Holiday and Leave Regulations

As decreed by the Executive Board and agreed with the employee organisation in the Local Council on 22 April 2024.

If you wish to request holidays or leave, read more about the rights to which you are entitled below.

General

Article 1 Contents

The employer, having regard to Article 4.7, Article 4.10, par. 1c, and Article 4.24 of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU), has adopted the following holiday and leave regulations as defined in the CAO-NU, the Dutch Civil Code (BW) and the Work and Care Act (WAZO).

Article 2 Definitions

a. Employee: an employee within the meaning of the CAO-NU;

b. Employer: uu77;

c. Remuneration: remuneration as defined in Article 1.1, par. r, of the CAO NU;

d. Statutory holiday leave hours: the entitlement to holiday pursuant to Article 7:634 of the Civil Code;

e. Non-statutory holiday leave hours: the entitlement to holiday as agreed in the CAO minus the statutory entitlement to holiday.

f. Compensation hours: the hours received by an employee if he or she works more than the standard number of hours under the flexible working time scheme (if applied).

Article 3 Proportionality

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the entitlements in these regulations shall, with regard to employees who are employed for less than a full working week, apply in proportion to the working hours agreed upon.

Part 1: Holidays

Article 4 Holiday entitlements (Article 4.7 CAO)

An employee is entitled to holiday each year, with full retention of salary.
In case of standard full-time employment of 38 hours per week, the number of holiday leave hours per calendar year is 232 hours. Of these, 152 hours are statutory holiday leave hours, while 80 hours are non-statutory holiday leave hours.
Participants in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme receive 96 compensation hours on a full-time basis, if they work 40 hours per week.
Participants in the minus option of the flexible working time scheme relinquish 96 holiday leave hours on a full-time basis, if they work 36 hours per week.

Article 5 Holiday entitlement during (extended) illness

An employee who is fully or partially absent as a result of illness continues to accrue holiday leave hours in accordance with Articles 4 of these regulations for as long as the employee is entitled to total or partial payment of salary.

Article 6 Taking holidays (Article 4.7 CAO)

Employees are expected to take their holiday in the calendar year during which the entitlement thereto is built up.
Annually, employees will first take their statutory holiday leave hours before taking their non-statutory holiday leave hours.
Holiday leave hours will not be paid out during the term of employment.
Employees may take holiday leave hours after prior permission from their supervisor. This permission will be granted unless there are compelling reasons not to.
An employee’s request to take leave for a religious holiday in connection with the employee’s religious convictions will be granted up to a maximum of five days per year, unless business interests do not allow for it.
If an employee does not use his or her entire holiday entitlement in a particular year, the employee shall, in order to prevent problems in the university’s business operations and to avoid excessive accumulation of holidays, make arrangements with the supervisor on how to take the holiday entitlement by:
• applying the long-term saving option;
• applying the flexible working time scheme (minus option), which involves reducing the actual number of working hours per week;
• another arrangement that will reduce the remaining entitlement.
If an employee has not made any arrangements with the supervisor about taking his or her holiday entitlement (as referred to in paragraph 1 or 6) by 1 July of the calendar year of accrual, the supervisor can determine a holiday period equal to four times the employee’s weekly working time.
Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 7 and 12, an employee may carry any untaken remnant of the holiday leave hours accrued in a calendar year over to the next calendar year. The holiday leave entitlement carried over expires 6 months after the last day of the calendar year during which it was accrued. With regard to remaining non-statutory holiday leave hours carried over, the employee must make a written agreement with the supervisor within 6 months of the last day of the calendar year during which they were accrued, concerning taking them within a period not exceeding 5 years after the calendar year during which they were accrued. The supervisor is expected to respond in a timely fashion to a proposal for a written agreement.
If an employee does not submit a request for taking the holiday leave hours carried over to a next calendar year in good time and also fails to make a written agreement regarding taking the holiday leave hours at a later time, the supervisor is entitled, following consultation with the employee, to determine periods during which the employee is to take these holiday leave hours within twelve months after the last day of the calendar year in which the holiday leave hours were accrued.
If an employee was unable to take holidays as a result of actions or omissions of the employer, the employee will remain entitled to the statutory holiday leave hours for a period of 5 years.
Pursuant to Article 7:642 of the Civil Code, non-statutory holiday leave hours will expire five years after the last day of the calendar year in which they were accrued.
An employee who carries over more than 80 holiday leave hours at the end of the calendar year without a written agreement forfeits the right to participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme, as referred to in uu77’s Flexible Working Time Regulations.

