Sakarya University includes maternity leave in its human resources policy. Its Gender Equality Plan 2022–2025 identifies work–life balance for academic, administrative and other staff as an institutional objective. [1, 4]
Figure 1. Gender Equality Plan 2022–2025, PDF page 6, upper-page excerpt. Objective 13 addresses work–life balance. Source [4]
Civil servants and academic staff. In 2025, the standard paid maternity leave was eight weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth (16 weeks in total), with two additional prenatal weeks for multiple pregnancies. Article 64 of the Higher Education Law applies the civil-service rules to academic staff leave other than annual leave. To continue working during the prenatal leave period, an eligible employee had to provide a medical certificate to the institution when that leave was due to begin. Time actually worked under the certificate could be taken after childbirth. [2a, 2b, section I.A] [6, article 64]
Figure 2. Official Gazette, 13 April 2016, No. 29683, p. 101. Section I.A of Communiqué No. 6 sets out the 16-week civil-service entitlement and the conditions for transferring prenatal leave. Source [2a]
Contracted staff and permanent workers. For women employed under Article 4/B, the contracted personnel rules provided 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. For women employed under the Labour Law, including permanent workers (4/D), Article 74 provided for eight weeks away from work before childbirth and eight weeks afterwards. [7, 8]
Figure 3. Duration of maternity leave under the historical public personnel communiqué. Extract from the published web text (print layout). Source [2a]
Under the civil-service rules, a mother returning after postnatal maternity leave could take breastfeeding breaks of three hours a day for the first six months and one and a half hours a day for the next six. She could choose when to take them. Breastfeeding breaks and statutory half-day leave were alternatives. Up to 24 months of unpaid childcare leave was available on request under the statutory conditions. [2a, 2b, sections I.B–I.Ç]
A civil servant returning from unpaid childbirth leave submits a return-to-work petition to their unit. The Personnel Department instructs the employee to contact it within one week to check notification of the return to the Social Security Institution (SGK). Employees submit requests for postnatal half-time work to their own unit. [3, Administrative Appointments, questions 15–16]
Figure 4. Personnel Department guidance on unpaid leave after childbirth. Extract from the published web text (print layout). Source [3]
The regulation published on 18 July 2025 allowed eligible civil servants appointed under Article 4/A of Law No. 657 to request half-time work after childbirth. The regulation sets eligibility conditions and adjusts remuneration for this working arrangement. [5, articles 2, 5–7, 10 and 12]
Figure 5. Official Gazette, 18 July 2025, No. 32959, regulation PDF p. 3. Articles 5–7 set out the period of half-time work, eligibility and how to apply. Source [5]
Figure 6. 2025 regulation on half-time work following birth or adoption. PDF p. 2. Source [5]
Figure 7. Implementation provisions in the regulation on half-time work. PDF p. 4. Source [5]
SAÜ’s Personnel Department also explains how civil servants can use breastfeeding leave on returning to work. The employee chooses the times and number of breaks within the daily entitlement. The guidance provides for daily use and does not allow unused breaks to accumulate for later days. [3, Administrative Appointments, question 13]
Figure 8. Personnel Department FAQ on leave around childbirth. The historical entitlement is established by the dated legal sources. Extract from the published web text (print layout). Source [3]
Permanent workers (4/D) follow the Personnel Department’s separate procedure. A worker requesting an early return from unpaid leave submits a petition directly to the Department. The statutory maternity periods reported above refer to the law applicable in 2025. [3, Permanent Workers, questions 25–29]; [8]
