How should leave types other than annual leave be set up? Get balance, pay, document and day-counting rules right for compassionate, unpaid, maternity and paternity leave.
Leave management usually brings annual leave to mind first. Yet a large share of the requests HR receives during the year are of other kinds: marriage, bereavement, a partner giving birth, long unpaid leave, leave before and after childbirth. Each of these follows different rules on balance deduction, pay, documents and day counting. Recording them all under a single "leave" item leads to wrong balances and mistakes that reach payroll.
This article outlines the general framework of common leave types other than annual leave in Türkiye and how to set them up correctly in a leave system. Statutory durations can change over time, so when you define types, base them on the current legislation and any collective agreement you have. For annual leave rules, see our annual leave calculation guide.
Why each leave type needs its own definition
Defining a leave type really means answering these questions:
- Is it deducted from the employee's annual leave balance?
- Is it paid or unpaid?
- Can it be taken as a half day?
- Is a document (medical report, official record, etc.) required?
- Is the duration counted in working days or calendar days?
- What is the maximum number of days per request?
The answers differ by type. Bereavement leave, for example, should not come out of annual leave; unpaid leave does not affect the balance but does affect payroll. Once the answers are set per type, you no longer have the same debate on every request.
In HibritİK Leave & Overtime Management leave types are defined with exactly these settings: colour, balance deduction, paid, half day, mandatory attachment, working/calendar days and a per-request limit. Your leave policy becomes a set of rules applied automatically to every request.
Statutory paid leave for life events
Additional Article 2 of Turkish Labour Law No. 4857 provides paid leave when an employee marries, adopts a child, loses a parent, spouse, sibling or child, or when their spouse gives birth. The same article also grants paid leave during the year for the treatment of a child with a certain level of disability or a chronic illness. All durations are set out in the law, and this leave is not deducted from the annual leave balance.
In practice, it is better to define each event as its own type rather than a single "compassionate leave" type. That way you can:
- Give each type a per-request limit matching the statutory duration.
- Require the relevant document (for example a marriage or birth record) as a mandatory attachment.
- See in reports how often each kind of leave is used.
Leave defined by company policy
Many companies grant additional leave beyond the law: a moving day, a child's first day at school, short personal errands. This depends entirely on company policy. What matters is that the rule is written down and applied the same way to everyone. Allowing half days prevents a full day being used up for a short errand.
Practical tip: the statutory durations are minimums. If an employment contract or collective agreement grants longer periods, enter the period that applies in your company, not the one in the law.
Maternity and paternity leave
Maternity leave is governed by Article 74 of the Labour Law, which sets the periods before and after birth during which the employee may not be made to work, the rules for multiple pregnancies, and how time can be moved between periods depending on health. The same article also allows unpaid leave on request after postnatal leave ends. Leave for a father when his spouse gives birth is covered by Additional Article 2, mentioned above.
Points to watch when defining these types:
- Day counting: maternity leave is expressed in weeks, so counting calendar days is usually more accurate. Configure the type accordingly.
- Balance: maternity and paternity leave should not be deducted from annual leave.
- Documents: you can require a medical report or birth record as a mandatory attachment.
- Pay: where payments come from during maternity leave is a separate payroll question; set the paid/unpaid option according to your practice and confirm with the payroll team.
Rules on maternity and paternity leave come up for public debate from time to time and may change. After defining the types, tracking legislative changes and updating the settings belongs on HR's regular checklist.
Unpaid leave
Although the law provides for unpaid leave in some cases, it mostly rests on agreement between employee and employer: a long trip, education, caring for a family member. Unpaid leave does not affect the annual leave balance, but it does have consequences for pay and social security filings. Therefore:
- Define unpaid leave as its own type, with "paid" and "deduct from balance" both switched off.
- Route it through the HR step so payroll and filings are prepared correctly.
- Make sure the agreement is in writing and, if needed, require the written request as an attachment.
- Use a per-request limit so long unpaid leave gets a deliberate review rather than a routine approval.
Sick notes and other absences
Medical rest reports are not annual leave in legal terms and should not be deducted from the balance. Recording them as a separate type is the most practical way to show correctly on the team calendar who is away and when, and to keep documents in one place. The pay and benefit side of sick leave is handled separately in payroll.
Company calendar and day counting
Correct leave types only give correct results if the company calendar is correct. Public holidays falling within leave counted in working days should not be deducted, and only half a day should be counted on half-day eves. In HibritİK, public holidays, company-specific days and half-day eves are kept in the company calendar, and leave durations are calculated accordingly.
Leave type definition table
| Type | Deducted from balance? | Typical document | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | Yes | None | Earned by seniority and age. |
| Statutory life-event leave | No | Record of the event | Define each event as a separate type. |
| Maternity leave | No | Medical report | Calendar-day counting usually fits. |
| Paternity leave | No | Birth record | Enter the statutory duration as the request limit. |
| Unpaid leave | No | Written request | HR step and payroll check recommended. |
| Medical rest report | No | Medical report | Shows the absence correctly on the calendar. |
This table is a general starting point; finalise pay and document settings according to your policy, contracts and current legislation.
Common mistakes
- Keeping all leave under one type and deducting life-event leave from annual leave.
- Approving unpaid leave without telling the payroll team.
- Requesting documents by email without linking them to the leave record.
- Forgetting to update type settings when the law changes.
- Not entering additional rights granted by company policy.
Managing leave types with HibritİK
In HibritİK you define each leave type yourself with balance deduction, paid, half day, mandatory attachment, working/calendar day and per-request limit settings. Requests go through multi-step approval, approved leave appears on the team calendar, and you can export a leave cost report and Excel files for requests, balances and cost. To bring your leave policy into the system, start a 14-day free trial or get in touch with your questions.