Newsletter-21

341 LABOR LAW Entitlement to Overtime Payment* Att. Yesim Tokgoz Labor Law is a branch that is developed by jurisprudence rather than through codes and communiqués. Many notions of this branch have been formed through Court of Cassation decisions, and these notions are common in practice. One of these notions is white col- lar – blue collar employee distinction. Even though this distinction exists neither in the Labor Code, nor in any other code or communi- qué, Turkish Law adopted this distinction, as is the case with all legal systems around the World, and Labor Code’s provisions are adapted to this distinction through jurisprudence. Another notion formed through Court of Cassation decisions in Labor Law is the equity reduction made in favor of the employer, and is related to overtime work. This article will shed light on white collar workers’ entitlement to overtime payment and equity reduction on overtime work payments. Overtime Work Payments Detailed information regarding overtime work was shared in our previous article 1 . Within this scope, it was stated that the employees can make overtime work, only after their written approvals, and that these approvals are to be taken from the employees at the beginning of each year and retained in each employee’s personal file. Overtime payment for each hour of overtime work is calculated by increasing the normal hourly wage by 50%. The application of these regulations differs between white collar employees – who gain a permanent salary each month, and blue collar employees – whose salary depends on the hours worked. As stated * Article of October 2016 1 For more information http://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/publications/law-post/over- time-work-and-working-with-extra-periods/ (Accessed on 22.10.2016)