Is there a 4-day week in Netherlands?
No. The Netherlands has no national 4-day week and no statutory 32-hour week, but Dutch law lets employees ask to work fewer hours, and part-time work is very common.
The Flexible Working Act, originally the 2000 Working Hours Adjustment Act (Wet aanpassing arbeidsduur), lets employees at firms with at least 10 staff and 26 weeks' service ask to change their hours. The employer must agree unless a serious business or service interest opposes it. It is a right to ask, not a right to a 4-day week.
According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 4.8 million of 9.8 million employed people worked part-time (under 35 hours) in the second quarter of 2026, and the average was 31.9 hours a week. The OECD's 2025 average of 31.3 hours is the lowest of the 42 countries in its table.
Some employers have gone further. Software firm AFAS made its four-day week permanent in November 2025, with Fridays off and no loss of wages for people who had worked five days.
Caveat: the government's Meer uren werkt! programme pursues the opposite aim: part-timers who want to work more adding 2.7 hours a week on average.
Latest developments
Software firm AFAS makes its four-day week permanent
After a trial period, AFAS keeps Fridays off for staff who previously worked five days, without loss of wages. The company's internal research found 98% of employees and customers experienced more balance.
Accountancy Vanmorgen: AFAS voert vierdaagse werkweek definitief in (opens in new tab)
4-day-week trials in Netherlands
What each pilot reported. Figures are the organiser's own, from the linked report.
AFAS four-day week (company-wide trial, now permanent)
Run by AFAS (software company)
- Jan 2025
- 1 company
AFAS closed its offices on Fridays from 1 January 2025 for all staff, without loss of wages. In November 2025, after the trial period, it made the four-day week permanent. The company's internal research found 98% of employees and customers experienced more balance (company-reported, not an independent study).
Company-reported; no independent evaluation found.
- Mental health: 98% of employees and customers experienced more balance, according to AFAS's internal research (a share of respondents, not a size of change).
Jobs in Netherlands
Android Developer
Luscii · Remote · Utrecht, Netherlands
4 Day Work Week
Supervisor
PVH Corp. · Onsite · Roosendaal, Netherlands
Summer Fridays
Who offers a 4-day week in Netherlands
Nmbrs
Innovative HR and payroll software company pioneering a 4-day workweek with a flat organizational structure and teams across Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Stockholm.
Luscii
Digital health platform revolutionizing remote patient monitoring across Europe with a 4-day work week and holacratic structure.
PCN
Recruitment agency specializing in FinTech, SaaS, eCommerce & Cyber Security with comprehensive training and career development.
QBayLogic
Netherlands-based FPGA/ASIC design house specializing in high-efficiency digital hardware solutions, creators of the open-source Clash compiler.
Infinitas Learning
Leading European educational resources company transforming learning through innovative print and digital solutions for schools and institutions worldwide.
Ecare
Dutch healthcare-software company with a company-wide 32-hour, 4-day week (Fridays off) at full salary.
How Netherlands compares
Netherlands, the labelled dot, against the other countries we cover.
Average weekly hours
Shortest of 25 countries, 6.0 hours below the median of 37.3.
Netherlands 31.3 to South Africa 42.3
See all 25 countries
| Country | Hours |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 31.3 |
| Denmark | 33.3 |
| Germany | 34.5 |
| Norway | 34.6 |
| Australia | 35.4 |
| Austria | 35.6 |
| Finland | 35.6 |
| Switzerland | 35.7 |
| Belgium | 36.0 |
| Ireland | 36.0 |
| United Kingdom | 36.3 |
| France | 36.9 |
| Sweden | 37.3 |
| Iceland | 37.4 |
| Japan | 37.5 |
| Spain | 37.5 |
| New Zealand | 37.6 |
| United States | 38.2 |
| Lithuania | 39.0 |
| South Korea | 39.4 |
| Brazil | 39.5 |
| Chile | 39.8 |
| Poland | 39.9 |
| Portugal | 40.0 |
| South Africa | 42.3 |
Usual weekly hours on the main job, all employed people, from the OECD (latest year, 2024 or 2025). It includes part-timers. No comparable figure for: Canada, Philippines, United Arab Emirates.
Statutory paid leave
Joint 12th longest of 26 countries, level with the median of 20.
United Kingdom 28 to United States None
See all 26 countries
| Country | Days |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 28 |
| Austria | 25 |
| Denmark | 25 |
| Finland | 25 |
| France | 25 |
| Sweden | 25 |
| Iceland | 24 |
| Brazil | 22 |
| Portugal | 22 |
| Spain | 22 |
| Norway | 21 |
| Australia | 20 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| Germany | 20 |
| Ireland | 20 |
| Netherlands | 20 |
| New Zealand | 20 |
| Poland | 20 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| Chile | 15 |
| South Africa | 15 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Canada | 10 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Philippines | 5 |
| United States | None |
The legal minimum a year, in working days on a five-day week, before public holidays. Definitions differ: some countries set weeks or calendar days (converted here), the UK lets public holidays count and the United States has no national minimum. Each country page says what its number covers. No comparable figure for: Lithuania, United Arab Emirates.
Working in Netherlands
Working hours
Employed people in the Netherlands work 31.9 hours a week on average (CBS, second quarter 2026); the OECD figure for 2025 is 31.3. That average includes the 4.8 million part-timers, and no law sets a 32-hour week. The Working Time Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) allows up to 12 hours a shift and 60 hours a week, averaging no more than 55 hours a week over four weeks and 48 over 16 weeks.
Paid leave and holidays
Employees are entitled to at least four times the number of days they work per week in paid leave: 20 days on a five-day week, 16 on a four-day week.
Part-time and flexible work
CBS counts under 35 hours a week as part-time. In the second quarter of 2026, 3.2 million of 4.7 million employed women worked part-time, against 1.6 million of 5.2 million men. In 2024, 38.6% of employed people worked part-time, the highest share in the EU (EU average: 17.1%, Eurostat).
A request to change hours must be in writing at least two months before the desired start date. After a request is granted or refused, the employee must wait a year before asking again. The 10-employee threshold and the one-year wait do not apply to requests to care for a child under 8 or for a relative or friend.
Remote work
In 2025, 48.0% of employees aged 15-64 worked from home usually (8.3%) or sometimes (39.7%), according to Eurostat.