In short
Under Additional Article 2 of the Labour Law, employees get 3 days of paid leave when they marry, adopt a child, or lose a parent, spouse, sibling or child, and 10 days of paid leave when their spouse gives birth. Law No. 7578 raised paternity leave from 5 to 10 days from 1 May 2026. This leave is never deducted from annual leave and counts as time worked for annual leave entitlement.
Key points
- Marriage, adoption and the death of a parent, spouse, sibling or child give 3 days of paid leave (Add. Art. 2(1)).
- Paternity leave is 10 days for births on or after 1 May 2026; 5 days applied to earlier births (Law No. 7578, Art. 16).
- For the treatment of a child who is at least 70% disabled or chronically ill, one parent may take up to 10 days of paid leave a year (Add. Art. 2(2)).
- This leave cannot be deducted from annual leave (Art. 56(4)) and counts as time worked for annual leave entitlement (Art. 55(ı)).
- The law does not say whether the days are working or calendar days; counting working days favours the employee and is the cautious approach.
How many days for which event?
These rights, often called "excuse leave" in practice, are set out in Additional Article 2 of Labour Law No. 4857. Its first paragraph was amended by Law No. 7578, published in the Official Gazette on 1 May 2026 (No. 33240) and in force the same day.
| Leave | Length | Pay | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriage | 3 days | Paid | Add. Art. 2(1) |
| Adoption | 3 days | Paid | Add. Art. 2(1) |
| Death of a parent, spouse, sibling or child | 3 days | Paid | Add. Art. 2(1) |
| Paternity (spouse gives birth) | 10 days (5 days for births before 1 May 2026) | Paid | Add. Art. 2(1); Law No. 7578, Art. 16 |
| Treatment of a child at least 70% disabled or chronically ill | Up to 10 days within a year, at once or in parts | Paid | Add. Art. 2(2) |
| Foster parent | 10 days on request after the child is placed | Unpaid | Art. 74(1) (added by Law No. 7578) |
Paternity leave: the 1 May 2026 change
Article 16 of Law No. 7578 replaced "five" with "ten" in Additional Article 2(1), raising paid leave for an employee whose spouse gives birth from 5 to 10 days. The length depends on the date of the event giving rise to the leave, the birth:
- Birth on or after 1 May 2026: 10 days
- Birth before 1 May 2026: 5 days
The transitional provision the law made for maternity leave (Provisional Art. 1) does not cover paternity leave. The mother's death is a separate case: if the mother dies at or after the birth, the postnatal maternity leave she could not use passes to the father (Art. 74(1)). See the maternity leave guide for details.
Marriage and adoption leave
An employee who marries gets 3 days of paid leave. Adoption gives two separate rights:
- 3 days of paid leave under Add. Art. 2(1), whatever the child's age.
- If the child is under three, 8 weeks of maternity-type leave under Art. 74(1) for one of the spouses or the single adopter, starting from the date the child is actually placed with the family.
Bereavement leave: who is covered?
Statutory bereavement leave applies only to a parent, spouse, sibling or child. Parents-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren fall outside the statutory scope.
An employer may still grant leave for these relatives. Such leave is "other leave granted by the employer": it counts as time worked for annual leave entitlement (Art. 55(j)) and cannot be deducted from annual leave (Art. 56(4)). Putting the rule in a written company policy makes it easier to apply consistently.
Treatment of a disabled or chronically ill child
Additional Article 2(2) provides up to 10 days of paid leave within a year, taken at once or in parts, for the treatment of a child who is at least 70% disabled or chronically ill. The conditions are:
- The leave is based on a medical report.
- Only one of the working parents may use it.
The law says "within a year" without specifying a calendar year or a service year. Because the other parent may work for a different employer, it is useful to ask the employee to confirm that the other parent has not used the leave.
The Labour Law has no general "companion leave" for accompanying a sick relative. In the private sector, the only statutory right in this area is the child treatment leave in Add. Art. 2(2).
Foster parent leave
Law No. 7578 added a sentence to Art. 74(1): an employee who becomes a foster parent to one or more children, with a spouse or alone, is granted 10 days of unpaid leave on request after the child is placed. The law does not say expressly how this leave affects annual leave entitlement. Our unpaid leave guide covers the general rules for unpaid leave.
Pay, annual leave and weekly rest
- Pay: All leave under Additional Article 2 is paid. Foster parent leave is unpaid.
- Not deducted from annual leave: Other leave granted by the employer cannot be set off against annual leave (Art. 56(4)). The Court of Cassation's 9th Civil Chamber has also held that excuse leave cannot be deducted from annual leave (E.2019/1172, K.2019/4261).
