12 July 2021

The announcement (Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities: negotiation settlement reached) that the negotiators from the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and the employee organisations have reached a negotiation settlement on the new Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO NU) for 2021 has raised lots of questions in Leiden and the other universities. Unfortunately, we can’t yet answer many of these questions. The unions are currently presenting the negotiation settlement to their members, and the parties to the CAO NU aim to reach a final settlement by 1 August. A new CAO text will then be developed on the basis of these agreements.

The HRM directorate is currently exploring the impact of the provisional agreements on Leiden University and will work with the faculties on an action plan for their implementation. Leiden and the other universities have submitted the questions that they have received to the VSNU. We expect to be able to answer some of these in an FAQ this week, but will only be answer more specific ones once a definitive CAO settlement has been reached – probably at the end of August. The VSNU does not expect the definitive CAO text until early September. The HRM directorate at Leiden University will also have to translate the impact of the definitive CAO settlement and text to the situation in Leiden. If the new CAO has consequences for any of our employees, we will proactively approach them.

We appreciate your patience in the meantime. If you have any urgent questions, please discuss them with your manager or HRM adviser. The HRM staff can also collect their FAQs and send these to the HRM directorate. This will give the VSNU a good idea of the questions that have been raised. We will share the VSNU’s FAQs on the staff members website as soon as they are available. 

• cao 2021