Four-Day Working Week: Measurable and Achievable with Time Tracking

Not legal advice — please consult a tax adviser or employment law specialist for your specific situation.

The four-day working week is gaining traction across Europe, and the Netherlands is well placed to lead the way. The Dutch already have one of the shortest average working weeks in Europe. Yet for many SME owners and freelancers, making the formal switch to a four-day week still feels daunting. How do you know it's actually working? And how do you maintain control over productivity, compliance and invoicing? It all starts with reliable time tracking.

Why the Four-Day Week Suits Dutch SMEs

The Netherlands has long had a culture of efficient working. More and more SMEs are now formalising shorter weeks as policy: four days, same output.

The benefits are tangible: lower absenteeism, higher staff satisfaction and a stronger position in a competitive labour market. But without visibility into how hours are actually spent, there are real risks. Without reliable data, you cannot tell whether your team is genuinely delivering in four days what previously took five, or whether people are quietly working longer to get everything done.

That last point is not just a wellbeing issue. The Dutch Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) sets limits on maximum working hours and minimum rest periods. As an employer, you must be able to demonstrate that employees are not structurally overworking. Longer daily shifts in a four-day week therefore demand accurate records, not as a bureaucratic exercise, but as the foundation of your policy.

Want to know exactly what the law requires? Read Is time tracking legally required in the Netherlands? for a clear overview of your obligations.

Time Tracking as a Management Tool for the Four-Day Week

Imagine you run an IT consultancy with eight staff and plan to introduce a four-day week from January 2026. Everyone works four nine-hour days: 36 hours a week instead of 40. But how do you measure whether it's working?

Without time tracking software, you rely on guesswork. With the right system, you see for each team member:

• Actual hours worked per day and per week
• Which projects or tasks are consuming time
• Where bottlenecks arise: who is consistently overworking, and why?

Those insights are the basis for honest conversations about workload and planning. Without that data, the four-day week remains an experiment with no outcome.

Method	Visibility into hours	ATW compliance	Overtime alerts
Paper timesheets	Limited	Insufficient	No
Excel spreadsheet	Moderate	Limited	Manual
Time tracking software	Full	Yes	Automatic

Wondering why Excel falls short here? See our comparison of Excel vs. time tracking software to find out what suits your organisation.

Try PrikKlokPlus for free and get your time tracking in order today

The 1,225-Hour Criterion: Extra Reason for Freelancers to Track Time

Not legal or tax advice — please consult a tax adviser for your specific situation.

For freelancers, there is an additional factor: the Dutch Tax Authority's hours criterion (urencriterium). The Dutch Tax Authority (Belastingdienst) states that you must work at least 1,225 hours per year in your business to qualify for the self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek), as set out in Article 3.6 of the Income Tax Act 2001.

A calendar year offers roughly 46 to 48 working weeks after holidays. On a four-day week, you need to average around 26 hours per week on your business to meet the threshold: achievable, but it requires discipline.

The Dutch Tax Authority states that estimates do not suffice. You need to substantiate your hours with proper records: date, number of hours and a description of the work. Find out exactly what is required in our article on tracking the 1,225-hour criterion.

For freelancers considering fewer working days, time tracking is not just convenient — it is a tax necessity. See also our practical time tracking tips for freelancers.

From Experiment to Policy: Embedding the Four-Day Week

Successfully implementing a four-day week requires more than a boardroom decision. You need a repeatable, auditable process. Three steps that make the difference:

1. Start with a baseline measurement Track hours accurately for eight to twelve weeks before making any change. This reveals the real workload per role or project, and whether four days is genuinely feasible without compromising quality.

2. Set clear boundaries Agree on maximum daily hours and how overtime will be flagged. Configure your time tracking system to alert you when team members consistently exceed agreed limits.

3. Review monthly on data Use recorded hours as the agenda for your team check-ins. Where is work flowing smoothly? Where is it piling up? Act on facts, not instinct.

This is also the moment to review your broader HR and payroll processes. A solid link between time tracking and payroll administration prevents errors when processing non-standard working patterns. See our overview of payroll compliance 2026 for more detail.

Conclusion

The four-day working week is not a utopia — it is a logical next step for SMEs and freelancers already accustomed to working efficiently. But the transition only succeeds when you know what is really happening during the hours you have. Time tracking is the foundation: it makes the experiment measurable, keeps you compliant with working hours legislation and protects freelancers who wish to claim the self-employed deduction.

Don't start with a decision. Start with data.

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Four-Day Week and Time Tracking

Can I introduce a four-day week without employee consent? In principle yes, but you are bound by any applicable collective labour agreement and the Working Hours Act. If daily hours increase (for example to nine or ten hours), the Working Hours Act provides specific rules on maximum working time and minimum rest periods. Always document any changes in the employment contract or an addendum. Consult an employment law specialist for your specific circumstances.

Can a freelancer meet the 1,225-hour criterion on a four-day week? Four working days averaging seven hours, across around 46 working weeks, gives just over 1,280 hours. The Dutch Tax Authority states this is sufficient for the self-employed deduction, provided all hours are correctly recorded and demonstrably relate to your business. Consult a tax adviser for your personal situation.

What if a team member works more hours than agreed in a four-day week? That counts as overtime, even within a shorter week. Your time tracking system should flag this automatically so you can act promptly. Structural overtime in a four-day week may signal excessive workload or unrealistic planning.

Is time tracking mandatory even when my team always works on-site? The Working Hours Act makes no distinction between remote and on-site work. As an employer, you are responsible for maintaining a demonstrable record of hours worked and rest periods taken. Consult a legal adviser for the precise obligations in your situation.

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