Under the provision introduced by Law No. 6663, new regulations apply to women and men who give birth or adopt a child. In short, according to this law, women who give birth and women or men who adopt a child are entitled to receive a partial work allowance and payment for the days they do not work through İŞ-KUR.
After the expiration of the maternity leave period, female employees may be granted unpaid leave upon their request. This right also extends to women and men who adopt a child younger than three years old. The unpaid leave periods are set as follows:
- 60 days for the first birth
- 120 days for the second birth
- 180 days for subsequent births
Within this framework, reduced working time is granted for up to half of the weekly working hours. There are exceptions: in the case of multiple births, an additional 30 days are added to the above periods. For births of a child with a disability, the leave is extended to one year (365 days). Requesting reduced working hours is subject to the employee’s consent; the half-time arrangement applies only if the worker chooses it.
To be eligible for the partial work allowance after birth or adoption, certain conditions must be met. These conditions include:
- Beginning reduced work within the timeframes specified in Article 74 of Labor Law No. 4857
- Working up to half of the weekly working hours as defined in Article 63 of Law No. 4857
- Having at least 600 days of unemployment insurance premium payments in the last three years prior to the date of birth or adoption
- Applying to the İŞKUR unit within one month (30 days) from the end date of maternity leave for the allowance using the document for partial work after birth or adoption
All of these requirements are necessary to qualify for the partial work allowance following birth or adoption.
Duration of Entitlement to Partial Work Allowance after Birth and Adoption
The entitlement period for the allowance after birth and adoption begins on the day following the end of maternity leave and has been determined as eight weeks after birth. This period cannot extend beyond the final date shown in the second paragraph of Article 74 of Law No. 4857.
If there is any delay in applying, the delayed days are deducted from the entitlement period for the partial work allowance and payments are adjusted accordingly.
For example, a female employee whose eight-week maternity allowance ended on 16.04.2018 and who had a second child would, if she applied on 26.06.2018, lose 71 days of the 120-day entitlement due to delay and could only receive payment for the remaining 49 days.
Daily Amount of the Allowance and Insurance Contributions
The daily gross amount of the minimum wage is taken as the daily amount of the partial work allowance. These payments are not subject to taxes or deductions and are also exempt from stamp tax. For example, if you work half of your weekly hours, you receive payment for 15 days in a month. Payments also take into account sick leave and other days. If an employee worked one month with 10 days on sick leave and 20 days on reduced hours, the employer must pay the 10 days of sick leave wages. If the eligibility conditions for the partial work allowance after birth or adoption are met, those 10 days are covered by the allowance.
Social security contributions for the partial work allowance are calculated on the basis of the minimum insurable earnings and set at 32.5% for the relevant days. Pension and survivors’ insurance contribution rates are determined as 20% of the insured person’s insurable earnings. The general health insurance contribution rate is 12.5%. The period for which the partial work allowance is paid is calculated taking into account the contributions covered by the employer, but in any case the allowance paid in a month should not exceed 15 days.
Situations Where the Partial Work Allowance Will Not Apply
The partial work allowance is not applicable in the following situations:
- The allowance is not paid to those entitled to temporary incapacity benefits.
- If the child dies or the adoption process is annulled, payments are stopped from the date of that event.
- If an employee who is on unpaid leave equivalent to half the weekly working hours works another job during that leave, the period worked is taken into account and the employee cannot receive the allowance for that time.
- If the employee leaves their job, the allowance is stopped as of the termination date. If the employee starts a new job before the initially determined payment period expires, they may use the remaining entitlement in the new position, provided the original payment period is not exceeded.
An employer cannot prevent an employee from benefiting from the allowance after adoption or birth. The employee must notify the workplace of the request to receive the partial work allowance, typically by submitting a written application. The schedule and hours of the reduced work are determined by the employer, and payments are made based on the agreed working hours.