Annual leave decision affecting millions of employees

A public employee who combined their holiday break with their annual leave noticed that the days of the public holiday falling on the weekend were being deducted from their annual leave and took the matter to the Ombudsman Institution (KDK). Emphasizing that using annual leave for public holiday days is to the detriment of the employee, the KDK issued a recommendation that "public holiday days falling on weekends should not be deducted from the annual leave period."

WHAT DO THE INSTITUTIONS SAY?

According to the KDK's statement, the employee working in Isparta had combined the Eid al-Adha holiday between June 6-9 with their annual leave. However, upon seeing that the portion of the holiday falling on the weekend was added to their annual leave, they requested the return of the 2 days that were deducted in excess.

After receiving a negative response to their request from the institution, the employee applied to the KDK to have the deducted days returned.

In this context, the KDK requested information from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In the response provided by the Ministry, it was noted that the following statements were included in the opinion letter of the Presidential Administrative Affairs Directorate dated February 1, 2023:

"It was stated that Saturdays and Sundays falling within annual leave periods are included in the annual leave, while national holidays, public holidays, and periods considered as administrative leave by the Presidency that fall on working days within annual leave periods are not included in the annual leave."

Within this framework, it was reported that the days of Eid al-Adha falling on the weekend were included in the annual leave, while the portion falling on working days was not.

RECOMMENDATION FROM KDK: "ENSURE UNIFORMITY OF PRACTICE"

Finding the application justified, the KDK issued a recommendation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports that "public holiday days falling on weekends within annual leave dates should not be added to the annual leave period."

Furthermore, the following proposal was sent to the Presidential Secretariat to ensure uniformity of practice across all public institutions:

"Public holiday days should not be deducted from the annual leave period, regardless of which day of the week they fall on."

The Presidential Secretariat's Directorate General of Personnel and Principles, in its response to the KDK, stated that the recommendation would be evaluated in future work.

KDK: "USING ANNUAL LEAVE FOR A PUBLIC HOLIDAY IS TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE EMPLOYEE"

In its decision, the Ombudsman Institution reminded that the right to rest is guaranteed by the Constitution, emphasizing that annual leave, weekends, and public holidays for civil servants are an inseparable part of this right.

The following assessments were included in the decision:

"Annual leave is a period that employees use as a right to rest in return for the work obligations they fulfill throughout the year. Public holidays, such as Eid al-Adha, are days that are not worked and are declared holidays by law. Using annual leave for a day that is a public holiday creates a situation clearly to the detriment of the employee, narrowing the right to rest and leave guaranteed under the Constitution and Law No. 657.

Since holiday days falling on Saturdays and Sundays within annual leave dates qualify as public holidays according to Law No. 2429, it has been concluded that they should not be deducted from the annual leave period, and that necessary measures should be taken to ensure that public holiday days are not deducted from the annual leave period regardless of which day of the week they fall on, in order to ensure uniformity of practice in all public institutions and organizations."

News Source: 12punto