Article 7 Holidays during illness (Article 4.7 CAO)

An employee who wishes to take a holiday during a period of illness must request his or her supervisor for permission prior to the holiday. The holiday leave hours will be deducted with due observance of the employee’s contractual working hours per day.
The employer, assisted by the occupational health officer, will ensure that an employee who is ill takes his or her holiday entitlement in accordance with the provisions of Article 6. The statutory holiday leave hours expire in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, par. 8, unless the employee had not reasonably been able to take up a holiday until that time. Holiday leave hours not taken shall then expire 5 years after the last day of the calendar year during which they were accrued. Assessment of the above is subject to the advice of the occupational health officer.

Article 8 Holiday entitlement at the end of the employment contract (Article 7:641 Civil Code)

In case of termination of the employment contract, the accumulated holiday leave hours must be taken insofar as possible.
An employee who is still entitled to holiday at the end of the employment contract has the right to a monetary payment up to an amount that corresponds to the remuneration over the period of the entitlement. In case of an employee’s death, the claim for unused holiday leave hours or unused compensation hours shall go to the employee’s estate.
If, upon termination of the employment contract, it turns out that an employee has taken more holiday leave hours than he or she was entitled to, the monetary value of the holiday leave hours taken in excess of the accrued holiday entitlement will be regarded as a performance not due and 3 will be deducted, insofar as possible, from the employee’s remuneration, holiday allowance and/or year-end bonus to which the employee is still entitled.

Article 9 Illness during holiday

If illness during holiday would have prevented an employee from performing the agreed work if the employee had not been on holiday, the employee retains entitlement to the holiday leave hours during which he or she was ill.
An employee who experiences the situation referred to in paragraph 1 must report sick with his or her supervisor during the holiday. If necessary, the employer may ask the employee to submit a doctor’s statement.

Article 10 Collective days off

The following days are designated as collective days off at uu77:
• the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day;
• the Friday morning during the International Four Days Marches event; • the Friday following Ascension Day;
• 24 December, if this date falls on a Monday;
• 2 January, if this date falls on a Friday.
If a collective day off falls on a working day for an employee, the number of hours that the employee should have worked will be deducted from his or her statutory holiday leave hours.

Part 2: Leave other than holidays

Article 11 Leave on public holidays (Article 4.8 CAO)

The following are observed as public holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, King’s Day, Liberation Day (5 May), Ascension Day, Whit Sunday (Pentecost), Whit Monday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (26 December), and the Friday afternoon during the International Four Days Marches.
An employee is granted paid leave on the above public holidays if these fall on a working day for the employee, unless the university’s interests dictate otherwise.
An employee who is structurally scheduled to work on Fridays may annually exchange Good Friday for another religious, national or local holiday or memorial day, starting in the 2024 calendar year. The employer may only deny this request if it is not submitted within four weeks of Good Friday or in the case of compelling business interests, including the closure of a building for employees whose jobs do now allow for remote work.
An employee who is required to work on a public holiday according to his or her duty roster may take this leave on another day.

Article 12 Pre-maternity and post-maternity leave (Article 4.12 CAO and Article 3:1 Wazo ff.)

