What the law says in the Netherlands about rest, hours, breaks, night work and workers under 18, with the provision behind each figure, and what helloswap checks when a shift is planned, swapped or taken.
Each figure is the law's, with the number of its source. The last column says what helloswap does with a shift that breaks it.
| Rule | What the law says | In helloswap |
|---|---|---|
| Rest between two shifts | At least 11 hours in a row1 | Blocks the shift |
| Longest working day | At most 12 hours of work2 | Blocks the shift |
| Longest single week | Never more than 60 hours in one week3 | Blocks the shift |
| Average working week | At most 48 hours a week on average over 16 weeks45 | Blocks the shift |
| Weekly rest | 36 hours in a row every week6 | Warning |
| Break | At least 30 minutes when the working day is longer than 5.5 hours78 | Warning |
| Longer break | 45 minutes in all when the working day is longer than 10 hours9 | Warning |
| Night period | 00:00 to 06:0010 | Definition |
| Night work | Work with more than 1 hour in the night period is night work10 | Definition |
| Limit for night work | At most 10 hours of work in a night shift11 | Blocks the shift |
Someone who is under 18 on the day of the shift gets these figures. helloswap goes by the date of birth on the person's profile. An empty cell means the law has no figure there that this page can state.
| Rule | Under 15 | Age 15 | Ages 16–17 | In helloswap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rest between two shifts | 14 hours12 | – | 12 hours13 | Blocks the shift |
| Longest working day | 2 hours of light chores on a school day147 hours on a day without school14 | 8 hours on a day without school152 hours on a school day15 | 9 hours16 | Blocks the shift |
| Longest working week | 12 hours in a school week1735 hours in a week without school18 | 12 hours in a school week1540 hours in a week without school18 | 45 hours19 | Blocks the shift |
| No work between | 19:00 and 07:0020 | 19:00 and 07:0021 | 23:00 and 06:0013 | Blocks the shift |
| Weekly rest | 2 days off a week22 | 2 days off a week22 | 36 hours in a row23 | Blocks the shift |
| Break | 30 minutes when the day is longer than 4.5 hours2425 | 30 minutes when the day is longer than 4.5 hours2425 | 30 minutes when the day is longer than 4.5 hours2425 | Warning |
The law's figure is one thing, the check another. Where the two differ, it says so here.
The split is the product's own and the same for every company.
Nobody can override these, whether a manager plans the shift, someone takes it from the swap board or it is part of a swap.
The shift can still be saved. The warning names the rule and says why.
These are the figures a company in the Netherlands starts with, on every plan. On the Enterprise plan a company admin can change each of them in Settings, on the Compliance rules tab, to follow a collective agreement or a sector exception.
Every figure on this page carries the number of the provision it was read in. The links go to the official text.
14 days free, no card. Import your people from CSV and publish in an afternoon.