The bouwvak 2027 (the Dutch construction summer holiday) falls on these advisory dates from Bouwend Nederland: Noord from Monday 26 July to Friday 13 August, Midden from Monday 2 August to Friday 20 August, and Zuid from Monday 9 August to Friday 27 August 2027. In week 32 (9 to 13 August) all three regions are off at the same time. The bouwvak is not mandatory: each company decides on its own summer closure. What matters for you as a planner is that suppliers, subcontractors and clients will follow these dates, so your crews and deliveries need a plan now.
Suivo is a Belgian company whose scheduling software plans routes and orders for drivers, so deliveries keep moving when the market slows down. Below you find the dates, the rules behind them, and a practical planning checklist.
What are the bouwvak 2027 dates for Noord, Midden and Zuid?
Bouwend Nederland (the Dutch construction employers’ association) publishes a terugvaladvies (fallback advice) every year. For 2027 it is:
| Region | Advisory bouwvak 2027 | Weeks | Main provinces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noord | Mon 26 July to Fri 13 August | 30 to 32 | Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Noord-Holland, Flevoland (except Zeewolde) |
| Midden | Mon 2 August to Fri 20 August | 31 to 33 | Zuid-Holland, Utrecht (except Eemnes), Zeewolde, part of Gelderland |
| Zuid | Mon 9 August to Fri 27 August | 32 to 34 | Limburg, Zeeland, most of Noord-Brabant, south Gelderland |
A few points to note:
- Week 32 (9 to 13 August 2027) is the only week when all three regions are closed. Plan no critical deliveries or inspections that week.
- Gelderland is split between Midden and Zuid, and a few municipalities break the provincial pattern (for example Hattem and Eemnes belong to Noord). For a specific municipality, check the region list from FNV (the Dutch trade union federation).
- Only use the Bouwend Nederland dates. Always check the dates against Bouwend Nederland.
How does the regional rotation work?
The three regions do not go on holiday in the same order every year. The bouwvak falls within the regional school summer holiday, and the order of the regions changes each year. You can see this in the last three years of advisory dates:
| Year | First region | Second region | Third region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Zuid (21 Jul to 8 Aug) | Noord (28 Jul to 15 Aug) | Midden (4 Aug to 22 Aug) |
| 2026 | Noord (20 Jul to 7 Aug) | Zuid (27 Jul to 14 Aug) | Midden (3 Aug to 21 Aug) |
| 2027 | Noord (26 Jul to 13 Aug) | Midden (2 Aug to 20 Aug) | Zuid (9 Aug to 27 Aug) |
For 2027, the school summer holiday according to Rijksoverheid (the Dutch central government) runs from 10 July to 22 August in Noord, 17 July to 29 August in Midden, and 24 July to 5 September in Zuid. Bouwend Nederland’s published advice covers the years up to and including 2027. The 2028 dates were not yet published in September 2026.
Is the bouwvak mandatory?
No. Bouwend Nederland states that a mandatory bouwvak has not existed for years, and that its dates are only advice. It publishes them because companies and workers still want a guideline for a collective summer closure. According to FNV, the official bouwvak was abolished in 1981 and is not part of the cao (collective labour agreement).
What this means for you:
- A company closure is your decision. You agree it within the company, in consultation with the ondernemingsraad (OR, works council) or the personeelsvertegenwoordiging (PVT, staff representation).
- Your site workers have a right to a long summer break. Under the cao Bouw & Infra 2025-2027 (art. 3.1.5), a bouwplaatswerknemer (site worker) is entitled to three consecutive weeks of summer holiday if he has accrued enough days. At his request, you set these dates as far as possible before 1 December of the previous year. For summer 2027, that is before 1 December 2026.
- You follow the worker’s wishes by default. Under art. 3.1.4 you may only deviate if the holiday would endanger business continuity, and you inform the employee in writing within two weeks after he gave his wishes in writing.
How do you plan crews, subcontractors and deliveries around the bouwvak?
Even if your company keeps working, the market around you slows down. Suppliers close, subcontractors are away and clients are hard to reach. Use this checklist in the autumn before:
- Decide on a company closure (yes, no, or per team) and agree it with the OR or PVT.
- Collect holiday wishes early and confirm the three-week summer holiday of site workers before 1 December 2026.
- Map your sites to regions. A contractor from Zuid working on a site in Noord deals with two different closure periods.
- Block week 32 (9 to 13 August 2027) for deliveries, crane hire and inspections.
- Confirm subcontractor availability in writing for July and August, per region.
- Plan pours, finishing work and handovers so they do not land in the week your supplier is closed.