Female employees who become pregnant are entitled to pre-maternity and post-maternity leave.
To become eligible for pre-maternity or post-maternity leave, the employee must submit a written notice from a doctor or midwife stating the expected date of birth.
The employee must inform her supervisor about the date on which she plans to go on prematernity leave no later than ten weeks prior to the expected date of birth.
A pregnant employee is entitled to pre-maternity leave from six weeks before the day following the expected date of birth, as indicated in a written notice from a doctor or midwife submitted to the employer, up to and including the day of the birth. The pre-maternity leave must commence no later than four weeks before the day following the expected date of birth.
Contrary to the provision of paragraph 4, in case of a multiple birth the right to pre-maternity leave applies from ten weeks before the day following the expected date of birth, up to and including the day of the birth. The pre-maternity leave must commence no later than eight weeks before the day following the expected date of birth.
If the employee becomes ill within six weeks (within ten weeks in case of a multiple birth) prior to the expected date of birth and before the start of the pre-maternity leave, she will be deemed to have gone on pre-maternity leave as from the first day of illness.
The employee must report the birth of her baby to her employer no later than the second day after the date of the birth.
The post-maternity leave commences on the day following the date of the delivery and consists of ten consecutive weeks, plus the number of days by which the pre-maternity leave up to and including the expected date of birth (or, in case of early delivery, up to and including the actual date of delivery) was less than six weeks (ten weeks in case of a pregnancy involving a multiple birth).
If a child is hospitalised during the mother’s post-maternity leave because of its medical condition, the post-maternity leave is extended by the number of days of hospitalisation, starting from the eighth day of hospitalisation up to and including the last day of the post-maternity leave with a maximum of 10 weeks. The extension of the post-maternity leave referred to in the above sentence applies exclusively insofar as the hospitalisation is longer than the number of days by which the post-maternity leave is extended as a result of the actual date of birth by virtue of paragraph 7 (see explanation). The employee must notify the employer of the day on which the child entered the hospital and when the hospitalisation ended. The employee shall immediately afterwards submit to the employer a written statement by the hospital that identifies the entire duration of the child’s hospitalisation.
Contrary to the provisions of paragraph 8, the employee may ask the employer to interrupt the post-maternity leave after six weeks following the start of the right to such leave. The employee may take up the remaining post-maternity leave during a period of thirty weeks. This request must be submitted no later than three weeks after the leave has started. The employer shall agree to this request no later than two weeks after the request is submitted, unless a compelling business or service interest does not allow this.
In accordance with the Work and Care Act, the total term of pre-maternity plus post-maternity leave is at least 16 weeks (at least 20 weeks in case of a multiple birth), of which at least ten weeks are reserved for post-maternity leave.
Employees retain their entitlement to full remuneration and holiday accrual during pre-maternity and post-maternity leave.
The employee is obliged to cooperate in the application for benefits under the Work and Care Act to the Employees Insurance Agency (UWV).

Article 12a Transfer of post-maternity leave from the mother to the partner (Article 3:1a Wazo ff.)

Should the mother die during her post-maternity leave and a birth certificate of her child has been prepared, the employee who is the spouse or registered partner, or who has acknowledged the child, is entitled to the remaining post-maternity leave with retention of pay.
The partner is to report the death of the mother and take-up of the leave to the employer no later than on the second day after her death. The partner must provide the employer within four weeks after the death of the mother with a copy of the birth certificate of the child and of the death certificate of the mother.
The partner is obliged to cooperate in the application for benefit under the Work and Care Act at the Employees Insurance Agency (UWV).

Article 13 Leave for adoption and foster care (Article 4.12 CAO and Article 3:2 Wazo ff.)

a. An employee who becomes an adoptive parent is entitled to adoption leave.
b. An employee who becomes a foster parent may be eligible for foster care leave, provided that the employee lives at the same address as the child whom he or she raises and provides for on a long-term basis and can submit a fostering agreement stating that he or she is responsible for the upbringing and care of the child.
References in this Article to ‘adoption’ shall be understood to also refer to ‘foster care’.
The entitlement to adoption leave applies for a period of 26 weeks and amounts to a maximum of six consecutive weeks. The leave may commence four weeks before the child is actually placed in the care of the employee and must, in any case, be taken within 22 weeks after the actual adoption.
Contrary to the provision of paragraph 3, the employee may ask the employer to be permitted to take the leave not during six consecutive weeks, but to spread it over a period of 26 weeks. The employer may deny this request if a compelling business or service interest would not justify it.
If and insofar as possible, the employee must apply for adoption leave at least three weeks in advance, stating the period of the leave.
If two or more children are being adopted at the same time under a single adoption procedure, the entitlement to leave shall apply only with respect to one of the children.
Full salary will be maintained for a maximum of five working days during the adoption or foster care leave. Thereafter, adoption or foster care leave will be unpaid. The employee is required to apply for benefits under the Work and Care Act through the employer. During the period of paid leave, the benefit will be deducted from the employee’s remuneration. The employee will continue to accrue holiday leave hours during the adoption or foster care leave.

