Official sources reviewed: 8 September 2026
1. Short answer
For a private-sector employee subject to Labour Law No. 4857, maternity leave is 24 weeks in total in a singleton pregnancy: 8 weeks before birth + 16 weeks after birth. In a multiple pregnancy, the total is 26 weeks: 10 weeks before birth + 16 weeks after birth. These periods run in calendar days.
SGK temporary incapacity benefit for maternity (maternity temporary incapacity benefit) is a separate entitlement. For maternity benefit, daily earnings are found by dividing the total earnings subject to social insurance contributions in the 12 months before birth by the contribution days underlying those earnings; 2/3 of daily earnings is paid for outpatient rest and 1/2 for inpatient treatment. The first-two-days/third-day waiting-day deduction used in sickness benefit does not apply to maternity benefit.
2. Scope notice
The main scope of this article is private-sector employees subject to Labour Law No. 4857 and, for SGK benefit purposes, eligible 4/a insured persons and the limited 4/b insured groups listed in the law. 4/c public servants are subject to separate legislation; the rules for private-sector employees in this article do not automatically apply to public servants under Law No. 657.
Maternity leave ≠ SGK maternity temporary incapacity benefit
The maternity leave period under labour law and SGK's temporary incapacity benefit for maternity (maternity temporary incapacity benefit) are separate rights. Leave duration belongs to the employment relationship; the benefit depends on Law No. 5510 and SGK conditions. They are not automatically paid in the same amount or from the same day.
3. 24/26-week table
The periods updated by Law No. 7578 are as follows:
| Situation | Before birth | After birth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singleton pregnancy | 8 weeks | 16 weeks | 24 weeks |
| Multiple pregnancy | 10 weeks | 16 weeks | 26 weeks |
These periods run in calendar days. The former equal 8-week before-birth and after-birth rule (16 weeks in total) is not the current rule.
4. How the leave dates are calculated
In the standard singleton case, if the expected birth date is known, prenatal leave starts 8 weeks (56 calendar days) before birth; postnatal leave runs for 16 weeks (112 calendar days) from the date of birth, and the last leave day is included.
The total leave days are 24x7=168 calendar days for a singleton pregnancy and 26x7=182 calendar days for a multiple pregnancy.
5. Doctor approval and transfer of time
If there is doctor approval and the pregnancy is medically suitable, the employee may work until two weeks before birth. The prenatal period actually worked is added to the postnatal period.
- Singleton example: 2 weeks before birth + 22 weeks after birth = 24 weeks in total.
- Multiple-pregnancy example: 2 weeks before birth + 24 weeks after birth = 26 weeks in total.
- The statement that work may continue until three weeks before birth is not the current rule; the current threshold is two weeks.
6. Early birth
If the birth occurs early, any prenatal period that could not be used is added to the postnatal period. If the mother dies, any unused postnatal period is granted to the father. Leave does not lapse because of an early birth.
7. SGK maternity temporary incapacity benefit conditions
The main conditions for maternity temporary incapacity benefit are:
- At least 90 days of short-term insurance contributions within the year before birth.
- Insured status must continue when the rest period begins.
- No work during the certified rest period.
- The birth must take place.
- Unlike sickness benefit, maternity benefit has no first-two-days/third-day waiting-day deduction.
8. Daily earnings and benefit formula
Daily earnings are not based on a last-three-month average. The formula is:
Daily earnings = Total earnings subject to social insurance contributions in the 12 months before birth / Contribution days underlying those earnings
Payment:
- Outpatient rest: 2/3 of daily earnings.
- Inpatient treatment: 1/2 of daily earnings.
- Total benefit = benefit days x daily payment.
The 180-day rule: if there are fewer than 180 days of short-term insurance contributions in the previous 12 months, the daily earnings used for the benefit cannot exceed twice the daily minimum PEK in force on the date the incapacity begins.
Do not confuse 90 days with 180 days: 90 days is the eligibility threshold; 180 days determines whether the cap on daily earnings applies.
9. The 4/a-4/b distinction
It is not correct to say that all 4/b insured persons qualify or that no 4/b insured person can qualify.
| Status | Summary condition |
|---|---|
| Employees insured under 4/a | 90-day condition; insured status at the start of rest; no work during the report period; the birth must take place. |
| Limited 4/b groups listed in the law | Only the mukhtar category and the 4/b groups listed in subparagraphs (1), (2) and (4); no outstanding premium or premium-related debt, including GSS, on the payment date. |
| Company partners insured under 4/b | Maternity temporary incapacity benefit is not paid to a 4/b insured person who is insured as a company partner. |
10. Half-time work, unpaid leave and nursing leave
These rights do not replace one another.
- Half-time work: 60/120/180 days; +30 days for multiple birth; 360 days for a child born with a disability.
- Nursing leave does not apply separately during the half-time work period.
- After the 24/26-week period, there may be up to six months of optional unpaid leave; this six-month period is not counted in annual paid leave calculations.
- Until the child reaches age one, there is 1.5 hours of nursing leave per day; the employee chooses the hours; the period counts as working time.
- Half-time work, six months of unpaid leave and part-time work are not the same right.
11. Adoption and foster care
In the adoption of a child under the age of three, there is eight weeks of leave from the date of actual handover.
After placement with a foster family, 10 days of unpaid leave may be taken upon request.
12. Calculator example
The singleton-pregnancy example below matches the site engine's calculateMaternityLeave output exactly. Input: birth on 2026-07-01, 8 weeks before birth (no doctor approval), 4/a, 12-month PEK of 720,000 TL, 360 contribution days, 168 days of outpatient rest.
