ATV days

Questioner

According to the collective labor agreement we have a 37.5 hour workweek, now we work 40 and we are entitled to 19 atv days according to the collective labor agreement (furniture and interior construction). Now my employer thinks that is too many days off and he is now buying nine and paying that monthly. Now my question is whether that is allowed. I would like to hear from you. Kind regards

Lawyer

It is great that your employer thinks that is too much. But you are getting these days precisely because you work more than is standard based on the collective labor agreement. Based on the collective labor agreement, a normal week is 37.5 hours. This may be deviated from to 40 hours. But you will still be paid for 37.5 hours per week. On the other hand, the 2.5 hours that are worked extra per week are roster-free days. Those 14 days on top of the standard 5, are therefore the 2.5 hours that you work per week above the 'full-time' week for 52 weeks. These days may not simply be paid out. This is different if your contract or the collective labor agreement includes something about selling days. In your case, this is regulated in art. 38 of the collective labor agreement. It states that you CAN agree with your employer every year to sell roster-free days. In principle, you must agree to this. In principle, this should not be done unilaterally. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.