Flexible working hours

Frequently Asked Questions

• Flexible working hours – general

  What exactly does the Flexible working hours scheme entail?

  During collective labour negotiations in 2005 it was agreed that employees would have some flexibility in their working hours. The point of departure is a 38-hour working week, with a full-time employment contract. The Flexible working hours scheme means that employees will be able to work either two hours more or two hours less per week. The scheme is purely on a time for time basis and so the salary for 38 hours remains unchanged.

  If an employee chooses a 40-hour working week (the plus option), then 96 hours of holiday leave entitlements will be accrued in the form of compensatory hours. If an employee chooses a 36-hour workweek (the minus option), 96 hours will be subtracted from the statutory holiday leave entitlements. With the minus option, you are in fact taking two hours of holiday leave per week.

  Even if you work part-time you can opt to fill your working hours flexibly. A number of available choices for part-timers are set out in Annex G of the Collective Labour Agreement.

  Do I need to select my flexible working hours each year?

  How you want to fill your flexible working hours should preferably be agreed between you and your supervisor at the beginning of the calendar year. The chosen option is extended each year automatically, unless other agreements have been made between you and your supervisor by 1 December.

  I don’t want to participate in the Flexible working hours scheme. Is that allowed?

  Yes, that is allowed, but you must keep to the regulations described in the Flexible working hours - Interpret 38-hour work week. Your working day will then be 7.6 hours (excluding a break of at least 30 minutes). The 38-hour work week can then be filled in by you in consultation with your manager by opting for a schedule of 5 days of 7.6 hours. But also, for example, a schedule of 4 days of 8 hours and 1 day of 6 hours, or 5 days of 8 hours one week and 4 days of 8 hours and 1 day of 4 hours the next week.

• Flexible working hours in relation to working time

  I have a small FTE but wish to choose the basic or minus option. Is that allowed?

  Yes, but given that the object of holidays is to recuperate, the employer feels it is important that employees retain enough holiday leave to enjoy a holiday for a consecutive period each year. Depending on your part-time factor, that might mean that you have too few holiday hours for a basic or minus option.

  I want to retain the normal 38-hour week with an FTE of e.g. 0.8 (0.8 x 38 = 30.4 hours) instead of the proposed 30 hours under the flexible working hours. Is that allowed?

  Yes, it is. That means that you choose not to participate in the Flexible working hours scheme. In that case, you must keep to the regulations described in the Flexible working hours scheme - option 38-hour working week VU Amsterdam.

  Do I need to select a new option when I change my working time?

  The option chosen will remain the same within the new FTE, unless it causes problems for the university’s operations.

• Flexible working hours in relation to employment contract

  My employment contract ends in the middle of the year. If my employment contract is extended, do I have the possibility to select another option?

  The option chosen applies to the whole calendar year, unless your working time changes on extension or if it is no longer possible or advisable to retain that choice.

• Flexible working hours scheme combined with other schemes or regulations

  I would like to use the long-term saving model. Does the saving model have any relation to the Flexible working hours scheme?

  The Flexible working hours scheme is not related to the long-term saving model, on the understanding that sufficient holiday hours must be available to use for this purpose.

  For this saving model, holiday hours may be saved for a period of continuous extended leave. As of 1 January 2018, it is also possible to save hours to temporarily work fewer hours per week.

  Savings can be made in two ways:

  • in accordance with Article 5.5 of the Collective Labour Agreement, employees can save up to 72 hours of holiday leave over a period of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 years. The decision to save and the specifics of saving using the long-term saving model is set down in writing by the supervisor.
  • through the Individual choices model, which allows for a maximum of 76 hours of holiday leave to be saved per calendar year (Collective Labour Agreement Article 5.3, Paragraph 1(a)).

  I would like to use the parental leave scheme. Does that affect my flexible working hours option?

  The flexible working hours option does not affect the calculation of your parental leave. That is determined by the number of hours of desired leave per week. You can then calculate the length of parental leave in accordance with Chapter 4, paragraph 4 of the Collective Labour Agreement.

  Does my flexible working hours option affect my Individual choices model?

  Yes, the holiday leave source is derived directly from the flexible working hours option.

• Flexible working hours scheme in relation to illness and incapacity for work

  What happens to my flexible working hours option when I’m ill?

  In the case of illness, your chosen option will remain unchanged, even if your illness runs on into a new calendar year.

  If you have opted for the plus or minus variant in the Flexible working hours, this choice will be stopped after a period of 6 months in case you are fully incapacitated for work. You will then revert to the number of working hours corresponding to the standard extent of your employment contract. For a full-time employee, this is 38 hours per week. For a part-timer, this applies pro rata.

  If you return to full employment, you can reapply for the plus or minus variant by sending an e-mail to the HR Service Desk (with a cc to your manager).

  I’m on benefits under the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA). Can I opt for the Flexible working hours scheme?

  Your work schedule is determined based on your capacity for work. If your situation means a restriction in hours per week, you may only participate in the minus option of the Flexible working hours scheme because the actual workload per week needs to be taken into account, and which may not be spread out over the entire year.

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