Working Hours Act
You must follow the legal rules of the Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) on working hours, breaks, and rest periods. Otherwise, you risk a fine. In some cases, you may deviate from these rules by agreement under the collective labour agreement (CAO) or with your employee.
What are the key rules for working hours?
Working hours are the hours your employee works. The following rules apply to employees aged 18 and over:
|
Maximum per day | 12 hours |
| Maximum per week | 60 hours |
| Maximum per week over a period of 4 weeks | 55 hours |
| Maxium per week over a period of 16 weeks | 48 hours |
| Minimum rest time after a work day | 11 hours |
|
Weekly non-stop rest time | 36 hours |
Example
You have a very heavy workload during the Christmas holidays. Your employee work 60 hours a week for 2 weeks. In the 2 weeks that follow, your employee may work a maximum of 50 hours a week.
The Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet, in Dutch) applies to all your:
- permanent employees
- temporary employees
- trainees
You may only agree on different working hours if an employee earns more than 3 times the minimum hourly wage per year. The Working Hours Act does not apply to self-employed professionals, unless the safety of others is at risk. For example, self-employed truck drivers must comply with driving and rest periods.
Different rules apply to working hours and rest periods for:
- specific employees and jobs (in Dutch)
There are exceptions. For example:
- for seasonal work or during peak times
- in the event of unexpected situations, such as a serious accident at work
- You must keep track of the hours worked.
- You must also take the employees' personal circumstances into account. For example, a death in the family, care for young children, or when the employee is a caregiver (mantelzorger).
Check if you comply with the Working Hours Act (in Dutch)
Can you change working hours just like that?
If you want to change the work schedule, you must announce it to your employees on time. This must be done at least 28 days in advance. Unless other agreements have been made about this.
Hot-weather schedule
During a heat wave, you can adjust working hours. This is called a hot-weather schedule, or tropenrooster in Dutch. This is especially recommended if your employees are in a high-risk group or do heavy work. A hot-weather schedule is often part of a heat plan. Read about how to draw up a heat plan.
What are the risks if you do not comply with the Working Hours Act?
The Netherlands Labour Authority may:
- impose a fine on you if you breach the rules of the Working Hours Act
- draw up an official report, which may lead to criminal prosecution
This is how the Netherlands Labour Authority enforces the Working Hours Act (in Dutch).
If your worker works too many hours, the Netherlands Labour Authority may take action.
The Netherlands Labour Authority may use the following enforcement measures:
- warning
- demand
- fine (fine notice)
- suspension of work (the worker must stop work)
- official report
- warning of suspension of work in connection with a repeat offence
- order for preventive suspension of work in connection with a repeat offence
- order subject to a penalty payment (last onder dwangsom)
Read more about the sanctions and enforcement measures (in Dutch).
The Netherlands Labour Authority also investigates labour exploitation (in Dutch) and can take criminal and administrative action.
Are breaks part of working hours?
A break is not working time (in Dutch). A break is intended as an interruption of working time.
During breaks, your employee is not entitled to wages. Unless you have agreements for continued pay during the break.
The following rules apply to breaks:
- If an employee works for more than 5.5 hours, they are entitled to a 30-minute break. You may split this into 2 15-minute breaks;
- If an employee works for more than 10 hours, they must have at least a 45 minutes break. You may split this into several breaks, each of which must be at least 15 minutes.
- Do you have a collective labour agreement, CAO? Then you may make other agreements about breaks. But your employee is still entitled to 1 break of 15 minutes after 5.5 hours of work.
- Your employees may not start or end a workday with a break. The break is intended as a break in work time.
In 2 situations, your employees are allowed to continue working without taking a break:
- Your employee works alone and has no direct contact with a colleague doing the same work.
- The nature of the work makes it impossible to take a break. This must be stated in the CAO or company regulations.
Does overtime count as legal working hours?
Overtime falls under the maximum number of hours your employee is allowed to work for you. This is 12 hours per day or 60 hours per week. The law does not specify how much extra pay your employee must receive for overtime. You can make your own arrangements for this in your terms of employment, or there might be overtime agreements in your CAO.
Overtime costs down since 2025
You pay a higher unemployment contribution on overtime for permanent employees who work more than 30% extra overtime on average. This higher rate does not apply to contracts of 30 hours or more per week. Since 2025, this higher rate no longer applies to overtime under contracts of 30 hours per week or more. The cost of overtime included in the unemployment benefit contribution (in Dutch) will be reduced.
When is work time night shift?
- Worked hours count as night work if your employee works more than 1 hour between 00:00 and 06:00 CE(S)T.
- A night shift can last a maximum of 10 hours. It must be followed by an extra long rest period.
- Exceptions apply. For example, if there are few night shifts per year. Or if there is no replacement for your employee and the work really needs to be finished.
- There are rules for how many night shifts your employee may work per year.
Check the rules for night shifts
Maximum number of night shifts and exemptions
Your employee may work a maximum of 117 night shifts per year. Only in special cases may your employee work 140 night shifts. Does your employee always work at night? Then your employee must apply for a Permanent Night Work Waiver (Ontheffing Permanente Nachtarbeid aanvragen, in Dutch). If the waiver is granted, they may work a maximum of 20 night shifts per 4 weeks. So, a total of 260 per year.
Frequently asked questions
Does your employee want to work more or fewer hours than you have agreed? If so, you must always approve this. You may only refuse if you can show that your business will suffer. Your employee may ask for an adjustment 6 months after being employed. And once a year thereafter. Does an employee's personal situation change unexpectedly? Then they may make a second request. The adjustment may be temporary.
Time spent commuting between home and work is not work time. Travel between work sites and for work purposes does count as working time. A few exceptions also apply regarding commuting between home and work. For example, if you instruct an employee to pick up or drop off colleagues at home in a company vehicle. These trips do count as travel for work purposes for that employee. For the colleagues who are passengers, the trips still count as a commute.