Holiday pay and attachment: what you need to know

Questioner

I have a WIA benefit, am a single mother, and have a debt with the municipality and the tax authorities. They collect from my benefit every month. For years they have also collected our holiday pay. Now I recently heard that they are no longer allowed to do that, but I can't find it anywhere on the internet. It would be so nice if the kids and I could do something fun during the holidays

Lawyer

The Supreme Court (the highest court in the Netherlands) issued a ruling on this on 31 October 2014. The ruling states the following: “The foregoing means that the annual payment of holiday pay is fully subject to attachment if the monthly income in the months in which the holiday pay was accrued consistently exceeded the attachment-free amount. If the monthly income in those months consistently remained below the attachment-free amount, the holiday pay is only subject to attachment to the extent that, as a monthly claim together with the income actually received in those months, it would have exceeded the attachment-free amount in those months, assessed each month. If the debtor enjoyed a fluctuating income in the period in which the holiday pay was accrued, as a result of which it remained below the attachment-free amount in some months and exceeded it in other months, the provisions of the previous sentence also apply.” This means roughly that the holiday pay is (theoretically) divided by 12 and then added to the monthly payments. If in those months a part of your benefit plus the holiday pay exceeds the attachment-free amount, this can be withheld by the attaching party. Your story shows that a portion of your benefit is withheld monthly. This would indicate that your monthly benefit exceeds the attachment-free amount. The holiday pay can then be withheld in full in the month of May. I hope you can find your way around.