Empty offices are slowly turning into floors full of activity now that the holidays are over for most. But that free time enjoyed will certainly taste like more. How could you go on vacation more often?
A full-time job of forty hours entitles you to twenty statutory vacation days. This means that you can take a break for at least four weeks a year. Do you work part time? Then you get the vacation days pro rata. In addition, you may be entitled to extra days because this is stated in your collective labor agreement or the employer can add extra days to it. “On average, that’s about four to seven days,” says Joke van der Velpen, manager of laws and regulations at HR service provider Visma Raet.
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If those statutory and non-statutory days have run out, but you still need a few days off in the autumn, some employers offer the option of purchasing additional vacation days. ,,That is possible if it is in your collective labor agreement”, explains van der Velpen. “The government has that option, for example. And you often see it as a possibility for employees who have an individual choice budget. The advantage is that it does not deduct from your net salary and then you feel it less. You don’t immediately see what it costs in your bank account.
How much does an extra holiday day cost?
Because buying vacation days is indeed not free. ,,It will cost you your hourly wage”, explains Van der Velpen. You can find this on your salary slip. Then it is a simple calculation: the hourly wage times the number of hours you want to take extra.
There are a number of points for attention, says Van der Velpen: ,,Check your collective labor agreement if you want to buy days. For example, you may never withdraw more than agreed therein. In addition, you may never fall below the minimum wage.” Depending on the level of your salary, there is therefore a limit to the number of hours that can be taken. In addition: if you already have a reservoir of vacation days and want to save for a longer trip, buying vacation days is not an option with every employer. It is always done in consultation with the employer.
“It also differs per collective labor agreement whether it has an expiration date,” says Van der Velpen. “But often there is a fixed period of, for example, a year. If you do not withdraw them in the meantime, they will be converted into money again.” And then the amount for which you bought them is calculated. Your employer is not a bank. So it’s not possible to do that strategically and buy some vacation days just before your hourly wage goes up and then sell them again for a higher amount.”
Equal treatment
There is also an important condition for an employer, says employment lawyer Gerard Berghuis of BAASZ Advocaten. “He or she must ensure that all employees are treated equally. If you offer someone the opportunity to buy a few days, then you must also offer others that opportunity. You can only deviate from it for objective reasons. Suppose you have a shipping company. Then it could be logical that you have a different arrangement for the captains than for the sailors. As long as it is the same within the same job group.” He advises laying it down in a regulation. “Then you never have a hassle about it and it’s in black and white.”
As an employee, if you would rather not lose your monthly salary, but still want a few days off in the coming six months, there is often something to arrange, says Van der Velpen. ,,If you are in good consultation with your employer and still need a few days at the end of the year, it is often also possible to take those days off and apply for them immediately when you return in January. in the plus position.”
An employer is obliged to look seriously at a request
Save vacation days
According to Van der Velpen, if you want to ‘save’ vacation days for a longer trip or sabbatical, you will end up in other schemes. ,,For example, the unpaid leave.” That has more consequences than ‘only’ eight times your hourly wage. ,,Then you do not accrue pension and holiday money and it will cost you more money. You don’t record this for a few days either, here you usually talk about a period of about three months.”
In addition to pension accrual, taking unpaid leave also affects the amount of, for example, allowances and the number of vacation days. Unlike care leave and parental leave, unpaid leave is not a right, Berghuis explains. “But an employer is obliged to look seriously at such a request. It is not something that you can enforce as an employee, but a good employer can only reject it if there is a compelling business interest.
Leave always in consultation
In any case, taking vacation days should be done in consultation, says Berghuis. The starting point is that the holiday is determined according to the wishes of the employee. He submits an application and if there are no compelling reasons not to agree, that is arranged. The employer must approve it. Many companies make a holiday schedule so that not everyone leaves at the same time.”
If there is a hitch at the last minute, an employer can even cancel the leave. “He or she must then pay compensation if necessary. If a holiday has to be cancelled, the employer bears the costs.’ An employer also has the obligation to make the days off possible at another time.
To sell
The other way around, Berghuis also regularly encounters: people who want to sell their vacation days because they can’t use them or need extra pocket money. “There is a legal restriction. The starting point is that employees really should have vacation. Holidays have a recovery function. An employee needs time and rest to recharge.” The other way around: you should always be given the opportunity to record them.
“Selling because you need more income is only allowed in the case of non-statutory days. The statutory vacation days may only be paid at the end of an employment contract.” For the same reason, these vacation days expire six months after the calendar year in which you received them. If there is no special situation in which it was impossible to take the days due to illness, for example, the statutory holidays for this year will therefore expire no later than 1 July 2024. Please note that if you still have days left after the summer holidays.
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2023-08-27 13:15:35
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