Vitality Pact

• Two variants of the Vitality Pact

  The Vitality Pact has two options.

  Variant A: 20% special leave

  In variant A, you work 80% and pension accrual is 100%.

  • employees up to and including scale 7 receive 90% in salary
  • employees from scale 8 onwards receive 85% in salary

  Participation in variant A is not possible if working hours are fewer than 0.5 FTE.

  Choose the scope of current employment	The scope of employment will be	The number of hours of your new working week will be	The new annual holiday credit
  1,0 fte	0,80 fte	32 hours	228 hours
  0,9 fte	0,72 fte	29 hours*	215 hours
  0,8 fte	0,64 fte	26 hours*	202 hours
  0,7 fte	0,56 fte	22,5 hours*	165 hours
  0,6 fte	0,48 fte	19,5 hours*	150 hours
  0,5 fte	0,40 fte	16 hours	114 hours

  Variant B: 40% special leave

  In variant B, you work 60%, receive 70% in salary and pension accrual is 100%.

  • employees up to and including scale 7 receive 80% in salary
  • employees from scale 8 onwards receive 70% in salary

  Participation in variant B is not possible if working hours are fewer than 0.66 FTE.

  Choose the scope of current employment	The scope of employment will be	The number of hours of your new working week will be	The new annual holiday credit
  1,0 fte	0,60 fte	24 hours	171 hours
  0,9 fte	0,54 fte	22 hours*	173 hours
  0,8 fte	0,48 fte	19,5 hours*	150 hours
  0,7 fte	0,42 fte	17 hours*	120 hours

  * With respect to Annex F of the CLA, these choices have been rounded off to half or whole hours for reasons of a systems technical nature. The small surplus is ‘returned’ in additional holiday credit. 

  For both options, an increase in working hours within one year prior to participation in the Vitality Pact will not be taken into account.

• Financial implications

  Salary

  When participating in the Vitality Pact, you will not only work less, but also give up a piece of gross salary. 

  • employees up to and including scale 7 10% or 20% respectively
  • employees from scale 8 onwards 15% or 30% respectively

  Allowances and benefits

  Salary-related financial entitlements are recalculated, based on the amount of the new salary. This new gross monthly salary affects the amount of, for example: 

  • holiday allowance 
  • year-end bonus 
  • any allowance(s) 

  The new gross monthly salary can also affect the amount of: 

  • any right to a transitional allowance if employment is terminated before reaching the state pension age, and 
  • unemployment benefits (WW and BWNU) in case of involuntary unemployment 
  • an ZW/WIA benefit

  Pension deduction

  Participation in the Vitality Pact does not change the division of the pension deduction between the employer and the employee. The payment of the pension premium by both the employer and the employee will be made on the basis of the same ratio as before participation in the Vitality Pact. As a result, the pension premium to be withheld from the employee's salary will remain the same while the salary decreases. The new net salary will therefore be proportionally lower. 

  Employment anniversary bonus

  Should you reach a employment anniversary during participation, the gratuity you receive is based on the gross monthly salary as you had before participation.

• Conditions for participation

  Participation in the Vitality Pact is possible when a number of conditions are met. The conditions are that the employee: 

  • has discussed the intention to participate in the Vitality Pact with the manager at least 3 months before the desired starting date; 
  • is no more than five years from the state pension age; 
  • has been employed by VU Amsterdam for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately prior to the desired start date; 
  • will not work fewer than 16 hours per week through participation in the Vitality Pact; 
  • has taken any leave balance from long-term leave accrual (CLA Article 5.5) in full in order to participate in the Vitality Pact; 
  • has reduced any excessive holiday balance to a maximum holiday credit equalling the number of holiday hours to which he is entitled on the basis of the number of hours of work under his employment contract; 
  • does not accept any new paid ancillary income; 
  • retains, by participating in the Vitality Pact, an employment contract with a number of hours of work that is at least 50% of the employment contract that existed at the age of 58 and 50% of the employment contract that existed in the calendar year prior to participation.

