Dutch Civil Code (Required Leaves)

Dutch Civil Code (Article 7:634) (Required Leaves)

Holidays and Annual Leave

Pursuant to Article 7:634 of the Dutch Civil Code, employees are entitled to a statutory minimum number of vacation days equivalent to four times the weekly working hours. For example, an employee with a full-time workweek of 40 hours is statutorily entitled to a minimum of 20 vacation days per year. In addition to vacation days, employees are entitled to a holiday allowance, which, in general, equals 8%oftheannualsalary,insofar as the annual salary does not exceed three times the annual equivalent of the minimum wage.

Maternity Leave

Female employees have the right to (at least) 16 weeks of maternity leave. During this maternity leave, the Employee Insurance Agency will pay 100% of the daily wage, not to exceed the maximum daily wage. The maximum daily wage in the Netherlands is currently EUR 219,28.

Birthday Leave

From 1 January 2019, partners will have five days of birth leave at full pay after the birth of their child (based on full-time employment). Partners can choose to take this leave immediately after the birth of their child, or to spread the leave over the f irst four weeks after the birth. As of 1July 2020, partners can take additional birth leave for up to 5 weeks. First, the partner must take the 5 days of birth leave (based on full-time employment). During this leave, the employee is entitled to 70% of his or her salary (increased up to the maximum daily wages). The additional birth leave must be taken within 6 months of the child’s birth (on or after 1 July 2020).

Parental Leave

An employee with a child under eight years old in his or her care, is entitled to parental leave. The employee can take at most 26 times his/her number of weekly contractual hours as parental leave. The right of parental leave ends when the child becomes eight years old. Parental leave is unpaid leave and no holiday entitlements will be built up during the hours of parental leave.