Your full-time employees are entitled to 10 statutory holidays per year. On these days, on which inactivity is legally defined, employees retain the right to wages for the hours they would normally work. In principle, working on holidays is prohibited, except in specific cases, such as in the hospitality industry or retail trade.
The holidays in 2025 are:
Wednesday January 1: New Year
Monday April 21: Easter Monday
Thursday, May 1: Labor Day
Thursday May 29: Ascension Day
Monday June 9: Pentecost Monday
Monday July 21: National Day
Friday, August 15: Assumption of Our Lady
Saturday November 1: All Saints' Day
Tuesday, November 11: Armistice Day
Thursday December 25: Christmas
Replacement days
In 2025, one holiday (Saturday 1 November) will fall on a weekend day (for companies that work in a 5-day system from Monday to Friday). A replacement day must be provided for this. This can be arranged in various ways, according to a cascade system:
Decision by the competent joint committee (before 1 October 2024).
Decision of the works council.
Agreement between employer and trade union delegation (in the absence of a works council).
Agreement between employer and employee(group).
Individual agreement with the employee.
If no replacement day is agreed, the next working day (usually Monday) will be the replacement day.
Procedure
State the public holidays and replacement days in the work regulations.
Post a dated and signed notice in the company before December 15, 2024, stating the agreed replacement days.
Have employees sign the message to avoid later discussions. A majority of the staff agrees.
Add a copy of this message to the employment regulations and send it to the Social Laws Inspectorate.
Free choice for employees?
Employees can freely choose a replacement day, but this can lead to complications, especially for part-time employees with variable hours. To prevent this, you as an employer can determine fixed replacement days.
The same message may also include compensatory rest days or dates of collective closures.
Would you like to stay informed about everything related to social-legal legislation or payroll? Contact Rovoco!