Article 14 Parental leave (Article 4.13 to 4.20 CAO and Article 6:1 Wazo ff.)

With regard to partially paid parental leave, the CAO (CLA) and the Work and Care act apply and with regard to unpaid parental leave, the Work and Care Act applies.
The employee is required, when taking up partially paid parental leave, to apply for benefits from the UWV under the Work and Care Act through the intervention of the employer.

Article 15a Emergency leave (Article 4.22 CAO and Article 4:1 Wazo ff.)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15c, an employee is entitled to paid leave in the event of unforeseen circumstances where the employee must take immediate measures and involves an immediate disruption of the work.
The employee must report as soon as possible that he or she intends to take emergency leave.
The right to continued payment of salary in the event of an emergency applies for a maximum of two days per year.

Article 15b Short-term leave (Article 4.22 CAO and Article 4:1 Wazo ff.)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15c, an employee is entitled to paid short-term leave if and insofar as the employee is prevented from performing his or her work on a normal working day due to a special personal circumstance.
The employer shall grant an employee paid short-term leave for the following events or special personal circumstances:
a. If the employee’s spouse or registered partner, or a woman whose child the employee acknowledges as his or her own, is giving or has given birth: two days of leave.
b. When giving official notice of intended marriage, or when entering marriage or a registered partnership: one day and four days of leave, respectively;
c. On the occasion of the employee’s 25th or 40th wedding or employment anniversary, as well as the 25th, 40th, 50th and 60th wedding anniversary of the parents, parents-in-law and stepparents of the employee: one day of leave.
d. To look for a house, if the employee is obliged to move house: one day of leave.
e. To move house, if the employee is obliged to move house: two days of leave.
f. In the event of the death of a spouse, registered partner or the person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis, a parent, parent-in-law, step-parent or foster parent, a child, step-child or foster child, or a son-in-law or daughter-in-law: a maximum of 4 days of leave; in the event of the death of a brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandfather, grandmother or grandchild: a maximum of 2 days of leave. In the event of the death of an uncle, aunt, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, cousin or other person related to the employee by consanguinity or affinity: 1 day of leave, unless the employee has been charged with the funeral arrangements and handling the deceased’s estate, in which case the employee may be granted a maximum of 4 days of leave. The last two sentences shall apply by analogy in the event of a registered partnership.
g. For the necessary care due to illness of the persons mentioned in Article 17, par. 1: one day. If the employee’s presence at home is required as a result of illness of the spouse or of a child under the age of 14: a maximum of three days. This applies in addition to the provisions in Article 17.
h. For doctor’s or hospital visits by the employee that are urgent, unforeseen or not reasonably possible to plan outside working hours, or the necessary escort in these for the persons mentioned in Article 17, par. 1.
i. To attend the wedding or registered partnership of the employee’s child, adopted child, stepchild or foster child: one day.
On the occasion of the employee’s own marriage or registered partnership, or the death of a person related to the employee by consanguinity or affinity, as referred to in Article 15b, par. 2(f), the employee shall be entitled to short-term leave, regardless of whether the event falls on a scheduled working day.
An employee is entitled to paid short-term leave for the discharge of an obligation imposed by law or by government that is not remunerated, which cannot be discharged in the employee’s spare time.
Employees are entitled to paid short-term leave for the time required to exercise their voting right.

