect the daily need, by paying a lump sum at the outset, or converting it unilaterally into annual leave, does not take the place of the statutory right. The effect on the child’s need and on mandatory protection of a practice agreement made with the employee should be examined separately. The pay or compensation consequences that may arise where the employee was in fact made to work depend on the concrete work performed and on case-law assessment; a single automatic payment formula cannot be set up for all files.
For proof, the birth certificate, the nursing leave request, and shift, entry–exit and payroll records should be kept together. Assigning a meeting or shift duty in the hours said to have been allowed to the employee contradicts the leave record on paper. The record system should show the right actually used.
Paternity, adoption and foster-family leaves
The paid leave of an employee whose spouse gives birth under Supplementary Article 2 is ten days under the 2026 amendment. This right does not mean that the father can automatically use, in place of the mother, all the rights after maternity leave. Allowing the remaining period because of the mother’s death, adoption and part-time work rest on different provisions. [K01][K02]
On the adoption of a child who has not reached the age of three, one of the spouses or the adopting employee is provided eight weeks of maternity-status leave from the date of actual delivery. The increase of the total period to twenty-four weeks on account of birth does not automatically make the adoption period twenty-four weeks, which is not separately changed in the text. [K01][K02]
An employee who becomes a foster family for one or more children, together with a spouse or alone, is given ten days of unpaid leave at their request after the child is placed. This right, which is unpaid as far as the employee is concerned, should not be confused with the leave regulated for civil servants or with paid paternity leave. [K02]
The implementation file for employer and employee
In the leave file, the expected and actual dates of birth, the report, the request to continue working and the physician’s approval, the periods used, requests regarding the choice of rights, İŞKUR/SGK transactions and the return plan should confirm one another. The unit manager should manage the work plan, the payroll unit the payments, and authorized staff access to health data. This allocation of tasks is a recommended institutional arrangement and does not mean that the law requires a single standard form.
If a right is not allowed, the request and the reply should first be preserved in writing. In disputes over claims, discrimination or reinstatement, the route of application and the time limit are determined separately. For an employee within the scope of reinstatement, the rule of applying to a mediator within one month from the notification of the termination and, in case of failure to agree, filing suit within two weeks from the final record should not be overlooked. Continuing correspondence on leave does not stop these periods automatically. [K01][K05]
Transition and implementation scenarios after the 2026 amendment
Law No. 7578 was published on May 1, 2026 and, for employees, raised post-birth maternity leave to sixteen weeks, increasing the general total to twenty-four weeks. The transitional provision introduced a special arrangement for births on a certain date and a short application period; it is not a continuously open right to additional leave. [K02][K03]
| Situation | Matter to be reviewed | What should be in the file |
|---|---|---|
| Leave was ongoing on May 1, 2026 | Direct application of the new period and the return-to-work date | Date of birth, report, earlier leave plan and the new calculation |
| The former leave has ended but coverage by the temporary article is claimed | Date of birth, the April 1, 2026 threshold and the ten-working-day request | Written application and employer’s reply |
| Work continued with a pre-birth report | The upper limit of the period that can be carried over and the actual work | Physician’s report, attendance record and date of birth |
| Premature birth or multiple pregnancy | Pre-birth period not used and the additional two weeks | Hospital/birth document and calculation chart |
| Half-time work and allowance request | Separateness of the employer’s leave and the conditions of the İŞKUR allowance | Employer application, work schedule and İŞKUR record |
| Part-time work request | Regulation conditions, time of application and suitability of the work | Written request, reply and new work arrangement |
Updating employer procedures
If the old sixteen-week form, payroll software or leave code continues to be used, the statutory right cannot be shortened. Human resources, payroll, the workplace physician and the manager should use the same return-to-work date. Before an automatic absence or unpaid-leave code is entered, maternity leave, the report and the related applications should be checked.
Separating SGK and İŞKUR allowances from the employer’s leave
An employee’s work prohibition or right to leave and the conditions for the temporary incapacity or half-time work allowance are not the same. Rejection of an allowance application may not by itself remove the statutory leave; and the granting of leave does not mean that all the conditions of the allowance have been met. Payroll and contribution days should be notified in line with the actual work and leave position. [K09][K13]
Distinguishing adoption from foster family
Maternity-status leave connected with the adoption of a child who has not reached the age of three and leave given to a foster family are different legal institutions. In adoption, the date of actual delivery of the child and the spouse entitled; in foster care, the special leave introduced by the 2026 amendment and the delivery record should be assessed separately. It should not be assumed that the same periods automatically apply.
Return to work and equal treatment check
On return to work, duties, pay, fringe benefits and career conditions should not be worsened merely because leave was used. Adaptations necessary for health reasons should be carried out with the workplace physician and the risk assessment. How periods not worked will be assessed in the performance period of an employee who has used the leave right should be determined in advance and equally.
