NederlandsRest periodThe Working Hours Act (ATW) is also referred to as the "Working Hours Act". This contains everything about how long you are allowed to work and how much 'rest time' (free time) you are officially entitled to. Special rules apply for night work, working on Sundays or on-call services. The law applies to everyone from the age of 18, including flex colleagues and trainees.
Rest time
Every week you are entitled to at least 36 hours of rest, also known as 'free'. After a working day you are always entitled to 11 hours of rest. Once a week it may be 8 hours. This is only allowed if your field really needs it. With a night shift that ends after 02:00, you are then entitled to 14 hours of rest. This may also be shortened to 8 hours once a week. If you have worked 3 or more night shifts in a row, you are entitled to at least 46 hours of rest.
Maximum working time
You may not work more than 12 hours per day. That's 60 hours a week. You may work a maximum of 55 hours per week on average per 4-week period, unless the collective labor agreement contains other agreements. The collective labor agreement contains the agreements between employers' organisation(s) and employee associations. Collectively, these agreements are called the “ CAO ”: collective labor agreement. If you work more than 16 weeks in a row, you are only allowed to work 48 hours per week on average.
Pause
A break must last at least 15 minutes, during which you are not allowed to continue working. If you work more than 5.5 hours, you are entitled to a 30-minute break. You can also split this into 2 x 15 minutes. If you work more than 10 hours, you are entitled to a 45-minute break. You can also split this into 3 x 15 minutes. If this is stated in the collective labor agreement, the break may be shortened to 15 minutes.
The night shifts
You may not work more than 7 night shifts in a row, unless your employer's collective labor agreement states 8 days. You may not work more than 36 night shifts per 16 weeks that end after 02:00. In the collective labor agreement, this can be deviated from up to a maximum of 140 night shifts (which end after 2 a.m.) per year or a maximum of 38 hours working between 00:00 and 06:00 per 2 weeks.
Working hours at night shifts
You can work a maximum of 10 hours on night shifts, which can be extended to 12 hours. This is allowed a maximum of 5 times per 2 weeks and 22 times per year. If you work 16 weeks in a row, with 16 or more night shifts, you are not allowed to work more than an average of 40 hours a week.
Working on Sunday
In fact, there is a ban on working on Sundays. However, it is possible to deviate from this in special cases (catering, shops, etc.). If you do work on Sundays, you are entitled to 13 free Sundays per year.
On-call service (on call)
This means that an employee must be reachable and callable within a certain period. This is also known as a 'stand-by service'. You have to come to work immediately when they call you. This only applies to certain types of work. The minimum duration of a call service is 30 minutes. You may only be on call for 2 weeks per 4 weeks. It is not allowed to be scheduled on an on-call basis 11 hours before and 14 hours after a night shift.
Source: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/werktijden/vragen-en- Antwoord /wat-is-er-wettelijk-geregeld-voor-mijn-werktijden?utm_campaign=sea-t-werk-a-werktijden&utm_term= %2Bworking hours law&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_ZXTivjk3QIViM13Ch3r6Ac_EAAYASAAEgII0_D_BwE