In Turkey, a journalist is not covered by Labour Law No. 4857. Journalists have their own statute: Law No. 5953 on the Regulation of Relations Between Employees and Employers in the Press Profession. This guide answers the questions that arise under that Law, in the order they come up — from the contract to the final settlement — with article numbers throughout.
First: Who Counts as a Journalist?
The Law creates a separate regime for intellectual and artistic workers who fall outside the definition of "worker" in Law No. 4857. Its scope was widened in 2022.
| Organisation within scope | Note |
|---|---|
| Newspapers | — |
| Internet news sites | Added by Law No. 7418 — in force from 18/10/2022 |
| Periodicals | — |
| News and photo agencies | — |
| Outside scope | Civil servants and public employees of the State, provinces, municipalities and state economic enterprises (Art. 2) |
Key Numbers
| Subject | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Daily working time | 8 hours | Add. Art. 1 |
| Overtime ceiling | 3 hours a day | Add. Art. 1 |
| Overtime premium | 50%; hours after 00:00 at double | Add. Art. 1 |
| Annual leave | 4 weeks; 6 weeks after 10 years in the profession | Art. 21 |
| Weekly rest | 1 day; 2 days for continuous night work | Art. 19 |
| Notice by the employer | 1 month under 5 years' seniority, 3 months at 5 years and above | Art. 6 |
| Notice by the journalist | 1 month | Art. 7 |
| Probation | 3 months maximum — only on first entry to the profession | Art. 10 |
| Trainee ceiling | 10% of the contracted editorial staff | Art. 10 |
| Annual bonus | At least one month's pay | Art. 14 |
| Death benefit floor | Three times the monthly wage | Art. 18 |
| Sickness termination threshold | 6 months | Art. 12 |
| Pay during a publication break | 2 months | Art. 17 |
| Contract notification | 15 days | Art. 9 |
1. Scope and Contract
- Who is a journalist? Who does Law 5953 cover?
- Are internet news site staff covered by Law 5953?
- Which law covers broadcast newsroom staff?
- Is a social media editor an intellectual worker?
- Are freelance journalists covered by Law 5953?
- Must a journalist's contract be in writing?
- How long is the probation period for journalists?
- Law 5953 vs Labour Law 4857: the differences
- The penalty for employing a journalist without a written contract
2. Pay
- When must a journalist be paid?
- Must journalist wages be paid through a bank?
- Is the annual bonus mandatory?
- Is separate pay owed for work outside the contract?
- What happens if wages are paid late?
The most frequently overlooked item in this section is the annual bonus: Article 14 requires a payment of at least one month's wage at the end of each year of service, and Law 4857 has no equivalent.
3. Working Time and Overtime
4. Leave
- How many weeks of annual leave?
- Which seniority counts for annual leave?
- How many weekly rest days?
- What compassionate leave is available?
- The penalty for denying annual leave
The right to annual leave cannot be waived (Art. 21). Paying money instead of granting the leave therefore does not discharge the obligation; the sanction in Article 29 continues to apply.
5. Termination and Severance
- How long is the notice period?
- How is severance pay earned?
- How is seniority calculated?
- Does taking severance reset seniority?
- Can severance be paid in instalments?
- Does a journalist who resigns get severance?
- When can a journalist terminate immediately?
- Do journalists have job security protection?
6. Special Situations
The Law sets separate rules for sickness, military service, pregnancy, detention, closure of the publication and death.
7. Supervision, Notification, Unions and Courts
8. Minimum Staffing and the Official Announcement Link
The employment regime does not stand alone. The right to publish official announcements depends on the newspaper maintaining a minimum staff of intellectual workers, and who may be counted on that staff is determined by decisions of the Press Advertising Agency. A written contract compliant with Law 5953 is the common foundation of both regimes.
Constitutional Court Annulments
Three provisions of this Law have been annulled in recent years. Anyone doing the calculations needs to know all three; many online sources are still written against the pre-annulment text.
| Decision | Annulled | Effective | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19/9/2019 — E.2019/48, K.2019/74 | Second sentence of Add. Art. 1 on the timing of overtime payment | 19/11/2019 | The premium rates and the obligation to pay remain in force |
| 25/12/2019 — E.2019/108, K.2019/101 | Second paragraph of Art. 14 | 14/2/2020 | The 5% daily late-payment surcharge was removed |
| 4/5/2023 — E.2021/62, K.2023/89 | First paragraph of Art. 6 and the second sentence of the compensation paragraph | 14/6/2023 | The statutory text does not reproduce the content of the annulled provisions |
Articles 20 and 28 of the Law were annulled much earlier, by the Constitutional Court decision E.1992/36, K.1993/4 of 20/1/1993.
Bottom Line
Journalists in Turkey are governed by Law No. 5953, not by Labour Law No. 4857. Since 18/10/2022 the intellectual workers of internet news sites are included. The regime differs from ordinary labour law on seniority (total service in the profession), annual leave (4 or 6 weeks), the mandatory annual bonus, and overtime after midnight paid at double.