Flexibility Introduced in Weekly Rest Day Rules for Tourism Facilities

An amendment was made to Article 46 of the Labour Law No. 4857 (“Labour Law”), which regulates weekly rest day wage, with the Law No. 7553 dated 10 July 2025, titled “Law on Amendments to Certain Laws and to Decree Law No. 375,” which was published in the Official Gazette dated 14 July 2025 and entered into force on the same day. This amendment introduced significant flexibility for employers regarding the use of weekly rest days by employees working in accommodation facilities certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to the previous regulation, employees were entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest (weekly rest day) within a seven-day period, provided that they had worked on the working days determined in accordance with Article 63 of the Labour Law prior to the rest day. It was mandatory for this weekly rest period to be granted within the same seven-day period.

Under the new regulation, it has become possible to use at least 24-hour uninterrupted weekly rest period, which the employees are entitled to within a seven-day period, within four days following the day it is earned, upon written request or consent of employees working in accommodation facilities that hold a tourism operating license issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In such cases, if the employee works on the day they were originally entitled to rest, only the portion exceeding the legally permitted daily working time will be considered overtime. Additionally, employees have the right to withdraw their consent by providing written notice at least 30 days in advance.

To ensure the proper implementation of the regulation, it is of great importance that appropriate consent mechanisms are established through explicit provisions in employment contracts, or that written records of employee requests or consents are documented and kept on personnel files of employees.