Introduction

Law No. 7578 on the Amendment of the Social Services Law and Certain Other Laws (the “Law”), which includes important changes to maternity leave, paternity leave and foster-parent rights, was published in the Official Gazette dated 1 May 2026 and numbered 33240 and entered into force on the same date. The Law amends the Labour Code as well as the social security legislation governing temporary incapacity allowances payable in connection with childbirth.

Extension of Postnatal Maternity Leave

The paid maternity leave following childbirth for female employees has been increased from 8 weeks to 16 weeks. As a result, female employees are entitled to a total of 24 weeks of paid maternity leave, consisting of 8 weeks prior to childbirth and 16 weeks following childbirth. Provided that the employee requests to do so and submits a health report confirming that her condition is suitable for work, she may continue to work at her workplace until 2 weeks prior to childbirth, in which case the 6 weeks of maternity leave not used before childbirth are added to the post-birth period.

Doubling of Paternity Leave

The paid paternity leave granted to male employees in the event of their spouse giving birth has been increased from 5 days to 10 days, enabling employees to better support their family’s following childbirth.

New Statutory Leave for Foster Parent Employees

Employees who, jointly with their spouse or individually, become foster parents to one or more children are entitled, upon request, to 10 days of unpaid leave, starting from the date on which the child is placed with the foster family.

Transitional Regime: Supplementary Eight-Week Leave

Employees whose maternity leave under the previous regime had already expired as at the effective date of the Law, but who have not yet completed the new 24-week period calculated from the date of birth as of 1 April 2026, are entitled to an additional 8 weeks of maternity leave, provided that they submit a request within 10 business days from the effective date of the Law.

Conclusion

Employers should review their maternity and paternity leave policies and HR systems and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the new framework, with particular attention to maternity leave calculations and the applications expected during the transition period.

The full text of the Law is available at this link.