Legal Advice on Holidays and Team Building

Questioner

I submitted a vacation request on March 14 for April 13/14 and on March 16 I read that my employer had scheduled a 'mandatory' team-building outing on April 14. Now my request has been rejected and I was told that this is because the outing is mandatory. now i have 3 questions: - How far in advance should I apply for a holiday? (because I assumed a month is enough) - can this be rejected on the basis of an outing? (no clarity whether the outing is paid for) - Can an outing be made mandatory in the first instance? (as far as I know, there is nothing in my contract about outings)

Lawyer

Legal answer: 1 What is the deadline for requesting a holiday? In principle, the employer must provide a decision within two weeks (Article 7:638 of the Dutch Civil Code). However, a different arrangement may be made in a collective labour agreement or an employment contract. The employer may only refuse the application if there are important reasons (second paragraph). 2 Can the application be rejected because of an outing? No. This is not a weighty reason in principle. You could argue that if the atmosphere is completely spoiled, a team outing is really necessary. Or perhaps if all kinds of essential plans are presented during the team outing. In 99.99% of cases, a team outing will not be a compelling reason to refuse a holiday. 3 Can an outing be made compulsory? Yes. Team building can be an essential part of functioning in the workplace. If the outing is paid for, the employer can state that this is simply part of the work. Practical answer: It depends on the situation and the relationships. Do you feel like you can complain about the situation without getting into trouble? Legally it seems clear to me that the employer may not refuse the holiday, but the legal reality is often different from the real reality. My advice: have a conversation. For example, explain why you want to go on holiday at that time (your partner is also on holiday, etc.). In most cases, a legal approach in such a situation will not yield much good.