Welcome at VU Amsterdam - for employees

Matters to be arranged and take note of immediately

• Introductory meeting for new employees

  We would like to invite you to attend the upcoming university-wide introductory meeting for new employees. You can register for this on the Introductory meeting page.

• Digital workplace

  As a university employee, you have access to a digital workplace. For more information on how to access this workplace, visit this IT-page.

• Commuting allowance, working-from-home allowance and internet allowance

  You are entitled to a commuting allowance, a working-from-home allowance, and an internet allowance. You must apply for these yourself, otherwise you will not receive anything. You can do this by filling in a commuting statement. You will also need to specify the means of transport you will use to travel to VU Amsterdam. 

  You may want to travel to the university by bicycle. VU Amsterdam offers a favourable bicycle scheme through the individual choices model. 

• Hybrid working

  VU Amsterdam facilitates hybrid working for all employees who are able to carry out part of their work at home or another location. You make arrangements about this with your manager. 

• Group health insurance scheme and group non-life insurance schemes

  VU Amsterdam offers a range of group insurance schemes, which you can access as soon as you join the university. You may choose to take out health insurance from one of three insurers and/or a package of non-life insurance policies from AON/OpGroen Verzekeringen.

• Ancillary activities

  Ancillary activities are all paid or unpaid tasks that you perform in addition to your position at VU Amsterdam. Academic staff in particular often take on ancillary activities. All university employees are required to obtain approval from their manager before engaging in such activities, and then to register those activities via the self-service option. You were asked about ancillary activities at the start of your employment. If you mentioned that you do perform such tasks, you will have received a request to register them as soon as possible. All relevant information can be found on the Ancillary activities page. 

• VU Code of Conduct, safety and personal data

  Social safety and Code of Coduct 

  In line with the university’s core values, a safe social setting for work and study, where we treat each other with respect, is essential. The VU Code of Conduct and all of the regulations associated with this document, like Art of Engagement, offer guidance in this area. At VU Amsterdam we want you to be able to find the right person or department if you unexpectedly encounter problems at work. Visit the Help, Support and Advice page to find out which department is best placed to help you.

  New colleagues are requested to take the e-learning module Social Safety for Staff. It’s a powerful interactive course that features three short videos portraying familiar, relatable workplace scenarios: what entails social safety, how do you recognise signs of socially unsafe behaviour, and what actions can you take when such situations arise?

  Safe handling of personal data and ICT facilities

  Other safety measures taken by VU Amsterdam include those related to the secure and careful handling of personal data. The provisions for this are laid down in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you work with confidential and/or personal data, you must also comply with these provisions. Please read this information carefully.

  VU Amsterdam gives its employees access to its ICT facilities, including computers, the internet, email and other applications. For security reasons, the rules of conduct described in the ICT Facilities Regulations for Staff of VU Amsterdam apply. Again, we urge you to read this information carefully.

• HR information and self-service options

  HR publishes information about human resources on VU.nl. At VU Amsterdam, many processes are completed digitally via the self-service options. If an application process applies to a particular HR topic, you will also see a blue ‘Take action now’ button on the page. Clicking on this button will take you to the Service Portal, where you will find all self-service options.

  The HR Service Desk is your point of contact for all general HR questions and for questions about HR self-service options.

  For other questions and requests, please contact the HR Advisor at your own faculty or service department.

Arrange within one to six months of starting your new job

• Group Surviving Dependants Act shortfall insurance (term life insurance) (within one month)

  VU Amsterdam has concluded a group insurance contract with elipsLife. Following the discontinuation of ABP’s surviving dependants’ compensation scheme (Anw-compensatieregeling), this group insurance contract gives employees the option of insuring a net surviving dependant’s annuity. You can find more information on the Surviving Dependants Act shortfall insurance page. 

  You will not be asked to provide any medical guarantees if you take out this insurance within one month of commencement of employment. It is possible to join at a later date, but you will then be required to answer questions about your health.

• Public (governmental) term of service (within one month)

  If you have been employed for a period of 25, 40 or 50 years, you are eligible for an employment anniversary bonus. This is subject to the condition that your years of service were all accumulated at government institutions or other employers who are associated with the ABP pension fund. 

  If, while in the service of a previous employer, you accumulated years of service that qualify for inclusion under this scheme, please notify VU Amsterdam about this within one month of starting employment.

• Group disability insurance scheme (within six months)

  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has taken out a group insurance scheme for partial disability with insurance company Loyalis. Every employee* entering employment is automatically made a participant in this insurance. VU Amsterdam contributes 50% of the premium, the remaining 50% is deducted monthly from your gross salary.

  In addition, every employee* can take out an additional insurance for full disability. If you take out this insurance directly with Loyalis within six months of starting employment, no medical questions will be asked. Also this premium will be deducted monthly from your gross salary by VU Amsterdam.

  You can find more information on the Apply for the group disability insurance scheme page. 

  ^{* The following employees are excluded from this partial disability coverage group insurance: on-call employees, employees who are not registered with the ABP pension fund, and employees who are not socially insured in the Netherlands (even if they participate in the ABP pension fund).}

• Transfer of pension rights (within six months)

  If you have accrued a pension in your former job with another pension fund or insurer, you can arrange for a transfer of the pension rights to ABP within six months after commencement of employment at VU Amsterdam. This is known as a transfer of pension rights. On the basis of the value of the existing pension rights, ABP grants you additional old-age pension years. A request for a transfer of pension rights can always take place, as long as the coverage ratio is satisfactory. The transfer of pension rights to and from foreign pension funds is subject to a different set of guidelines.

  For more information and to request a transfer of pension rights, visit www.abp.nl > and search for 'Waardeoverdracht naar ABP'.

What else you need to know

• Personnel regulations and facilities

  There is a lot of information to take in when you start working at VU Amsterdam. The information above is a selection of the most important topics that will help you get off to a good start at the university.  

  On VU.nl you will find more information published by other service departments, in addition to information about personnel regulations and facilities. The most important topics are listed here. 

  • Collective Labour Agreement / Social security
  • Business travel and declaring expenses
  • Annual consultation
  • Individual choices model, allowing you to have some flexibility in selecting your own working terms and conditions
  • Participation in decision-making
  • Learning and development
  • ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) 
  • Pension
  • Salary and annual income statement
  • Sustainable employability
  • Holiday and leave
  • Reporting illness and recovery

• Other activities beside work

  • Networking
  • Sportcentrum VU
  • Culture at VU Amsterdam
  • VU Campus

• How does VU.nl work?

  You will find all the information you need on VU.nl. As an employee, the best place to start on VU.nl is your personal dashboard. Having trouble finding your way around your dashboard? The explanation on this page might help.

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