Amendments Introduced by Law No. 7578 in the Fields of Labor, Social Security and Tax
Law No. 7578 on the Amendment of the Social Services Law and Certain Laws was published in the Official Gazette dated 1 May 2026 and numbered 33240. The Law introduces amendments in the fields of labor law, social security and certain tax regulations.
The main regulations under the Law that concern employers’ human resources, payroll, social security and tax processes are summarized below.
1. Maternity leave periods have been increased
With the amendment made to Article 74 of the Labor Law No. 4857, maternity leave periods for employees have been increased.
Under the previous practice, postnatal maternity leave was 8 weeks, and total maternity leave was 16 weeks.
With the new regulation, postnatal maternity leave has been increased to 16 weeks, and total maternity leave has been increased to 24 weeks.
Accordingly, maternity leave will be applied as a total of 24 weeks, consisting of 8 weeks before birth and 16 weeks after birth.
In addition, in certain provisions regarding leave periods used after maternity leave, the phrase “16 weeks” has been replaced with “24 weeks”, and the phrase “18 weeks” has been replaced with “26 weeks”.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
2. The period for transferring prenatal leave to the postnatal period has been changed
An amendment has been made to the regulation allowing a female employee, where her health condition permits, to work until a certain period before birth and to transfer the unused prenatal leave period to the postnatal period.
In this respect, the phrase “three weeks” in the relevant provisions has been replaced with “two weeks”.
Accordingly, the new periods should be taken into consideration in planning the transfer of prenatal leave to the postnatal period.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
3. Additional maternity leave has been granted under the transitional provision
A special transitional provision has been introduced for personnel whose maternity leave periods have been re-regulated under the Law.
Accordingly, personnel whose maternity leave period prescribed under the relevant legislation had expired as of 1 May 2026, but who had not yet completed the 24-week period from the date of birth as of 1 April 2026, will be granted 8 weeks of additional maternity leave if they request it within 10 business days from 1 May 2026.
This regulation should be separately assessed particularly for employees who gave birth recently and whose maternity leave had ended under the previous regulation.
4. Paternity leave period has been increased
With the amendment made to Additional Article 2 of the Labor Law No. 4857, the paternity leave period granted to employees has been increased.
Under the previous practice, paternity leave was 5 days.
With the new regulation, paternity leave has been increased to 10 days.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
5. The periods forming the basis for temporary incapacity allowance under maternity insurance have been updated
With the amendments made to the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510, the periods forming the basis for temporary incapacity allowance in the case of maternity have been aligned with the increased maternity leave periods.
In this respect, the phrase “the eight-week periods before and after birth” has been replaced with “the eight-week period before birth and the sixteen-week period after birth”.
In addition, the phrase “three weeks” in the provision regarding the transfer of prenatal leave to the postnatal period has been amended as “two weeks”.
Under Article 15 of Law No. 5510, the postnatal maternity period has also been increased from 8 weeks to 16 weeks, and the phrase “the first ten-week period” in the provision regarding multiple pregnancies has been removed from the text of the article.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
6. Leave entitlement has been granted to employees who become foster families
With the amendment made to the Labor Law No. 4857, an employee who becomes a foster family, either together with their spouse or individually, for one or more children will be granted 10 days of unpaid leave upon request after the child is delivered.
Under the Civil Servants Law No. 657, civil servants who become foster families have also been granted 10 days of leave upon request after the child is delivered to the foster family.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
7. Optional insurance premium support for foster families has been regulated
With the amendment made to the Social Services Law No. 2828, a regulation has been introduced regarding the coverage by the Ministry of a certain portion of the premiums paid under optional insurance or participation by one of the spouses in foster families whose foster family agreement continues.
The support will be calculated over the daily lower limit of earnings subject to premium determined under Law No. 5510. Upon submission of the payment document, the calculated amount will be covered by adding it to the monthly payments.
However, persons who are optionally insured due to working less than 30 days in a month or not working full-time are excluded from the scope of this support.
In addition, in the event of the death of the spouse of the person for whom payments are made under this scope, the optional insurance premiums will continue to be covered.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
8. A prohibition on employment in workplaces where children are concentrated has been introduced
With the regulation added to the Child Protection Law No. 5395, persons who have final convictions for certain crimes are prohibited from operating, being employed in, or actually working in any capacity at certain workplaces where children are concentrated.
This scope includes educational institutions, school buses, school canteens, dormitories, nurseries, day-care centers, children’s clubs, internet cafés, e-gaming places, children’s sports schools and similar areas where children are concentrated.
Employees working in these workplaces are now required to submit to the employer, every six months, the official document showing that they are eligible to work in such workplaces.
In case of employment contrary to this provision;
- at the first stage, an administrative fine equal to 3 times the gross minimum wage will be imposed for each person employed in breach of the provision,
- if the breach is not remedied within the prescribed period, an administrative fine equal to 7 times the gross minimum wage will be imposed for each such person,
- if the breach continues, the relevant permits and licenses will be cancelled.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
9. Tax regulations have been introduced regarding donations and aid made to Darülaceze
With the amendments made to the Income Tax Law, Value Added Tax Law and Corporate Tax Law, regulations have been introduced regarding certain donations and aid made to Darülaceze.
In this respect, references to donations and aid made to Darülaceze have been added to the relevant provisions of:
- Articles 40 and 89 of the Income Tax Law,
- Article 17 of the Value Added Tax Law,
- Article 10 of the Corporate Tax Law.
This regulation may be taken into consideration by taxpayers making donations and aid in terms of expense, deduction or exemption applications.
Effective date: 1 May 2026
Conclusion
The amendments introduced by Law No. 7578 are particularly important for human resources, leave management, payroll, social security and tax processes.
In summary:
- Total maternity leave has been increased from 16 weeks to 24 weeks.
- Postnatal maternity leave has been increased from 8 weeks to 16 weeks.
- The period for transferring prenatal leave to the postnatal period has been reduced from 3 weeks to 2 weeks.
- Under the transitional provision, certain personnel have been granted 8 weeks of additional maternity leave.
- Paternity leave has been increased from 5 days to 10 days.
- The periods forming the basis for temporary incapacity allowance under maternity insurance have been aligned with the new leave periods.
- A 10-day leave entitlement has been introduced for employees who become foster families, and regulations have been made regarding premium support for foster families.
- A prohibition on employment in workplaces where children are concentrated and a document submission obligation have been introduced.
- Tax regulations have been made regarding donations and aid to Darülaceze.
In this respect, it is important for employers to review their human resources procedures, leave tracking systems, payroll and social security practices, employee handbooks and relevant internal policies in line with the new regulations.
Submitted for your information.
