Leaves of Absence & Holidays

Holidays

  • Statutory Holiday [Wettelijke vakantiedagen]

By law, the minimum number of holiday days to which employees are entitled each year is four times the number of working days a week. In the case of a full-time employment, the employee is entitled to a minimum of 20 holidays per year (4 x 5 working days a week).

  • Non-Statutory Holidays [Bovenwettelijke vakantiedagen]

The Non-Statutory Holidays are additional holiday days on top of the Statutory Holidays and are often described in the Employee Handbook or if applicable in the Collective Labour Agreement. The Non-Statutory Holidays vary per type of industry in the Netherlands market. On average the Non-Statutory Holidays in the Netherlands is 5.

This means that the total Holidays fo employees are 25 days (20 statutory days + 5 Non statutory days) per year based on a full time-employment.

The holiday year runs from 1 January to 31 December. If an Employee starts or finishes the employment part way through the holiday year, the holiday entitlement during that year shall be calculated on a pro rata basis.

In addition to these days described above, there are also Public Holidays. Please refer to the Collective Labour Agreement or the company regulations to find out if the company is closed during any of these events.

Public Holidays Netherlands

  • New Year’s Day
  • Easter Sunday
  • Easter Monday
  • Ascension Day
  • Whit Monday
  • King’s Day (27 April)
  • Christmas Day (25 December)
  • Boxing Day (26 December)

On the company’s decision:

  • Liberation Day (5 May) is a public holiday. It is common practise to have this day off once every five years (e.g. 2020, 2025, 2030 etc.) but the company could decide to diverge and agree to set this day each year as day off.
  • Good Fridays a not an official public holiday, though most schools are closed. Some public offices are closed. And on company’s decisions this days could be apply as a day off.

 

8% Holiday Allowance

In addition to the Holidays, all employees are eligible to the 8% Holiday Allowance. Please find more information on the Compensation page.

Leaves of Absence

Leaves of Absence is regulated under the Work and Care Act [Wet Arbeid en Zorg] hereinafter referred to as: the WAZO. This Act defines the right to leave and the right to payment. An overview of the statutory Leaves of Absence arrangements is set out below:

For more details regarding Sickness Absence which is described in the Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act (Wvp), please visit the Sickness Absence page. We have provided a summary of activities and responsibilities for Employee and Employer.

Special Leave

Besides Leaves of Absence regulated under the WAZO there are more leave types: Special Leave. Special Leave is not based on law, but on general country specific common practice. Examples of Special Leave are:

  • Leave for relocation.
  • Leave for wedding of Employee, parents and inlaws.
  • Leave for exams, study.
  • Bereavement leave.

Per type of Special Leave, the amount of leave days can be established based on the company regulations.