Bad luck in 2026: Extra leave required for long Christmas break
In the media image: American Green Travel on Unsplash
This year, Dutch employees will get less time off around Christmas and New Year. Gerrard Boot, Professor of Labour Law, says on ‘Omroep West’ that when public holidays fall on a weekend ‘it’s just bad luck for employees.'
Last year was great for Dutch public holidays. In 2025, employees could stretch four days of leave into 11 straight days off over Christmas. Buy this year, that won’t work due to the holiday calendar.
Boot explains that as an employee you are entitled to at least four weeks of vacation, excluding the official public holidays. ‘How the public holidays fall in the calendar can sometimes be more favourable for employees. It’s then automatically less favourable for employers, who have to pay for these days off when no work is done'.
In the Netherlands, besides the statutory provisions on employment, employees are also usually bound by a collective labour agreement (CAO). 'The number of days off agreed in the CAO cannot be less than the statutory minimum.' Boot says that CAOs often contain more days off than is mandatory – sometimes totalling five weeks leave instead of four. Compared to other countries, Dutch workers may have more vacation days, but they get fewer official public holidays. This is often the other way round in other countries. In 2027, it’s bad luck for Dutch employees as Christmas and New Year both fall entirely on weekends.
More information?
Read the full article on Omroep-West (in Dutch)