Article 15c Duration of emergency and short-term leave

The proportionality of Article 3 of these regulations does not apply to Articles 15a and 15b, on the understanding that the period of leave shall not amount to more than the agreed working time on a regularly scheduled working day.

Article 15d Bereavement leave

In addition to the short-term leave referred to in Article 15b, par. 2(f), the employee shall be entitled to two weeks of extraordinary paid leave following the death of a spouse, registered partner or the person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis, a parent, parent-in-law, step-parent or foster parent, a child, step-child or foster child, or a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Following the death of a brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandfather, grandmother or grandchild the extraordinary leave shall amount to one week. The above shall apply by analogy in the event of a registered partnership.
In the event of the death of a person with whom the employee otherwise had a social relationship and for whom the employee acted as a carer, one week of bereavement leave may be granted.
The employer and employee shall enter into consultation regarding the scope, duration and specifics of the leave.
How the leave is taken shall be determined on a case-by-case basis. The employer and employee may make other or more detailed agreements on the taking of bereavement leave or additional extraordinary leave.

Article 16a Birth leave (Article 4:2 WAZO)

An employee is entitled to a full week of paid birth leave, during a period of four weeks, after their wife, registered partner, a person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis, or a person whose child the employer recognises as theirs, has given birth.
An employee must report at least four weeks before the start of the birth leave, in writing or electronically to the employer, the period, duration and, if applicable, the spread in time of the leave. If this is not possible, the employee must report his intention to take such leave as soon as possible. The moments of the start and end of the birth leave may be set to depend on the date of the birth.
The right to birth leave applies as from the first day after the date of birth.
An employee may choose to let the birth leave commence immediately following the short-term leave, this is granted for attending the delivery of the baby.

Article 16b Additional birth leave (Article 4:2 WAZO)

After having taken up the birth leave referred to in Article 16a, the employee may take up additional but unpaid birth leave during a period of six months, starting on the first day after the birth.
This additional birth leave amounts to a maximum of five times the number of working hours per week.
The employee must report to the employer, in writing or electronically, at least four weeks prior to the start of the birth leave, the period, duration and if applicable the spread in time of the leave period. If this is not possible, the employee must notify the employer as soon as possible of his intention to take leave. The moments of the start and end of the additional birth leave may be set to depend on the date of the birth and the end of the post-maternity leave.
After consultation with the employee, the employer may change the specifics of the additional birth leave until two weeks before the moment of the start of the leave, on account of compelling business or service interests.
The employee is required, when taking up additional birth leave, to apply for benefits under the Work and Care Act through the intervention of the employer. Benefits will be paid for a maximum of five times the weekly number of hours worked, amounting to 70% of the daily wage of the employee, up to of 70% of the maximum daily wage. The application with the Employee Insurance Agency must be filed in the period between four weeks before the first day of the additional birth leave and four weeks after the last day on which the leave is taken.
The employee continues to accrue holiday hours during the additional birth leave period.

Article 17 Short-term care leave (Article 4.21 CAO and Article 5:1 Wazo ff.)

An employee is entitled to leave for the necessary care due to illness of:
a. the spouse, the registered partner or the person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis;
b. children (including step- and foster children);
c. parents, grandparents, brother/sister and grandchildren;
d. persons who belong to the household of the employee, without an employment relationship being involved; or
e. persons with whom the employee has an attestable social relationship, insofar as the care to be provided arises directly from this relationship and must in all reasonableness be provided by the employee.
For each period of twelve successive months, the period of leave amounts to a maximum of two times the working hours per week. The twelve-month period starts on the first day on which the leave is taken. During this period, the employee is entitled to 70% of his or her salary, with a minimum amount equal to the statutory minimum wage and a maximum of 70% of the maximum daily wage, as referred to in Article 17, par. 1 of the Social Insurance (Funding) Act.
The employee must report in advance, stating the reason, the intention to take short-term care leave. Along with this intention, the employee must also state the scope, the way in which taken, and the expected duration of the care leave.
The care leave does not commence, or it ends in any case, as soon as the employer notifies the employee that important business interests, that outweigh the employee’s interests according to the standards of reasonableness and fairness, oppose the granting of this leave or its continuation.