- Counts as time worked: Additional Article 2 leave counts as time worked when the annual leave qualifying period is calculated (Art. 55(ı)). The entitlement date does not move.
- Weekly rest: These days also count as days worked when the weekly rest day is calculated (Art. 46(b)).
Working days or calendar days?
Additional Article 2 simply says "days"; it does not distinguish working days from calendar days. No binding ministry opinion or Court of Cassation decision on the point was found.
- Calendar-day view: The prevailing view in law firm commentary is that calendar days apply, because the law says "days" rather than "working days".
- Working-day view: Others argue for working days on grounds of fairness.
Neither view is binding. Counting working days favours the employee and is lawful in every case, so the cautious approach is to count working days.
Example
Take a workplace that works Monday to Friday, with Saturday as a non-working day.
| Situation | Calendar days | Working days |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding on Friday 13 November 2026, leave starts that day (3 days) | 13–15 November; back on Monday 16 November | 13, 16 and 17 November; back on Wednesday 18 November |
| Birth on Monday 16 November 2026, leave starts that day (10 days) | 16–25 November; back on Thursday 26 November | 16–20 and 23–27 November; back on Monday 30 November |
The difference is two working days in both cases. Whichever method you choose, state it in your written policy and apply it to everyone in the same way.
When should the leave be taken?
Additional Article 2 does not say expressly that the leave must be taken on or right after the event. A purposive reading is that it should be taken on or close to the date of the event. There is also no confirmed view on whether the 10 days of paternity leave may be split, or how long after the birth they may be used. It is therefore advisable to assess requests that come long after the event case by case and to record your decision.
How İzin360 handles it
- Statutory types built in. Marriage, adoption, bereavement, paternity, disabled or chronically ill child treatment and foster parent leave are ready-made leave types, with lengths and legal bases defined by the legislation.
- Event date recorded. The request captures the date of the wedding, death, birth, adoption or placement. Paternity leave length follows that date: 10 days for births on or after 1 May 2026, 5 days before.
- Warnings before submitting. If leave starts long after the event date, the request screen shows a warning and HR makes the call.
- Working-day counting. The built-in excuse leave types count working days; weekly rest days and public holidays are not counted as leave days. This leave is never deducted from the annual leave balance and does not move the entitlement date.
- Documents and privacy. Documents such as a medical report are attached to the request; every file is virus-scanned and stored encrypted. Child treatment leave is a health-related type, so colleagues see only "On leave" on the team calendar; the type is visible to HR, the employee and their manager. Two-factor authentication is required to view health documents.
Read more about the request and approval flow on leave requests and approvals.
Frequently asked questions
How long is paternity leave for a child born before 1 May 2026?
If the birth took place before 1 May 2026, the previous length of 5 days applies. Law No. 7578 raised paternity leave to 10 days from 1 May 2026, and the length follows the date of birth.
Is there leave for the death of a parent-in-law or grandparent?
Statutory bereavement leave covers only a parent, spouse, sibling or child (Add. Art. 2(1)). An employer may grant leave for other relatives; such leave cannot be deducted from annual leave (Art. 56(4)) and counts as time worked for annual leave entitlement (Art. 55(j)).
What happens if marriage leave falls over a weekend?
The law simply says 3 days and does not distinguish working days from calendar days, and no binding view on the point was found. Counting working days favours the employee and is lawful in every case, so the cautious approach is not to count weekly rest days as leave.
Can excuse leave be deducted from annual leave?
No. Under Art. 56(4) of the Labour Law, other leave granted by the employer cannot be set off against annual leave, and the Court of Cassation's 9th Civil Chamber has held that excuse leave cannot be deducted from annual leave (E.2019/1172, K.2019/4261).
Is there statutory leave to accompany a sick relative?
The Labour Law has no general companion leave. The only statutory right is up to 10 days of paid leave a year for one parent for the treatment of a child who is at least 70% disabled or chronically ill (Add. Art. 2(2)). Beyond that, an employer may grant leave under its own policy.
Legal basis
- Labour Law No. 4857, Additional Art. 2 (as amended by Law No. 7578, Art. 16)
- Law No. 7578, Official Gazette 1 May 2026, No. 33240
- Labour Law No. 4857, Art. 74(1) (foster parents and adoption)
- Labour Law No. 4857, Art. 46(b), 55(ı), 55(j), 56(4)
- Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), 9th Civil Chamber, E.2019/1172, K.2019/4261