The short answer
Statutory holiday hours and additional contractual or CAO hours can have different expiry rules. The ordinary statutory balance is four times weekly working hours per year.
Split your balance into two categories
Statutory leave normally expires six months after the year of accrual, but exceptions and employer duties matter. Additional leave generally has a longer limitation period. Ask for a balance showing category and year.
Make a written plan before the deadline
Request leave in time and keep the employer’s response. If work pressure or illness prevented you from taking leave, do not assume every unused hour has automatically expired; get the situation assessed. During employment, statutory leave is intended as time off rather than a routine cash substitute. At the end of employment, outstanding leave needs to be checked in the final settlement.
What to do next
- Request the balance by accrual year and statutory or extra category.
- Plan time off and retain written requests and responses.
- Check remaining hours and the payment basis when employment ends.
Your portal displays 60 hours without explaining their year or category. Ask for the split before deciding which hours to use first; a single total hides different deadlines.
Questions people ask
Are holiday allowance and holiday days the same?
No. Holiday allowance is money; paid annual leave is time away from work with pay. Track the two balances separately.
Does all leave expire after six months?
No. That is the ordinary rule for statutory leave, with exceptions. Additional leave follows different rules.
Can I sell all statutory leave while employed?
Statutory leave is generally meant to be taken as time off. Different rules apply to additional leave and final settlement.
What if I could not take leave because of illness?
That can affect expiry. Keep the circumstances and requests documented and ask for advice before accepting removal of the balance.
What should I check when leaving the job?
The number and type of unused hours, the pay basis and whether they appear separately in your final settlement.
Sources
Last verified: 4 October 2026. Sources are in Dutch or English.