Article 18 Long-term care leave (Article 5:9 Wazo ff.)

An employee is entitled to leave for the care due to a life-threatening illness or the necessary care due to illness or infirmity, of:
a. the spouse, registered partner or the person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis;
b. children (including step- and foster children);
c. parents, grandparents, brother/sister and grandchildren;
d. persons who belong to the household of the employee, without an employment relationship being involved; or
e. persons with whom the employee has an attestable social relationship, insofar as the care to be provided arises directly from this relationship and must in all reasonableness be provided by the employee.
Long-term care leave is unpaid and amounts to a maximum of six times the number of contractual working hours per week, to be taken over a period of twelve successive months. The twelve months’ period starts on the first day on which the employee takes the leave.
The employee needs to submit a request for long-term leave in writing to the employer at least two weeks before the intended start of the leave, stating the reason, the name of the person requiring care, the commencement date, the scope and expected term of the leave, and the spread of the hours of leave over the week or other agreed period.
The employer shall grant the request for leave, unless compelling business or service interests that outweigh the employee’s interests according to the standards of reasonableness and fairness, oppose granting this leave.
If the employer contemplates refusing or only partially honouring an employee’s request for leave, the employer shall consult with the employee in question about the request. The employer shall inform the employee of the decision on the request in writing. If the request is refused or not entirely honoured, the employer shall inform the employee about this, stating the reason.
Long-term care leave will end upon expiry of the period for which the leave was granted. If the person with the life-threatening illness dies before the end of that period, or if the circumstance mentioned in paragraph 1 no longer exists, the long-term care shall end as from the day following the day on which this circumstance occurred.

Article 19 Leave for trade union activities

An employee who is a member of the employee organisation FNV, AC/FBZ, CNV Overheid or AOb may be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings, activities or courses in the context of his or her membership, provided that service interests do not dictate otherwise.
An employee who is a member of the board of the employee organisation FNV, AC/FBZ, CNV Overheid or AOb will be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings, activities or courses by virtue of this position, provided that service interests do not dictate otherwise.

Article 20 Extraordinary leave for political activities

An employee holding a part-time office on a municipal executive board, a provincial council, the Senate of the States General, or committees of these bodies, will be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings pursuant to Article 7:643 of the Civil Code. The same applies for the performance of any consequent activities, if and insofar as the employee cannot perform these in his or her spare time.
If the employee receives a fixed remuneration for the activities referred to in paragraph 1, the employer shall withhold an amount from the employee’s salary over the period that he or she is on leave. The amount withheld shall not exceed the amount the employee receives as remuneration.
An employee holding a full-time political office as an alderman or a member of the Provincial Executive or House of Representatives will be granted extraordinary unpaid leave. The employee’s employment contract shall continue to exist, but the employee is granted dispensation from performing his or her job.
Extraordinary leave for full-time political activities is only granted for one term of office. Following this term of office, the employer is obliged to make every effort to find a suitable position for the employee concerned, unless the employee opts for a second term of political office. In that case the employee will be deemed to have handed in his or her resignation with immediate effect.

Article 21 Gender transition leave

As of 1 August 2023, an employee who is undergoing or planning to undergo gender transition is entitled to a maximum of two weeks transition leave with full pay per calendar year while employed at one of the universities. This leave covers both medical and non-medical treatments and any recovery time, without the need for reporting sick. If the employee is deemed unfit for work following a medical procedure (such as surgery), leave will start from the first day of this incapacity for work.
An employee can take the maximum transition leave in parts. The employee is required to inform the employer about taking said leave in writing at least eight weeks prior to the start of the leave. This notification must include the scope of the leave, the estimated duration of the leave, a statement from the registered attending physician, the start time and, if applicable, the distribution of hours per week. If this is not possible, the employee must report the leave as soon as possible. The employer will then approve the request for transition leave.
These regulations are valid until the date when the transition leave is legally mandated, but no later than 1 January 2026. Once the legally mandated transition leave comes into effect, this article in the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) will expire and the CLA parties will discuss whether additional agreements are necessary.

