What Does Article 7:640a of the Dutch Civil Code Say?
Article 7:640a of the Dutch Civil Code sets an expiry date for statutory holiday entitlement: the statutory minimum lapses six months after the end of the calendar year in which it was earned. It does not lapse if the employee was reasonably unable to take the leave before that date, and the six-month period can only be extended, in writing, in the employee's favour.
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What Is the Text of Article 7:640a?
English translation (unofficial, by the Dutch Law Institute):
The entitlement to the minimum referred to in Article 634 lapses six months after the last day of the calendar year in which the entitlement was acquired, unless the employee was reasonably unable to take holiday up to that time. The six-month period referred to in the first sentence may be departed from in favour of the employee by written agreement.
Dutch text (Burgerlijk Wetboek Book 7, article 640a):
De aanspraak op het minimum, bedoeld in artikel 634 , vervalt zes maanden na de laatste dag van het kalenderjaar waarin de aanspraak is verworven, tenzij de werknemer tot aan dat tijdstip redelijkerwijs niet in staat is geweest vakantie op te nemen. Bij schriftelijke overeenkomst kan ten gunste van de werknemer worden afgeweken van de termijn van zes maanden, bedoeld in de eerste zin.
Dutch text as in force from 1 July 2026, taken from wetten.overheid.nl, the official source of Dutch legislation. The English translation is not official; in case of doubt the Dutch text prevails.
What Does Article 7:640a Mean?
The article applies to one category of leave only: the statutory minimum. Under Article 7:634 of the Dutch Civil Code, an employee who is entitled to wages for the full agreed working time for a whole year acquires holiday of at least four times the agreed weekly working time. Someone working 40 hours a week therefore earns at least 160 hours of statutory leave per year, and a part-year earns a proportional share.
That statutory minimum does not remain available indefinitely. It lapses six months after the last day of the calendar year in which it was acquired. Statutory leave earned in 2026 therefore lapses six months after 31 December 2026, at the end of June 2027. After that date the employee can no longer take it and, in principle, it is not paid out.
Leave that the employer grants on top of the statutory minimum, often called extra-statutory leave (bovenwettelijke vakantiedagen), is not covered by Article 7:640a. It is subject to the five-year limitation period in Article 7:642 of the Dutch Civil Code instead.
When Does Statutory Leave Not Expire?
The article contains its own exception. The entitlement does not lapse if the employee was reasonably unable to take holiday up to the expiry date. The statute does not list the situations it has in mind; whether the exception applies depends on the facts of the case.
The exception has to be read together with the employer's duty in Article 7:638 of the Dutch Civil Code (1): the employer must give the employee the opportunity each year to take the statutory minimum. An employer that has not actually enabled the employee to take the leave is in a weak position to argue that the leave has lapsed.
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has applied the underlying EU-law duty to the related limitation period. In a decision of 23 June 2023 it upheld a ruling that the five-year limitation period of Article 7:642 had to be disapplied for statutory leave because the employer had not shown that it had actually enabled the employee to take that leave. The court of appeal had relied on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, under which the employer must ensure, concretely and transparently, that the employee is actually able to take paid annual leave, and must inform the employee precisely and in good time that leave not taken will be lost. That decision concerned Article 7:642 rather than Article 7:640a, but it shows how the employer's duty affects statutory leave that has not been taken.
Can the Six-Month Period Be Changed?
Only in the employee's favour, and only in writing. The second sentence of Article 7:640a allows the parties to agree a longer period, for example in the employment contract or a staff policy. A shorter period cannot validly be agreed.
Collective labour agreements (cao) sometimes contain their own arrangements on leave, so the applicable agreement should always be checked alongside the statute.
What Does This Mean in Practice?
For employers, the practical consequence is to plan statutory leave and to tell employees in writing, before the expiry date, how much statutory leave they still have and when it will lapse. An employer that cannot show it did so risks that the leave remains claimable.
For employees, the statutory days should be taken before the end of June of the following year, unless a longer period has been agreed. Extra-statutory days last longer, but they too are lost once the five-year limitation period has run.
Leave cannot be exchanged for money while the employment continues, as far as the statutory minimum is concerned (Article 7:640 of the Dutch Civil Code). When the employment ends, the employee is entitled to payment for leave that is still outstanding (Article 7:641 of the Dutch Civil Code (1)); see the final settlement.
Which Provisions Are Related to Article 7:640a?
- Article 7:634: how much statutory leave is acquired.
- Article 7:638: the employer's duty to enable the employee to take the statutory minimum, and how holiday dates are set.
- Article 7:640: no waiver of leave against compensation during employment, except for leave above the statutory minimum.
- Article 7:641: payment for outstanding leave when the employment ends.
- Article 7:642: the five-year limitation period for claims to holiday, which applies without prejudice to Article 7:640a.
Which Court Decisions Apply Article 7:640a?
| Authority | Rule |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court of the Netherlands, 2023-06-23, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:955 | The five-year limitation period of Article 7:642 must be disapplied for statutory leave where the employer has not actually enabled the employee to exercise the right to paid annual leave; the court of appeal was right to do so. The decision concerns Article 7:642, not the expiry rule of Article 7:640a. |
Related Provisions and Guides
Related articles in this library:
- Article 7:672 of the Dutch Civil Code: Notice periods for termination
Further reading on dutch-law.com:
- annual leave under Dutch law
- holiday leave entitlements in the Netherlands
- the final settlement payment
All articles: the Dutch Civil Code in English.