What is UBGT?

What is UBGT? | What are National Holidays & Public Holidays? | Attorney Mustafa Yolcu

Which days are included in the National Holidays (UBGT) category?

Law No. 2429 Law on National Holidays and Public Holidays Public holidays are specifically regulated within our country. Article 2 of the aforementioned law lists these special days;

A) National Holiday:

October 29th is Republic Day. (It lasts for 1.5 days, starting from 13:00 on October 28th.)

B) Public Holidays:

1. April 23rd National Sovereignty and Children's Day
2. May 19th Commemoration of Atatürk and Youth and Sports Day
3. August 30 Victory Day

C) Religious Holidays:

1. Ramadan Bayram (Eid al-Fitr) lasts for 3.5 days, starting from 13:00 on the eve of the holiday.
2. Eid al-Adha lasts for 4.5 days, starting from 13:00 on the eve of the holiday.

D) Other Public Holidays

1. New Year's Day
2. May Day
3. July 15th

National Holidays and Public Holidays in Employment Contracts

Whether or not work will be performed on national holidays and public holidays can be determined by collective bargaining agreements or individual employment contracts signed between the employee and the employer. If the contracts do not contain any provision regarding this matter, the employee's consent must be obtained for working on national holidays and public holidays. (Labor Law Article 44) Collective bargaining agreements or individual employment contracts cannot contain stricter provisions regarding weekly rest days, national holidays, and public holidays than those stipulated in labor law. Such provisions can only be designed to benefit the worker. In other words, rights granted to workers by law cannot be restricted by an employment contract. (Labor Law Article 45)

National Holiday and Public Holiday Pay

Also, unpaid UBGT work receivables the highest interest rate applied to deposits will be implemented.

Proof of Working During National Holidays and Public Holidays

An employee who claims to have worked on national holidays and public holidays is responsible for proving this claim. A payslip bearing the employee's signature constitutes conclusive proof until its forgery is proven. In other words, unless the forgery of the payslip is alleged and proven, it is assumed that the holiday and public holiday pay payments indicated on the signed payslip have been made. If the relevant section on the payslip is blank or the payslip lacks a signature, the employee can prove that they worked on national holidays and public holidays with any kind of evidence.

Workplace records, particularly documents showing entry and exit times, and internal workplace correspondence, constitute written evidence regarding proof of work performed on national holidays and public holidays. However, if the work in question cannot be proven with such written documents, the outcome should be determined based on the witness statements presented by the parties. Nevertheless, the testimonies of witnesses who are unaware of, and could not possibly know, the work procedures at the workplace cannot be given weight.

Our department accepts that when national holiday and public holiday work is calculated over a long period and the amount is high, an equitable reduction should be applied. However, such a reduction is not applied when national holiday and public holiday work is based on written documents and employer records instead of witness testimonies which constitute discretionary evidence.

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS, 7TH CIVIL CHAMBER, CASE NO. 2015/11729, DECISION NO. 2016/18483

An employee claiming to have worked on national holidays and public holidays is obligated to prove this claim. A payslip bearing the employee's signature constitutes conclusive proof until its authenticity is proven otherwise. In other words, unless the forgery of the payslip is alleged and proven, it is assumed that the holiday and public holiday pay indicated on the signed payslip has been paid. If the relevant section on the payslip is blank or the payslip lacks a signature, the employee can prove that they worked on national holidays and public holidays using any available evidence.

Workplace records, particularly documents showing entry and exit times, and internal workplace correspondence, constitute written evidence in proving that work was performed on national holidays and public holidays. However, if the work in question cannot be proven with such written documents, the outcome should be determined based on the witness statements presented by the parties. Nevertheless, the testimonies of witnesses who are unaware of, and could not possibly know, the work procedures at the workplace cannot be given weight.

If signed payroll records show that national holiday and public holiday pay has been paid, the employee cannot claim to have worked more hours. However, if the employee has a reservation indicating that their entitlement is greater than what appears on the payroll, proof of work on national holidays and public holidays can be established with any kind of evidence. Even if the payroll records are signed and do not contain any reservations, it is still possible for the employee to prove with written evidence that they worked on national holidays and public holidays in addition to what is stated on the payroll.

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS, 22ND CIVIL CHAMBER, CASE NO. 2017/6346, DECISION NO. 2017/5530

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