- Date of birth: 2026-07-01
- Start of prenatal leave: 2026-05-06
- End of postnatal leave: 2026-10-20
- Total benefit days: 168
- 12-month PEK: 720,000 TL
- Contribution days: 360
- Daily earnings: 2,000 TL
- 180-day cap: not applied
- Outpatient daily payment: 1,333.33 TL
- Estimated total benefit: 224,000 TL
- Reference earnings period: 2025-07-01 - 2026-06-30
In the singleton example where the employee works until 2 weeks before birth with doctor approval, the engine gives: leave start 2026-06-17, postnatal end 2026-12-01, transferred prenatal days 42; the total remains 24 weeks / 168 days.
PEK input warning
- Use the earnings subject to social insurance contributions reported to SGK, not simply gross salary.
- The 12-month total PEK and the contribution days must be entered correctly.
- Period-specific PEK lower and upper limits may affect the reported earnings.
- A high-PEK warning in the tool does not mean the statutory PEK ceiling has been applied automatically.
- The user should not enter raw salary as unlimited PEK. The tool does not automatically cap each month's PEK.
180-day distinction (engine): with 179 contribution days in the previous 12 months and PEK of 540,000 TL, daily earnings fall to 2,202 TL (twice the daily minimum PEK); at 180 days, daily earnings are 3,000 TL on the same PEK and the 180-day cap does not apply.
13. Frequently asked questions
How many weeks is maternity leave in 2026?
24 weeks in a singleton pregnancy (8+16); 26 weeks in a multiple pregnancy (10+16).
How many weeks in a twin pregnancy?
In a multiple pregnancy, the total is 26 weeks: 10 before birth + 16 after birth.
Can the employee work until two weeks before birth?
Yes, if there is doctor approval and medical suitability; the prenatal period worked is added to the postnatal period.
Is leave lost if the birth happens early?
No. The unused prenatal period is added to the postnatal period.
What is the difference between 90 and 180 days?
90 days is the eligibility threshold. 180 days determines whether the cap on daily earnings applies (twice the minimum PEK).
Is maternity temporary incapacity benefit calculated from the last three months?
No. Daily earnings equal total PEK in the 12 months before birth divided by the contribution days underlying those earnings. It is not written as a last-three-month average.
Can a 4/b insured person qualify?
Only the mukhtar category and the 4/b groups listed in subparagraphs (1), (2) and (4), provided there is no premium debt including GSS on the payment date.
Can a Bağ-Kur insured company partner qualify?
No. Maternity temporary incapacity benefit is not paid to a 4/b insured person who is insured as a company partner.
Are unpaid leave and half-time work the same?
No. Half-time work is the 60/120/180 (+30/360) day regime; six months of unpaid leave is a separate right and should not be confused with part-time work.
How many hours is nursing leave?
1.5 hours per day until the child reaches age one; the employee chooses the hours; it counts as working time. Nursing leave does not apply separately during half-time work.
Is there leave for adoption?
Eight weeks from the actual handover of a child under the age of three. In foster care, there is 10 days of unpaid leave upon request.
Do the same rules apply to civil servants?
No. 4/c public servants are subject to separate legislation; the private-sector employee rules in this article do not automatically apply to them.
14. Official sources
The primary sources below were reviewed as of 8 September 2026. The SGK Maternity page is used only for the unchanged premium/status/payment-rate rules; it is not presented as the current source for the 24/26-week periods or the two-week work rule.
- TBMM - Law No. 7578 (enacted text)24/26 weeks, work until two weeks before birth with doctor approval, unpaid leave framework, Provisional Article 1https://cdn.tbmm.gov.tr/KKBSPublicFile/D28/Y4/KanunMetni/9bf93173-7648-4771-ab36-0e45666c423d.htm
- mevzuat.gov.tr - Consolidated Labour Law No. 4857Art. 74 leave periods, transfer in early birth, leave for the father on the mother's death, half-time work, nursing leave, adoption, foster carehttps://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.4857.htm
- mevzuat.gov.tr - Consolidated Law No. 5510Maternity benefit conditions, 12-month PEK formula, 90/180 days, 2/3-1/2, 4/a-limited 4/bhttps://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.5510.htm
- SGK - MaternityOnly unchanged premium/status/payment-rate rules; not a source for leave durationhttps://www.sgk.gov.tr/Content/Post/709f7f1b-d7e7-4509-8eac-745fec3a25bf/Analik-Hali-2025-02-27-11-34-31
- SGK - 2026 lower and upper limits for earnings subject to social insurance contributions2026 PEK lower and upper limitshttps://www.sgk.gov.tr/Content/Post/2e0c9e1a-2cfe-4456-af10-49d3de0c58ba/Prime-Esas-Kazanc-Miktarlari-2026-01-14-10-35-39
2026 transition note
Law No. 7578 Provisional Article 1 is not an open-ended application right. As of 1 April 2026, it covered certain personnel whose 24 weeks after birth had not yet been completed, and it was tied to a 10-business-day request period from the law's entry into force. It does not mean that everyone can now claim an additional eight weeks.
Calculate maternity leave and maternity temporary incapacity benefit
Use the official formula to estimate the leave period and maternity benefit.
Calculate Maternity LeaveWarning
This article is for information purposes only; it is not personal legal or SGK advice. For a definitive conclusion, the current legislation, the employment contract and SGK practice should be taken as the basis.