In short
This writing tells the separation of the heads, the written request, the time off in lieu, and the order of mediation at the moment the overtime pay is not paid. The time sheet, the witness, and the card record are in the writing how overtime is proved. A delay of the bare wage is under the heading they are not paying my salary.
If you are working regularly after your normal working hour has ended, you are exceeding the statutory limit within the week, and you still do not see a counterpart on the payroll, first make your working arrangement measurable. A statement of "I work a lot" is not enough, on its own, for a calculation to be made; on which day you started at what time and finished at what time, and your rest breaks, matter.
A claim of overtime is often mixed with the pay for the weekly rest and for the national holiday and the general holiday. Each rests on different conditions and a different calculation. For that reason, the hours and the heads need to be separated before a written request, or an application for mediation. The text is for general information; the sector, the system of work, and the provisions of the contract are assessed separately in the concrete event.
First determine the concept of overtime correctly
In the general system in the Labour Code, work that exceeds forty-five hours a week is overtime. In workplaces where the weekly period was agreed below forty-five hours, the part that exceeds the period in the contract, but that goes up to forty-five hours, can be calculated differently as "work for additional periods". If equalisation is applied, a high period in some weeks is taken up, in the statutory conditions, together with a low period in the other weeks.
Only the time spent at the workplace is not counted as time worked. Rest breaks are as a rule deducted from the working time. Some periods in which the worker waited under the employer's orders, and certain periods spent on the road according to the nature of the work, can be counted as working time, however. The change of shift, and the operations of preparation and of closing, are also examined according to whether they are an actual duty.
For a correct assessment, these questions should be answered:
- How many hours is the normal weekly working time?
- What are the daily start and finish times?
- Is the rest break really given?
- Is there a system of equalisation, or of shifts?
- Is night work, or are special sector rules, applied?
- Is the work within the employer's knowledge and instruction?
Not every late leaving may be counted as overtime; regular work outside hours, which the employer assigned and from which they expected a result, can be put forward with records, however.
How is overtime pay calculated?
The general rule is that, for each hour of overtime, the normal hourly wage is increased by fifty per cent. In work for additional periods, the rate of increase is different. While the calculation is made, the gross wage in the relevant period, the weekly total period, and the rest breaks are taken as the basis.
There are methods of division used in practice to find the hourly counterpart of the monthly wage. The bare wage, the periodic rises, and the accruals on the payroll should be taken up together, however. Making a calculation going back, for years, over the same last wage can disregard the wages of the periods. In the expert examination, each period is calculated with its own level of wage.
The basic stages of the overtime calculation are as follows:
- The actual working time of each week is determined.
- The rest breaks are deducted.
- The hours that exceed the normal period are classified.
- The hourly wage of the relevant period is found.
- The statutory rate of increase is applied.
- The accruals paid on the payroll are set off.
If there is work on the day of the weekly rest, or on an official holiday, these should be shown inside the same table but in separate columns. The same hour should not be calculated twice.
The annual limit, and the worker's consent
The worker's consent for overtime, and the annual limit of two hundred and seventy hours, are important parts of the general frame. Exceeding this limit does not remove the pay for the work that exceeds it. Whether the working arrangement was built contrary to the statutory limits is debated separately, on the contrary.
The content of the consent the employer took each year, or within the scope of the contract, can be examined. The worker having given consent does not mean they accepted unlimited work. The rules of daily rest, of the weekly rest, of night work, and of occupational health and safety continue to be protected.
As regards some occupations, or reasons of health, overtime can be forbidden or limited. There are also special provisions in fields such as night work and underground work. For that reason, looking only at the calculation of forty-five hours can miss the protections that come from the sector.
If the contract has a clause that it is "included in the pay"
It can be written in employment contracts that the counterpart of overtime is included in the monthly pay. This clause does not automatically cover overtime of every amount. The level of the pay, the clarity of the clause, the statutory annual limit, and the actual hours are examined together.
In practice, clauses of this kind are often taken up as regards work up to the annual two hundred and seventy hours. Proved overtime above this amount can be calculated separately. If the pay is at the level of the minimum wage, or if the contract clause is uncertain, the validity of the defence of inclusion is assessed more carefully.
The employer can rely on the contract clause while showing zero overtime on the payroll. The worker has to prove the actual hours. For that reason the contract should be read not on its own, but together with the time sheet and the records of payment.
Where is the detail of the evidence?
The debate of the card, the time sheet, the witness, the message, and the expert is in the writing how overtime is proved. On this page stand the payroll accrual, the time off in lieu, the written objection, the justified termination, and the writing of the heads for mediation. Telling the same hour again on two URLs produces cannibalisation.
The effect of the payroll and of the bank payment
If there is an overtime accrual on the payroll, this figure should be compared with the payment that passed into the bank account. If the amount accrued was really paid, the same hours are not claimed again. If the payroll shows a payment only on paper, however, and the bank record does not confirm it, the dispute can continue.
The proving effect of a signed payroll without a reservation is stronger. If the worker puts forward that they worked more, they may need to show the hours beyond the payroll with written records. An unsigned payroll, or the records of a digital system, are also assessed according to their own conditions.
There being a fixed and very low overtime accrual every month on the payroll may not explain the real working arrangement on its own. While the court sets off the amounts that were paid, it examines the remaining claim over the evidence. For that reason the monthly payrolls should be classified one by one, and the accruals and the bank payments should be matched.
