Entering a collective holiday must proceed correctly

Introducing a collective holiday is permitted, but only if this is properly arranged: in the employment contract or collective labour agreement, or after agreement with the works council or employee representatives. If you do not do this correctly, a judge may force you to reverse or pay out unjustly deducted holiday days. Below, you can read exactly what a collective holiday is, which rules apply, and how to avoid common mistakes.

How does taking vacation normally work?

In principle, employees take their vacation hours in consultation with the employer. The employee submits a request and the employer approves it. The employer may only refuse a leave request in cases of compelling business interests. This written objection must be made within two weeks of receipt of the request. If the employer rejects the request, he must nevertheless offer the employee the opportunity to take vacation at another time.

However, it is sometimes undesirable for employees to freely choose their holidays. In such cases, a collective holiday can offer a solution, as is common in the construction and education sectors. A collective company closure can also be beneficial in other sectors.

What is a group holiday?

A collective company closure is a predetermined period during which the company is closed and employees cannot (come to) work. This can be one day — for example, the day after Ascension Day or on New Year's Eve — but also a longer period, such as the collective holiday in education that coincides with the school holidays. The law does not specify how many collective vacation days an employer may impose.

When are you allowed to make a collective holiday mandatory?

During a collective company closure, you may require employees to take their vacation days — but you cannot do so without further ado. The collective closure must be clearly documented:

• in the employment contract, and/or
• in the applicable collective labor agreement.

If that is not the case, you must negotiate this with the employee representatives or the Works Council.

What if an employee has too few vacation days?

If an employee has not accrued sufficient vacation hours, you must in principle continue to pay their salary — after all, you are not offering the employee the opportunity to work. Other arrangements are possible, such as offsetting against vacation hours yet to be accrued. In some cases, an employee may be eligible for unemployment benefits from the UWV during a collective closure, but this is subject to strict conditions. TODO_VERIFY: change the current unemployment benefit conditions during a business closure; check these with the UWV.

Example from case law: collective labor agreement not followed correctly

The importance of respecting the collective labour agreement is illustrated by a case in which an employer imposed a four-week production stoppage and designated the fourth week as a collective holiday week (ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2022:4905). According to the collective labour agreement, the employer was required to reach an agreement on this matter with the Works Council.

The employer believed that this had occurred, but the subdistrict court established that only the Executive Board of the Works Council had given its consent. That is not sufficient: the collective labor agreement requires agreement with the Works Council, not with a delegation thereof.

The wrongfully deducted vacation days had to be credited back, even paid out to former employees, and the employer had to reimburse all legal costs.

Incorrectly implementing a collective business closure can therefore have far-reaching financial consequences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my employer force me to take vacation?

Yes, during a correctly implemented collective company closure. The closure must be stipulated in the employment contract or collective labour agreement, or agreed upon with the Works Council or employee representatives.

How many collective vacation days may an employer impose?

The law does not set a maximum for this. However, the collective labour agreement or employment contract may set limits, and implementation must be carried out carefully and according to the correct procedure.

What if I don't have enough vacation days for the collective closure?

In principle, the employer must then continue paying the salary, unless other agreements have been made (such as offsetting against future vacation hours). Sometimes unemployment benefits are possible under strict conditions.

Who must agree to a collective holiday?

That depends on the collective labour agreement and the employment contract. If the collective labour agreement requires agreement with the Works Council, then consent from the Executive Board alone is not sufficient, as the case discussed above demonstrates.

Entering collective holidays correctly? Get advice

A collective company closure can be beneficial, but incorrect implementation can cost you a lot of money. Therefore, have your collective labour agreement, employment contract, and employee participation procedure checked in advance to ensure they are in order.

Our employment law specialists will inform you about the options and the procedure to follow. View our tailored legal advice or schedule an intake interview directly .