In recent days, various posts shared on social media and news platforms have suggested that the Court of Cassation has issued a new decision regarding the use of annual paid leave and that, pursuant to this decision, Saturdays should no longer be included in the calculation of annual leave periods. Below, we provide our legal assessment of the aforementioned decision, together with an analysis of whether Saturdays should be counted toward the duration of annual paid leave.

In essence, the decision addresses the principle that weekly rest days must not be deducted from an employee’s annual leave entitlement and does not reflect a legal position different from that prevailing prior to the decision.

Summary of the Court of Cassation’s Decision on Reversal in the Interest of Law;

The decision of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, dated 3 February 2026 and numbered Case N. 2025/9525 and Decision N.. 2026/757, is a decision “rendered through a reversal in the interest of law procedure”. According to the decision, the claimant alleged that he was entitled to 24 days of annual leave. The first-instance court dismissed the claimant’s request on the grounds that his annual leave entitlements had already been used. Upon review, however, the Court of Cassation determined that the claimant had taken annual leave between 12.03.2018-26.03.2018, and between 01.06.2020 – 15.06.2020, and held that the four weekly rest days falling within these periods could not be counted towards the annual leave period. Accordingly, the Court concluded that the claimant was entitled to payment corresponding to four days of unused annual leave.

Referring to Article 56/5 of the Turkish Labour Law No. 4857, which provides that:

“National holidays, weekly rest days and public holidays falling within the annual paid leave period shall not be counted towards the annual leave period.”

the Court of Cassation reiterated that weekly rest days occurring during the employee’s annual leave periods cannot be included in the calculation of annual leave entitlement.

In the present case, although the employee appeared to have taken a total of 28 days of annual leave, it was established that four weekly rest days fell within the relevant leave periods. Consequently, the Court held that the employee retained an entitlement to payment in respect of four days of unused annual leave.

In essence, it was held that one weekly rest day for each of the four weeks during which the employee took annual leave should be deducted from the annual leave entitlement. The decision does not, however, include any ruling or clarification as to whether Saturday qualifies as a weekly rest day or that it should not be excluded from the calculation of annual leave.

The Decision Does Not Introduce a New Legal Situation;

The decision attracted significant public attention mainly because it was perceived by many as introducing a new regulatory approach or a change in established jurisprudence. In fact, the Court of Cassation merely applied the express provision of Article 56/5 of the Turkish Labour Law No. 4857, which has long been in force, to the circumstances of the case.

In other words, this decision does not introduce for the first time the rule that weekly rest days are excluded from the annual leave period. The statutory provision has been consistently applied in this manner for many years.

No Change Regarding Saturdays;

The most frequently discussed issue following the decision relates to the treatment of Saturdays in the calculation of annual leave. Certain news reports and social media posts have suggested that Saturdays may no longer be deducted from annual leave entitlements. However, the Court of Cassation’s ruling does not support such an interpretation.

The key point to be noted is that the Turkish Labour Law excludes only days qualifying as “weekly rest days” from the calculation of annual leave. Whether Saturday is to be treated as a weekly rest day depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreement or the individual employment contract between the parties.

This point was also explicitly underlined in the decision of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 2 March 2021 and numbered Case N. 2021/897, Decision N. 2021/5272, which also referred to the principle decision issued following the merger of the 9th and 22nd Civil Chambers on the same issue. The relevant passage reads as follows:

The established case law of the Chamber is as follows: “Saturday may also be designated as a weekly rest day. Where Saturday and Sunday are designated as weekly rest days under individual or collective employment agreements, both days are excluded from the annual leave period pursuant to Article 56/5 of the Turkish Labour Law. In other words, Saturdays and Sundays falling within the annual leave period are deducted from the leave entitlement. However, where the individual or collective employment agreement expressly provides that Saturday, as an additional weekly rest day, shall be treated as a working day for the purposes of annual leave calculation or shall not be deducted from the annual leave period, such provision shall prevail. In such cases, only Sundays falling within the annual leave period are to be excluded from the calculation pursuant to Article 56/5 of the Turkish Labour Law.”

Accordingly:

Where the parties have stipulated in the individual employment contract or collective bargaining agreement that Saturday constitutes a weekly rest day and shall not be deducted from the annual leave entitlement, Saturday shall not be counted towards the annual leave period,

Where the parties have not concluded any written agreement stipulating that Saturday is a weekly rest day and shall not be deducted from the annual leave entitlement, Saturday shall be deemed an agreed contractual rest day and shall be included in the calculation of the annual leave period.

In conclusion;

The decision of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 3 February 2026 neither introduces a new approach to the application of annual leave nor modifies the existing legal framework. It merely applies the long-established principle under Article 56/5 of the Turkish Labour Law, pursuant to which weekly rest days are “excluded from the calculation of annual leave”, to the specific facts of the case.

With regard to Saturdays, as also stated in the decision referred to above, where it is expressly agreed in the employment contract or collective bargaining agreement that Saturday constitutes a weekly rest day, it shall not be counted towards the annual leave period. Whether Saturday is to be regarded as a weekly rest day, and consequently whether it should be deducted from annual leave, should be expressly regulated in employment contracts and workplace policies. Where it is intended that Saturday shall not be considered a weekly rest day and shall be deducted from annual leave, this should also be clearly stipulated. Such clear contractual regulation would eliminate the existing uncertainties in practice.