The option of time off in lieu
The worker can ask to use the counterpart of overtime as time off in lieu, instead of the increased pay. In the general system, one hour and thirty minutes of time off comes onto the agenda for each hour of overtime, and one hour and fifteen minutes for work for additional periods.
The time off should rest on the worker's written request, and it should be given within the statutory period, within the working times, and without a deduction from pay. It is not right for the employer later to count days of annual leave as "overtime leave". Annual paid leave, and time off in lieu, have a different aim and different rules.
In the record of use, it should be shown the work of how many hours on which date was made up on which day. Uncertain records of "leave was used" create a dispute of calculation both for the worker and for the employer. The worker should not hide the time off they used earlier while claiming pay; the employer should not make a one-sided assignment of leave either.
The objection to the employer, and the assessment of justified termination
If overtime is not paid, a written objection can first be sent to the payroll, or to human resources. In the objection, the period, the typical working hours, and the difference on the payroll if there is one, should be explained. A notification that contains measurable information is more functional than a general complaint.
Overtime pay that has accrued not being paid can, if the conditions are there within the scope of the pay being calculated short, form a reason of justified termination for the worker. Before this step is taken, however, the proof of the working hours and of the shortfall in payment should be reviewed. Giving an ordinary letter of resignation can make the real reason invisible.
If the justified termination is accepted, a worker for whom the conditions of severance are there can ask for severance pay. In a justified termination made by the worker, notice pay does not generally arise. Whether the wage claim is small or large, the continuity of the breach, and whether the employer made a correction, can play a part in the concrete assessment.
The process of mediation and of the action
For a claim of overtime, the mandatory process of mediation is applied before the action. In the application, heads such as overtime, the weekly rest, and the official holiday should be separated from one another. The period of the claim should also be stated as far as possible.
It is useful to join the meeting with this preparation:
- A typical weekly work chart
- A table of pay by period
- The overtime accruals paid on the payroll
- A short chronology of the written records
- Which period the persons who can be witnesses know
If an agreement is made, which period and which head it closes should be written openly. Only a total amount being stated can create a new debate about whether the claim for the weekly rest, or for overtime, remains open. If there is no agreement, the process of the labour court is assessed by keeping the final minute of mediation.
At the stage of the action, it is possible for the employer's records to be brought, for the witnesses to be heard, and for an expert calculation to be made. The court can make an assessment of equity in work that spreads over a long period and that is proved only by a witness. For that reason, keeping the written records reduces the uncertainty of the calculation.
Particular points in remote work, in shift work, and in field work
A worker who works remotely does not have an office turnstile record. The entries to the system, the meetings, the deliveries of duties, and the instructions outside hours can show the working arrangement, however. The employer being able to monitor the working hours with digital tools can also affect the debate of the duty to keep records.
In workplaces with shifts, the shift chart should be compared with the actual time of handover. A shift that appears as eight hours on paper can last longer because of the operations of preparation and of handover. The special limits of night work, and the protections of health, are examined separately.
For workers in the field, the route, the customer visits, the vehicle tracking, and the times duties are closed gain importance. The worker's going from home to the first customer, or returning from the last customer, is not assessed in the same way in every event; the organisation of the work, and the employer's instruction, are taken into account.
Limitation, and the calculation by period
A claim of overtime is subject to limitation. As regards a claim that accrues each month, the period can run separately. Because changes in the legislation, and the transitional provisions, can affect the old periods, a calculation should not be made over a single general date.
Waiting for a long time does not give rise only to a problem of limitation. The keeping periods of electronic records can run out, the workplace can close, or the witnesses can forget the working arrangement. Keeping the payrolls and the personal charts while the work continues is important for that reason.
The effect of the application for mediation on limitation, and the continuation of the period after the final minute, should be calculated according to the current provisions of procedure. If the period of the claim was written very narrowly in the application, a debate of scope can form as regards the later action.
Mistakes that are often made
In files of a claim of overtime, these mistakes are often seen:
- Making the calculation without deducting the rest breaks at all
- Counting the weekly rest and the overtime as the same head
- Calculating the whole period only over the last wage
- Not setting off the accruals paid on the payroll
- Presenting a single night message as if it were evidence of work that lasted for years
- Relying on the account of a witness for a period they did not work
- Trying to take records by entering the company system without authority
- Not stating the head of overtime in the application for mediation
For the employer too, relying only on a signed contract, not putting the real working hours on record, or giving the time off in lieu without a document creates important risks. A transparent system of time sheets and of payroll reduces the dispute of both parties.
The next step
First prepare a sample chart of one month; then determine in which periods this arrangement continued. Check whether there is a counterpart of overtime in the payroll and in the bank records. If payment is not made after a written objection to the employer, assess the options of justified termination and of mediation separately.
The general frame of employment claims is explained on the page of labour law, and the calculation of severance after termination in the guide on severance pay. A strong result in an overtime file arises not only from the claim of hours, but from a period classified correctly, consistent evidence, and the paid heads being set off honestly.
This content has the character of general information. The working arrangement, the rule of the sector, the limitation, and the evidence should be examined over the concrete event.
Where the overtime request is read from
The payroll, the time sheet, and the written request are read side by side. An overtime rate that is not written in the file is not added. The record of time off in lieu is not put in the place of the line of pay. The Çankaya office does not choose the court with venue.
Conclusion
Unpaid overtime is not carried to mediation without the head and the period being written. The proof is in the writing how overtime is proved. The claim of justified termination is under the heading the conditions of justified termination. Hours are not invented; the set-off of the payroll is not hidden.
A lawyer in Ankara does not write, in overtime, a rate that does not stand in the file.