Dutch holidays and public holidays—when are you entitled to time off?

Planning a vacation in the Netherlands requires knowledge of the local holiday calendar and the regulations governing time off. Unlike many other European countries, not all public holidays in the Netherlands automatically mean that employees have the day off. In this article, we’ll explain which days are official holidays in the Netherlands, how vacation entitlement works in this context, and what rules apply to employees and employers regarding days off.

Public holidays in the Netherlands – what does the law say?

Dutch national law does not contain provisions guaranteeing days off work on every national holiday. This means that there is no law analogous to the Polish Labor Code that automatically exempts employees from the obligation to work on days such as Christmas or New Year’s Day. In practice, days off are determined based on employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, or the employer’s own decision.

Official public holidays in the Netherlands include, among others:

• New Year's Day - January 1
• Good Friday – movable date
• Easter - Easter Sunday and Easter Monday
• King's Day - April 27
• Liberation Day - May 5 (a national holiday every year, but a public holiday only once every five years)
• Ascension Day - 39 days after Easter
• Pentecost – the Sunday and Monday 50 days after Easter
• Christmas – December 25 and 26

It is worth noting that holidays such as Good Friday or Liberation Day are not always public holidays. Only certain industries and government offices treat them as days off-which is why it is so important to check the provisions in your employment contract or collective bargaining agreement.

Holidays and work obligations-it all depends on the contract

Since the law does not explicitly regulate the obligation to grant time off on public holidays, it is the employment contract or the CAO (Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst-collective labor agreement) that determines which days are considered holidays. For example, in the public sector, Good Friday is often a holiday, but in private companies, this is not necessarily the case.

King’s Day, however, is a special holiday-virtually all employees have the day off, regardless of the sector in which they work. The same applies to December 25 and 26-Christmas in the Netherlands is traditionally treated as time off, reserved for family.

Vacation Leave in the Netherlands - Basic Rules

In addition to public holidays, employees in the Netherlands are also entitled to annual paid leave. Every full-time employee is entitled to at least four times as many vacation days as their weekly working hours. This means that a person working five days a week is entitled to a minimum of 20 days of vacation per year. In practice, however, many companies offer a larger vacation allowance-25 or even 30 days.

Importantly, the right to vacation also applies to part-time employees. For example, an employee working three days a week is entitled to at least 12 days of vacation per year. Vacation entitlement accrues proportionally to the time worked.

According to the regulations, vacation must be taken within six months after the end of the calendar year - otherwise, it is forfeited, unless the employee was unable to take it for valid reasons. Some collective bargaining agreements extend this deadline.

Holidays during the holiday season-are you entitled to an extra day off?

If a public holiday falls on a day that would have been a day off for the employee anyway (e.g., a Saturday), the employee is not entitled to an additional day off or compensation. This rule also applies to employees working shifts or part-time-if the public holiday falls on a day when they are not scheduled to work, they do not receive additional time off.

However, if an employee must work on a public holiday, they are often entitled to a holiday pay supplement or a day off at a later date-it all depends on their employment contract or collective bargaining agreement.

Summary

Unlike in Poland, Dutch law does not guarantee automatic time off on public holidays-it all depends on the sector, the employer, and the terms of the employment contract. King’s Day and Christmas are exceptions, as they are almost always days off. For other holidays, the situation varies-it’s worth checking the work calendar and the provisions of the collective labor agreement (CAO) in advance, and planning your vacation with your individual needs and your company’s policies in mind.

Although the Netherlands is not among the countries with the highest number of statutory holidays, the flexibility of the system allows for sensible vacation planning-both through formal leave and days off granted for holidays or special events. With this knowledge, you can effectively plan your time off and avoid misunderstandings with your employer.