construction holiday 2023

  • Central: from Monday 24 July to 11 August – weeks: 30, 31, 32
  • South: from Monday 31 July to Friday 18 August – weeks: 31, 32, 33
  • North: from Monday 7 August to Friday 25 August – weeks: 32, 33, 34

The regions don't all have their construction holiday at the same time; it can be 1 or 2 weeks earlier or later. Which region goes early or late rotates every year.

Check out our construction vacancies.

Notes on the 2023 construction holiday

The dates above are recommended dates set by the employers' organisations for 2023. Officially there are no fixed dates for the construction holiday (bouwvak) any more, but employers almost always follow the recommended dates. You are entitled to 3 consecutive weeks of construction holiday in the summer, though.

The 2023 construction holiday falls within the school holidays

The construction holiday always falls within the school summer holidays. Handy if you want to go away with the whole family. Below are the school summer holiday dates per region.

  • Central: 8 July to 20 August – weeks: 28 to 33
  • South: 15 July to 27 August 2023 – weeks: 29 to 34
  • North: 22 July to 3 September – weeks: 30 to 35

What is the construction holiday (bouwvak)?

The construction holiday, in Dutch bouwvakantie or bouwvak for short, is the construction sector's 3-week summer holiday. Most work stops during that time, although some construction workers keep going, for example to finish a project on time. They then take their 3 weeks off at another time.

Until 1981, the date of the construction holiday was officially fixed in the collective labour agreement (CAO) for the construction industry. The unions felt that fixing the date restricted construction workers' freedom, so it was scrapped and left to the companies themselves.

Which trades have a construction holiday?

Lots of trades work in the various sectors of construction. Think of housebuilding, industrial construction, civil engineering and road building. All trades in these sectors take the construction holiday, such as carpenters, bricklayers, painters, plasterers, machine operators, etc.

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