- Publish the summer roster on time (see the next section) and keep a skeleton crew for emergencies.
Two things get harder around the bouwvak: deliveries and hours. For deliveries, Suivo’s scheduling tool lets planners build and adjust driver routes and orders, warns them about opening-hour deviations and capacity overruns, and sends changes to drivers in real time. That helps when a supplier or site has different hours in July and August. For hours, the time tracking solution for the Netherlands lets employees request holidays directly in Suivo, with validation flows and calendar synchronisation, and registers hours via app, badge, on-site terminal or vehicle. Read more about Suivo for construction companies. If your holiday requests still live in a spreadsheet, see when hours registration in Excel stops working.
Working through the bouwvak: what do the Arbeidstijdenwet and the cao say?
Summer is a popular time for maintenance and infrastructure work, precisely because sites are quiet. If you keep crews working, the normal rules of the Arbeidstijdenwet (Dutch Working Hours Act) still apply. There is no holiday exception:
- Working time: at most 12 hours per shift and 60 hours per week, on average 55 hours per week over any 4 weeks, and on average 48 hours per week over any 16 weeks.
- Rest: at least 11 hours of rest in every 24 hours (which may be shortened to 8 hours once a week), and at least 36 hours of weekly rest (or 72 hours in 14 days, in parts of at least 32 hours).
- Sunday work: only if the nature of the work requires it and it has been agreed, or if business circumstances require it and the works council (or, without one, the employees concerned) agrees and each employee consents. At least 13 Sundays off in every 52 weeks, unless the cao says otherwise.
- Roster notice: announce the roster at least 28 days (4 weeks) in advance, unless the cao or an agreement with the employee sets another period.
- Registration: keep a proper record of working and rest times, and keep it for at least 52 weeks.
A small crew doing long days to catch up after the break can quickly reach the 60-hour limit. Our guide to the Arbeidstijdenwet for employers explains every limit in detail.
Bouwvak vs the Belgian bouwverlof: what if you work in both countries?
Belgium has its own construction holiday, the bouwverlof. It works differently from the Dutch bouwvak. According to Bouwunie (a Belgian construction SME federation), the Belgian dates are regional recommendations from employer and worker organisations, not a cao. They only become binding for a company once it includes them in its arbeidsreglement (work rules).
The timing is also different. In most Flemish provinces the summer bouwverlof 2027 starts in July:
| Belgian region (Flanders) | Summer bouwverlof 2027 |
|---|---|
| Antwerp, Limburg, Leuven | 12 July to 30 July |
| Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde | 5 July to 30 July |
| East Flanders (except Lokeren) | 12 July to 2 August |
| West Flanders | 19 July to 6 August |
For a Dutch contractor with sites on both sides of the border, this means summer disruption from early July to the end of August. Belgian sites go quiet in July, Dutch sites mostly in August. Plan cross-border crews per site, not per country.
Frequently asked questions
When is the bouwvak in 2027?
Bouwend Nederland’s advisory dates (terugvaladvies) for 2027 are: Noord from Monday 26 July to Friday 13 August, Midden from Monday 2 August to Friday 20 August, and Zuid from Monday 9 August to Friday 27 August 2027. These dates are advice, not an obligation.
When is the bouwvak in Limburg in 2027?
Limburg is in region Zuid. The advisory bouwvak for Zuid in 2027 runs from Monday 9 August to Friday 27 August 2027 (weeks 32 to 34).
When are the school holidays in 2027?
According to Rijksoverheid, the school summer holiday 2027 runs from 10 July to 22 August in region Noord, 17 July to 29 August in Midden, and 24 July to 5 September in Zuid. The advisory bouwvak in each region falls within that region’s school summer holiday.
When is the bouwvak in 2028?
As of September 2026, Bouwend Nederland had published advisory dates up to and including 2027 only. Check the Bouwend Nederland page on special leave for the 2028 dates once they appear.
How did the bouwvak fall in 2026?
The advisory bouwvak 2026 was: Noord 20 July to 7 August, Zuid 27 July to 14 August, and Midden 3 August to 21 August 2026. FNV published the same dates, and CNV the same start dates.
Plan summer 2027 before the holiday requests arrive
The bouwvak dates are fixed advice, but your summer is not. Decide on a closure, collect holiday wishes before 1 December, block week 32, and give every crew a roster that respects the Arbeidstijdenwet. When holiday requests, registered hours and delivery planning sit in one connected platform instead of three spreadsheets, nobody sends a truck to a site that is closed.
Want to see how Suivo handles delivery planning, holiday requests and hours registration? Book a free demo