  Note: Participation is possible at the latest until reaching the state pension age.

• Procedure for participation

              
  The procedure for participation in the Vitality Pact is as follows:   

  1. You discuss the intention to participate in the Vitality Pact with your manager at least 3 months before the desired starting date. 
  2. Subjects to be discussed:
                 a.    whether you meet the conditions
                 b.    the desired variant (A or B)
                 c.    the desired start date
                 d.    the desired (work) schedule
                 e.    the proportional reduction of tasks, whereby you continue to carry out as much as possible the tasks you perform best, the tasks where you have the most value for the institution or the tasks that interest you most. 
  3. Your manager can refuse participation in case of compelling business interests or a disproportionate increase in the workload for you or your colleagues. 
  4. Your manager may postpone participation until the start of the next academic year at the latest, in case of serious operational problems when redeploying the unallotted hours. 
  5. If you do not agree with your manager about participation, date of commencement, schedule or task reduction, you and your manager can turn to the HR Advisor for advice. 
  6. If your manager agrees with your participation, fill in the Vitality Pact application form completely and have it signed by your manager and the HR Advisor. Then scan the form, save it in PDF format and send it by email no later than two months before the desired date of commencement to: servicedesk.hrm@vu.nl.
     Please note: participation in the Vitality Pact always starts on the first day of a calendar month.
  7. Participation in the Vitality Pact can never commence or be applied for retroactively.

• Points for consideration for managers

  The Vitality Pact originally started as a pilot. With the formation of the CLA from 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2022, the Vitality Pact became a permanent part of the CLA.  

  No separate budget was drawn up for the Vitality Pact. This means that not only are any additional costs for replacing a Vitality Pact participant borne by the unit in question, but also the costs arising from the fact that the employer's pension contribution remains 100% and the employee receives 85% salary while in fact only working 80%. 

  Participation in the Vitality Pact is not intended to lead to a disproportionate increase in the workload for the employee and/or his colleagues. In that case or in the event of compelling business interests, the employer may refuse participation in the Vitality Pact. If redeployment is impossible, this may also be a reason for refusing participation in the Vitality Pact.  

  Staff that are freed up must be utilised as much as possible for inflow and outflow. An up-to-date Strategic Personnel Plan can be useful in this regard. 
  
  There may also be reasons to postpone participation in the Vitality Pact until the start of the next academic year at the latest. This is the case if serious problems arise in operations or when vacant hours are being reallocated.

  Hours that the employee started working more in the year prior to the actual effective date of participation (an extension of working hours) are not taken into account when applying the Vitality Pact scheme.

  Please note: if an employee has requested participation in the Vitality Pact (no later than 3 months before the desired date of commencement), you as a manager must respond to this request within 4 weeks. If the employee is able to take part in the Vitality Pact, he must then send the fully signed application form to the HR Service Desk no later than 2 months before the desired date of commencement.

• Applications

  The application form for participation in the Vitality Pact can be found under the blue 'Take action now' button on this page.

• Frequently asked questions

  Can I start participating at any time?
  Participation can only take effect as of the first of the month. For example, if you want to start participating in the Vitality Pact on 1 May, you must have discussed your wish with your manager before 1 February (3 months before participation). The application form must subsequently be received by the HR Service Desk before 1 March (2 months before participation).

  Does my manager have to agree to my application for participation?
  You must meet all the conditions for participation before your request can be approved. Moreover, it may happen that compelling business interests or a disproportionate increase in the workload of you and/or your colleagues cause your application to be rejected.

  Your manager may also postpone participation until no later than the start of the next academic year in the event of serious operational problems in reallocating the vacant hours.

  How long does my participation in the Vitality Pact last?
  As a participant in the Vitality Pact, you will continue to participate until you reach your state pension age. This may be sooner if the employment contract is terminated for another reason.

  Can I stop my participation in the Vitality Pact mid-term?
  Once you participate in the Vitality Pact, you cannot stop it. This is only possible in the event of full incapacity for work or if you leave employment early.

