Working Hours Rules Netherlands

If a night shift ends after 2 a.m.m, at least 14 hours of non-working time must follow. This can be shortened to a maximum of 8 hours once a week. If a night shift ends before 2 a.m.m, it must be followed by 11 consecutive hours of non-working time, as for day shifts. For some employees, it is possible to negotiate flexible working hours with their employer. This can include the following: If this is not possible, talk to your employer as they may be able to sort through the hours that will be paid to you on the last pay day. However, this is only possible if it exceeds 20 days – so remember! The legal minimum of vacation days is 4 x the weekly working days. So if an employee works three full days a week, that means 4 x 3 = 12 vacation days a year. However, it is common for full-time employees to get an average of 25 days off. You can track vacation days with a good vacation management system. Even if an employee is not at work, they may be asked to go to work if unforeseen circumstances occur. This is what is known in the Working Time Act as the « childcare service ». In the case of childcare, the hours at which an employee may be called are not considered working time. However, if an employee is called and has to go to work, that time counts as working time.

What about night shifts? How many hours/days is it legal to work at night? The employer must also document employees` behaviour at work. The best way to do this is to use a timesheet app. As mentioned earlier, Dutch companies are aware of the benefits of a good work-life balance. The standard full-time work week is 38 hours, while most full-time employees work 36 to 40 hours per week, and it is very rare for employees to work long overtime. You`ll want to look at every detail of your employment contract when negotiating contracts, but it`s good to know that there are also legal limits on working hours in the Netherlands. According to the « Working Time Act », a shift should not exceed 12 hours per day and you should not have to work more than 60 hours per week. Different laws apply to adolescents under the age of 18 and pregnant women. If you would like to know more about the Working Time Act, click here. Employees who have children or raise children under the age of 8 are entitled to unpaid parental leave. A collective agreement may provide for paid leave. The maximum number of leaves per child is 26 times the employee`s working hours per week. The average Dutch full-time worker works 38 hours.

This usually means that you have a 30-minute break during your shift, which is unpaid (with a shift of more than 5.5 hours). So, there you have it, just some important information about working hours in the Netherlands and holidays. In the Netherlands, it is illegal to work more than 12 hours per shift and more than 60 hours per week. This is only acceptable if it is for a short period of time or only once. If this is a normal thing, then it is not allowed. After more than 5.5 hours of work, Dutch workers are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid break, which can be divided into two 15-minute breaks. The Dutch are usually an ambitious and fast lot. They like to keep their work and private lives separate and are generally well protected and covered by labor laws and regulations.

In this article, we look at working life in the Netherlands. After a night shift, an employee`s next shift must begin at least 14 hours later, and if an employee works a series of three or more night shifts, the next shift may not last at least 46 hours. First of all, when you start working in the Netherlands, you get a fixed-term contract. You may be used to being automatically employed permanently – but that`s not how it works in this country. You then have the right to enjoy the care time which is double your weekly working hours. You will then receive a 70% payment (some employers may be friendly and give you your full salary). The long-term maximum is six times your weekly working hours and you may not get paid at all! An employee is entitled to leave of up to twice the working time per week during each period of 12 consecutive months. The 12-month period begins on the first day on which the leave is taken, for the necessary care related to the illness of the person mentioned below: almost 50% of all Dutch employees work part-time with fixed-term contracts. Fixed-term contracts are usually awarded to newcomers for their first or second year with a new company.

These contracts initially have a duration of 1 year and can be extended from another fixed-term contract for another year before the award of a contract of indefinite duration (an organization cannot offer a fixed-term contract for the 3rd time). However, these fixed-term contracts may apply to both full-time and part-time work. Flexi employees are mainly people who work for an « uitzendbureau » – an organization that provides services to other organizations to meet their temporary need for additional work. These employees have a contract with the first organization that gave them work with the 2nd organization. If you`re a full-time employee, that means you work between 36 and 40 hours a week (if you don`t, you work too much or not enough to call yourself a full-time employee!). A Dolly Parton song may seem out of place, but it is actually quite appropriate when it comes to working hours in the Netherlands. The Dutch usually work to govern, which means they have clearly defined working hours and respect them. The Netherlands was named third country for work-life balance in a 2011 OECD report. An employee is entitled to leave without pay for the purpose of caring for a child, partner or parent who is seriously ill or in need of assistance. An employee is entitled to a maximum of 6 times the working time per week for each period of 12 consecutive months. The twelve-month period begins on the first day the leave is taken.

An employee is entitled to a payment from social security. Labour and Care Act, art. 5:9 – 5:16. Here are the main elements of dutch working time limits that have allowed the country to have one of the best work-life balances in the world for its citizens: The Working Time Act (Arbeidstijdenwet, pdf) contains the rules that you must respect as an employer: working practices change with the introduction of flexible working hours, working from home, etc. Under EU law, part-time and temporary workers are protected by law. Do you run a business in the Netherlands and employ people? Or is your company based outside the Netherlands, but you employ employees in the Netherlands? Next, you need to comply with legal regulations regarding working hours and rest periods. Do your employees work irregular hours? For example, employees who work at night and employees who have on-site (available at work) or on-call (on-call care for unforeseen circumstances)? For these employees, there are also rules on maximum working hours and minimum rest periods. If you work a shift of more than 5.5 hours, you are entitled to a 30-minute (unpaid) break, which you can also divide into two 15-minute breaks. An employee works at night if he works at least 1 hour between 00:00 (midnight) and 06:00. There are strict additional rules for night shifts.

This rule can be found on page 6 of the brochure. For example, if an employee works 25 hours a week throughout the year, they are entitled to 100 hours of vacation per year. This allows an employee to take at least 4 weeks of vacation per year. The regulations state that your employees must not exceed a certain number of working hours per day and per week. You also have the right to take regular breaks. .