Article 22 Additional extraordinary leave

The employer may, at the employee’s request, grant the latter additional extraordinary leave in the event of special circumstances. The employer decides whether this leave shall be granted with or without maintenance of full or partial remuneration and may impose specific conditions.

Final provisions

Article 23 Effective date

These Holiday and Leave Regulations of uu77 come into effect on 1 May 2024.

Explanatory notes holiday and leave regulations uu77

These regulations describe in greater detail the rules concerning holiday and leave as referred to in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

1. Holiday

According to the CAO-NU, university staff members who have a standard working week of 38 hours are entitled to 232 holiday leave hours per calendar year. However, the CAO-NU uses a flexible working time scheme. Employees who participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme receive 96 compensatory hours, while those who participate in the minus option of the flexible working time scheme relinquish 96 holiday leave hours. This is in accordance with the Regeling Flexibele Werkduur (flexible working hours scheme) of uu77.

An employee who carries over more than 80 holiday leave hours (proportionate to their employment) to the next calendar year without a written agreement forfeits the right to participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme. The employee’s supervisor may then determine that the standard working week of 38 hours (which entitles an employee to 232 holiday leave hours on a full-time basis) will apply for the coming calendar year (or as long as more than 80 hours of holiday entitlement remain at the end of the previous calendar year). Furthermore, the CAO provisions for the prevention of excessive accumulation of holidays have been included in Article 6. However, the basic principle is and remains that, in the context of ‘good employment’, employees should take their holidays in the calendar year in which the entitlement arises. An employee who does not use up all the holiday leave hours accrued in a year must make arrangements with his or her supervisor on how to take these holiday leave hours in some other manner, thus preventing excessive accumulation of holidays. If an employee does not make such an arrangement, the employer is entitled to determine when the employee must take the holiday leave hours.
Statutory holiday leave hours carried over to the next year expire 6 months after the last day of the calendar year during which the holiday leave hours were accrued. This means that employees will at least need to take their statutory holiday leave hours within this 6-month period. If an employee does not do so, or not in time, these holiday leave hours will be deducted from their holiday entitlement, unless the employee has a valid reason for not having been able to take the holiday leave hours. This has to be because of medical or other special circumstances. This may be the case, for example, if an employee has been ill for an extended period of time and was exempted from work re-integration obligations during that period. In other words, if the employee was too ill to be re-integrated into work. Another special circumstance may be that an employee was unable to take the minimum number of holiday leave hours due to actions or omissions on the part of the employer. The holiday leave shall not expire in this case until five years after the last day of the calendar year during which they were accrued. Non-statutory holiday leave hours expire likewise after five years.

An employee who is on full or partial leave as a result of illness continues to accrue holiday leave hours. This is in accordance with Article 5 of these holiday leave regulations. In this respect, no distinction is made between full or partial leave as a result of illness. Furthermore, Article 7 now reflects the statutory provision that the holiday leave hours of an ill employee who goes on holiday will be deducted with due observance of the employee’s contractual working time per day. This applies regardless of the employee being on full or partial leave as a result of illness.

2. Leave

Pre-maternity and post-maternity leave

An employee is entitled to a minimum of sixteen weeks of pre-maternity plus post-maternity leave. The employee herself may determine the starting date of the pre-maternity leave. The right of leave applies as from six weeks before the expected date of delivery, with four weeks before this day as the latest possible starting date. The pre-maternity leave applies for a minimum of ten weeks.

If an employee is expecting a multiple birth, she is entitled to a minimum of twenty weeks of prematernity plus post-maternity leave. The right of leave then applies as from ten weeks before the expected date of delivery, with eight weeks before this day as the latest possible starting date. The pre-maternity leave in such case applies for a minimum of ten weeks.

