Rights when building up vacation days?

Questioner

I have informed my employer that I am going to stop working. I still have a lot of extra statutory leave hours, which I have not been able to take earlier due to busy work. I prefer that I stop working as of 1-1-2024 and that I offset the first months of 2024 with the extra statutory leave hours that have not yet been taken. The question now is whether or not there is an accumulation of statutory and extra-statutory leave hours and ADV hours in the first months of 2024. My employer does not think so and therefore wants to end the employment contract on 31-12-2023. Because of that extra-statutory leave, I would like the employment contract to start on 1-5-2024, which means that I can also still receive salary for the period 1-1-2024 to 1-5-2024. Am I in the right?

Lawyer

The accrual of vacation days is a right granted to employees by the Work and Care Act (WAZO) and the Civil Code. It is important to first clarify that statutory vacation days and extra-statutory vacation days are two different things. Statutory vacation days are accrued based on the time worked, and you are entitled to 4 times the number of hours you work per week. Everything that exceeds this statutory minimum is the so-called extra-statutory vacation days. If you still have vacation days (both statutory and extra-statutory), you can indeed take them just before your contract ends. The possibility to take vacation days does not depend on whether a notice period is observed. You continue to build up your vacation days until the end of your employment. However, the extra-statutory vacation days can sometimes expire if they are not taken within a certain period. This depends on what is stipulated in your employment contract or collective labor agreement. However, whether there is an accrual of leave hours during the period in which you take leave (in this case the first months of 2024) may also depend on what is stated in your employment contract or collective labor agreement. It is therefore wise to check this. It is also good to make it clear in your conversations with your employer that you intend to take your extra statutory days during this period, so that this does not cause confusion. It would be advisable to contact an employment lawyer who can better analyze your specific situation and indicate exactly what your rights are in this situation.' ---------------- Please note! This free advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer ---------------- Call us for further assistance Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. We may be able to help you free of charge or refer you to a reliable lawyer or legal expert. Call us during office hours on 040 2350423.

Questioner

Thanks for the information provided. It is a complicated matter for someone who has to deal with it once in their life. On the one hand, I read that statutory vacation days are accrued on the basis of WORKED time; after all, these vacation days are accrued until the end of the employment. On the other hand, I read that accruing vacation days during a LEAVE PERIOD depends on what is stated about this in an employment contract or collective labor agreement. That seems contradictory to me, since a leave period is also part of the current employment, isn't it? As is apparent from my question, I am also curious about the situation with ADV hours: does another deviating arrangement apply to this?