Date file for the employee
The expected date of birth, actual date of birth, period worked under a report, end of maternity leave, application for half-time work or unpaid leave, nursing leave plan and return-to-work date should be kept in a single chart. In this way, the overlap of different rights, or their accidental double counting, is avoided.
Conclusion
Correct application of birth and care rights requires more than knowing a single leave period. The maternity and paternity periods updated in 2026, daily nursing leave, allowance conditions and forms of work should be managed in separate records. Establishing consistency between the actual practice that allows the employee to use her right and the payroll and personnel file both protects the employee and prevents disputes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many weeks is maternity leave in 2026?
The general rule is twenty-four weeks, eight before and sixteen after birth. Multiple pregnancy and special cases based on a report are assessed separately. [K02]
What is the total period in a multiple pregnancy?
Two weeks are added to the pre-birth period; the general total is twenty-six weeks. The carry-over of unused pre-birth time is calculated separately. [K01][K02]
Is it mandatory to work until two weeks before birth?
No. The employee’s request and a physician’s approval are required; the employer’s unilateral request is not enough. [K02]
Is paternity leave paid?
The ten days of leave given on the spouse’s birth under Labor Law Supplementary Article 2 are paid. [K02]
Has adoption leave also been raised to twenty-four weeks?
No. The special eight-week arrangement in Art. 74 for the adoption of a child under three is assessed separately. [K01][K02]
What leave is given to an employee who becomes a foster family?
Ten days of unpaid leave are given at their request after the child is placed. [K02]
Does the employer determine nursing leave?
The employee determines at what hours, and divided into how many parts, the total of one and a half hours per day is used. The time counts as time worked. [K01]
Is nursing leave additionally used during the half-time work period?
During the unpaid leave of half the weekly period under Art. 74, nursing leave is not additionally applied. [K01][K10]
Does everyone with a half-time work right receive an allowance?
No. The İŞKUR allowance has separate conditions such as contributions, actual work and timely application. [K09]
When is the application to İŞKUR made?
An application should be made within thirty days from the end of maternity leave; the effect of delay on the entitlement period and force majeure are assessed separately. [K09]
Does the employer pay full salary throughout maternity leave?
The leave, the employer’s wage and the social insurance allowance are different. The contract, the wage system, insurance conditions and the relevant legislation are examined together. [K01][K13]
If the former leave has ended, can an additional eight weeks be requested today?
The transitional provision depended on a specific date and a ten-working-day application condition. It cannot be applied today as an open, unconditional right to additional leave for every past birth. [K02]
Related Labor Law Guides
- Labor Law Guide for Employers: Managing Documents, Time Limits and Legal Risk from Hiring to Departure: A guide to managing documents, time limits and legal risk in contracts, personnel files, leave, defense statements, termination and release, from hiring to departure.
- Which Documents Should Be Obtained from an Employee at Hiring? Employment Contract, Consents, Information and Delivery Records: The document framework at hiring for the employment contract, SGK notification, health, training, KVKK, overtime approval and delivery of equipment.
- How Is an Employee Personnel File Prepared? Mandatory Documents, Retention, Access and KVKK: Documents in the employee personnel file, electronic file security, access authorizations, retention periods, destruction and KVKK obligations.
Sources
K01 — Labor Law No. 4857; in particular Arts. 8, 11, 13, 15, 17–29, 32, 40–44, 53, 59, 74, 75 and 109. Together with the amendments of Laws No. 7555 and No. 7578. View source.
K02 — Law No. 7578 on Amendments to the Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws; adopted April 22, 2026, in particular Arts. 15–18, Provisional Art. 1 and the entry-into-force provisions. View source.
K03 — Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM), legislative record of Law No. 7578; Official Gazette May 1, 2026, No. 33240. View source.
K12 — Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, in particular Arts. 4, 15 and 17; Ministry of Labor and Social Security (ÇSGB) General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety frequently asked questions. View source.
K07 — Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data; Arts. 4–7, 9–12. KVKK explanation on Special Categories of Personal Data; employment and occupational health/safety obligations under Article 6 as amended by Law No. 7499. View source.
K13 — Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance; maternity allowance, notification and record obligations. Together with the amendments of Law No. 7578. View source.
K09 — Turkish Employment Agency (Türkiye İş Kurumu), Half-Time Work Allowance; conditions for benefit and application. View source.
K10 — Regulation on Part-Time Work after Maternity Leave or Unpaid Leave (Analık İzni veya Ücretsiz İzin Sonrası Yapılacak Kısmi Süreli Çalışmalar Hakkında Yönetmelik), Official Gazette 08.11.2016/29882; in particular Arts. 6–15. As to the length of maternity leave, the higher-norm change introduced by Law No. 7578 is taken as the basis. View source.
K05 — Labor Courts Law No. 7036; in particular mediation as a condition precedent to litigation, jurisdiction and the related transitional provisions. View source.