The post-maternity leave is extended by the number of days that the hospitalisation of the child is longer than seven days. The extension of the leave is a maximum of ten weeks. The threshold of seven days does not apply per hospitalisation. If, in the case of multiple hospitalisations, the total number of days in hospital is more than seven, the threshold is then exceeded. Extension of post-maternity leave only applies if the hospitalisation has taken place because of medical reasons involving the baby (and not the mother). Another condition for entitlement to an extension is that the hospitalisation is longer than a possible extension of the post-maternity leave because the prematernity leave was shorter than the six weeks (ten weeks in case of a multiple birth).

An example: If the pre-maternity leave only lasted four weeks, so that the post-maternity leave was not ten weeks but twelve weeks, then the hospitalisation of the baby must be at least two weeks before an extension of the post-maternity leave is applicable because of the hospitalisation.

After six weeks of post-maternity leave, the remaining period of that leave can be taken within a period of thirty weeks on a flexible basis. The permitted leave does not need to be taken all at once but may also be taken on a part-time basis.

Parental leave

The CAO establishes that an employee who is entitled to parental leave under the Work and Care Act has the right of partially paid parental leave for the duration of thirteen weeks. During the partially paid parental leave, the statutory holiday hours are only accrued on the hours of parental leave.

The total duration of paid plus unpaid parental leave is 26 weeks.

Adjusted legislation regarding partially paid parental leave will come into effect as from 2 August 2022. As a result, the CAO entities have agreed to adjust the university regulations for partially paid parental as follows as from 1 August 2022:

As from 1 August 2022, the percentage of renumeration pay over a maximum of 13 times the weekly working hours during the first year of age of the child will be raised to 70%, accounting for the paid parental leave benefits paid by the UWV. The other terms and conditions of the university regulations will remain in effect. This means that a possible remaining sum (or the total of the 13 weeks) withdrawn after the first year of age of the child will consist of a pay of 62.5% of the renumeration. A possible remaining sum from before 1 August 2022 of partially paid parental leave withdrawn in the first year of age of the child will consist of a percentage of 70% as of 1 August 2022.
The condition in the current regulations that stipulates that one only has a right to partial payment of parental leave after a year of employment will be terminated as from 1 August 2022. The condition that one has no right to partially paid parental leave if one has already received parental leave from a different employer will also be terminated as from 1 August 2022. This condition will be replaced with a provision in the already withdrawn weeks will be accounted for.
The repayment scheme will lapse as from 1 August 2022. This means that repayment will no longer be necessary for employees who leave employment as of 1 August 2022.

The following is important when applying to the UWV for payment of partially paid parental leave under the Work and Care Act:

The number of hours of partially paid leave taken by an employee must be a multiple of the hours the employee works per week.

Additional birth leave

The following is important when applying to the UWV for payment of additional birth leave under the Work and Care Act:

The number of hours of additional birth leave taken by an employee must be a multiple of the hours the employee works per week, with a maximum of 5 weeks. For example, if the employee works 32 hours, it is possible to take 32 hours, 64 hours, 96 hours, 128 hours or 160 hours. It is not possible to alter an application after it has been submitted to the UWV. Employees may apply for additional birth leave only once.

If an employee submits a request to not take their additional birth leave or to not continue to take their additional birth leave due to unforeseen consequences, the employer will agree to it, unless compelling business or service interests are at play.

Bereavement leave

The supervisor and employee shall enter into consultation regarding the scope, duration and specifics of the bereavement leave. As every individual deals with a loss in his or her own way, further measures may be necessary. One employee may wish to return to work as quickly as possible, while another may need more time to come to terms with the bereavement and may not yet be ready to start work again. In such situations the uu77 Holiday and Leave Regulations offer the possibility of granting additional extraordinary leave, with or without maintenance of full or partial remuneration. This shall always be determined on a case-by-case basis.

If, after some time, the employee is still not able to return to work, it is advisable to involve in-house social services, the occupational health officer or the campus psychologist to obtain advice on how to proceed. In some cases it may be necessary to grant additional extraordinary leave, while in others the employee may be assessed as unfit for work for medical reasons.

HR Labour Expertise Centre Modified on: 25 February 2022, 14:22 Valid since: 25 February 2022