First, excuse leave (mazeret izni) is divided into two categories. The first includes mandatory leaves that must be granted, such as in cases of death, birth, breastfeeding leave, paternity leave, marriage, and wedding. The second category covers other situations not listed above, where leave may be granted at the discretion of the supervisor.
One important point to note is that, apart from the mandatory cases mentioned above—such as death, birth, and weddings—other discretionary excuse leaves are limited. Civil servants may use these discretionary leave days either all at once or in portions, but total usage is restricted to no more than 10 days within any one year.
How Are Leave Approvals Obtained?
What is the first step to take when applying for mandatory excuse leave? The teacher must prepare a written leave request (a mazeret izni dilekçesi) that explains the details of the excuse and submit it to the school principal. After reviewing and approving the request, the principal records the granted mandatory leave in the MEBBİS system. A copy of the approval is also placed in the teacher’s personnel file.
Public Servants Cannot Be Penalized for Taking Mandatory Excuse Leave
An incident occurred in Hatay province where a civil servant at a public institution did not attend work without submitting a formal leave form, because his father-in-law had passed away and he was handling funeral arrangements. The regional directorate initiated an investigation and imposed a salary deduction penalty on the employee for unauthorized absence.
In the first-instance administrative court, the decision to impose the penalty was upheld. The court found the punishment justified because, at that time, no written leave request had been submitted and therefore there was no documented excuse for the absence.
On appeal, the Council of State (Danıştay) 12th Chamber overturned the administrative court’s ruling. The Chamber concluded that even without a written leave request, the civil servant had a legitimate reason for taking excuse leave and that applying a financial penalty was not justified. The Danıştay emphasized that public servants should not be punished for taking excuse leave granted for legitimate reasons, and it annulled the lower court’s decision.