  While participating in the Vitality Pact, may I increase my participation by 20% special leave to 40% special leave?
  When participating in the Vitality Pact with 20% special leave, it is possible to switch to 40% special leave after one year. Of course, this is on the condition that a 16-hour working week remains. In addition, at least 50% of the number of hours of the employment contract that you had at the age of 58 and 50% of the number of hours of the employment contract that you had in the calendar year prior to participating in the Vitality Pact must remain.

  While participating in the Vitality Pact, may I decrease my participation from 40% special leave to 20% special leave?
  No, after choosing to participate in the Vitality Pact with 40% special leave, it is no longer possible to switch to 20% special leave.

  What happens if I fall ill while participating?
  If you become totally incapacitated for work, you may request your participation to be terminated. 

  In the event of long-term full incapacity for work, participation in the Vitality Pact ends after nine months of incapacity for work and you resume the working hours you had immediately prior to participation in the Vitality Pact. 

  Is it possible that I will do other work as a result of participating in the Vitality Pact?
  You make agreements with your manager about the work you will do and when you will do it. This may also be different sometimes or less work than before.

  Can I also work elsewhere?
  No, if you participate in the Vitality Pact, you may not accept or take up any new paid work in the time that becomes available. You may continue to do paid ancillary activities that you had before you started using the Vitality Pact, but you may not increase your hours or otherwise.

  If you want to supplement your income, you may consider using ABP's Keuzepensioen. On mijn.abp.nl you can see what the consequences are for the amount of your retirement pension.

  Is it possible to take part in the Vitality Pact and use the ABP Keuzepensioen at the same time?
  Yes, this is possible. You can supplement the bit of salary you give up by participating in the Vitality Pact by using the ABP Keuzepensioen. On mijn.abp.nl you can see what the consequences are for the level of your retirement pension.

  What is the consequence for the accumulation of my holiday credit?
  If you participate in the Vitality Pact, you renounce all holiday hours above the statutory minimum and retain a holiday entitlement of 5 times the new working hours per week. 

  • Example 1:
    if you work full time and you choose to work 4 days (20% special leave), your working hours go from 38 hours per week to 30.4 hours per week. In this case, your holiday entitlement is 5 x 30.4 hours. In addition, with a timetable of 4 days of 8 hours, you can accrue 76 hours extra holiday per year. The total holiday entitlement will then be 228 hours per calendar year. 
  • Example 2:
    if you work full time and you choose to work 3 days (40% special leave), your working hours go from 38 hours per week to 22.8 hours per week. In this case, your holiday entitlement is 5 x 22.8 hours. In addition, with a timetable of 3 days of 8 hours, you can accrue 57.6 hours extra holiday per year. The total holiday entitlement will then be 171 hours per calendar year. 

  Further details on the number of hours to be worked and the corresponding leave with the application of 20% or 40% special leave can be found under 'Two variants of the Vitality Pact' and on the application form.

  Can I still participate in the plus or minus variant of the flexible working hours scheme?
  No, that is not possible as the (normal) system of the plus or minus variant does not apply to participation in the Vitality Pact. The application form lists the 2 options (20% and 40% less working respectively) that involve a schedule with a fixed number of hours. This is leading; there are no other options.

  How does a collective labour agreement salary increase affect my salary?
  If a salary increase is agreed in the CLA during participation in the Vitality Pact, both your salary and any allowances based on it will be increased. The pension premium (employer's and employee's part) will be determined again on the reference date of 1 January of each calendar year and will be based on the salary you are receiving at that time. The premium deduction will be based on the part-time factor of the employment contract as it existed before you started participating in the Vitality Pact.

  Are there consequences for my commuting allowance?
  The commuting allowance is based on your work schedule. If participation means that the number of scheduled workdays changes, then you will have to complete the commuting statement again.

  Does participation have consequences for my right to care allowance/rent allowance?
  Yes, that may be the case. As your salary will be reduced, you may be eligible for a (higher) allowance. For more information, please visit www.toeslagen.nl.

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