Why the university is closed this Friday, while almost everyone else works or goes to school

While for most organisations and companies coming Friday is a normal workday or school day, the university buildings will be closed, staff will have the day off, and students will have no classes. The compulsory day off for Good Friday at the university turns out to have little to do with religion.

Coming Friday is Good Friday, the day on which Christians commemorate the death of Jesus Christ on the cross (before his resurrection on the following Sunday with Easter). But why is this Christian holiday a mandatory day off at universities, while most institutions are secular? It turns out it has nothing to do with religion – it is simply stipulated in the universities’ collective labour agreement.

Ruben Puylaert, spokesperson for Universities Netherlands, looked into it at EM’s request: “At the end of the 1990s, many public sector organisations moved to a 36-hour workweek. To make that possible, some benefits were given up, such as Good Friday as a day off. Universities kept a 38-hour workweek, so that didn’t happen there.”

Swapping Good Friday

Because Good Friday holds the status of a religious holiday for fewer and fewer people, since 2024 university staff can swap this day off for another holiday that is important to them. Think of Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan), Keti Koti, or a holiday from an employee’s region or country of origin.

According to the collective labour agreement, this is only possible if you arrange it in time with your supervisor, and if Friday is a day you would normally work. And if you can work from home, since the buildings on the Woudestein campus are almost all closed. Check here where you can still find a study spot or grab a sandwich on Good Friday.

How many staff take advantage of this swap option is not known at EUR.