When it comes to public holidays in the Netherlands, it's worth mentioning that there is no statutory obligation to grant leave to employees on these days. Instead, whether an employee can take a day off on a public holiday is determined by our client's Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) or the terms of their employment contract.
In some cases, the client's CAO may allow for the substitution of Christian public holidays with alternative religious holidays, such as Eid Al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan or Chanukah.
Here is a list of the official public holidays in the Netherlands:
*** It's important to note that while May 5th is a public holiday, our collective labor agreement (CAO) stipulates that it is a day off only once every five years (e.g., 2020, 2025, 2030, etc.).
Additionally, some clients may have mandatory days-off policies for external contractors. These assigned days typically coincide with mandatory days off by law, such as when there's a mandatory day off on a Tuesday or Thursday to create a long weekend. During the Christmas period, 1-2 weeks can also be designated as mandatory days off. According to the Dutch Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) for temporary workers, ITSync can assign a maximum of 10 holidays as mandatory.
Especially, within the banking sector, mandatory leave policies typically apply to consultants and other external employees between December 25th and January 5th. It's important to note that the precise duration and timing of this leave may vary from one department to another. However, exceptions to this rule can be made, but only with explicit approval from the client.
*** Note: If your hiring manager requests that you work on any of these public holidays, be sure to obtain confirmation via email in advance and forward this confirmation to your ITSync account manager. This ensures clarity and compliance with your work schedule.