Statutory holidays
The number of statutory days off is calculated by multiplying the number of hours a worker works per week by 4. If a worker takes a 36-hour working week, he is entitled to 144 hours off, which is equivalent to 18 days off per year. You are not allowed to have these statutory holidays being paid out.
Have you not been able to use all your statutory holidays within one year? Then you still have the right to use them during the following 6 months. After these 6 months, the right to these remaining vacation days expires. Only if this is stipulated differently in the employment contract, may it be the case that in your specific situation your holidays from the previous year will be valid for more than 6 months. This does not apply in a situation in which an employee is too ill to take the holidays.
Non-statutory holidays
As the name suggests, you are still entitled to holidays in addition to the statutory holidays. This will then be laid down in your employment contract, collective agreement or company regulations. You can, have non-statutory holidays in paid out.
You can calculate your number of non-statutory holidays by first calculating the number of statutory holidays on the basis of the information above, and deducting this number from your total number of holidays. These holidays are valid for 5 years, so you can certainly save them. After these 5 years, you will no longer be able to take the non-statutory holidays. However, even for non-statutory holidays, your employment contract may stipulate that this may be deviated from.
Mandatory days off
Your employer has the option of having you to take a number of compulsory days off on specific days each year. These days are then deducted from your statutory vacation days. Whether your employer can impose this obligation on you, and for how many days he can then have you to take days off, depends on what is stipulated in your collective agreement (CAO).
Applying for holidays
Vacation requests must be made in writing to the employer. The employer has two weeks from the request to refuse or approve the application. However, the employer must have good reasons for refusing a holiday application. If the employer's company encounters major problems when you take your holidays on those specific dates, the employer may refuse your holidays. If the two weeks after you applied for your holiday have passed and you have not yet received an agreement (or refusal) from your employer, the holidays are fixed and your employer can no longer withdraw them.
Contact
Do you have questions about your holidays, have you come into conflict with your employer, or can we help you in any other way? Please feel free to contact us! Legal Q is happy to help you!