Taking vacation

You must take your vacation in the year of accrual. If, as an exception, this proves impossible, you and your manager must agree in writing on how you will take the remaining hours. You must reach such an agreement before 1 April of the subsequent year. There are various ways to use your remaining vacation. You can:

• take extra holiday
• use the flexible working hours option
• convert your vacation hours into extra income through the Terms of Employment Individual Choices Model 
• use the long-term savings option

Booking vacation hours

Annual agreement

If you and your manager reach an annual agreement, you define your targets, tasks and availability for the year. You are then free to allocate your time as you see fit. You do not register how many hours of vacation you take, and your vacation credit is automatically at zero at the end of the calendar year. If you become ill or incapacitated, you will need to reassess your annual agreement and the results you agreed upon achieving with your supervisor. 

Please note: The Regulations on Annual Agreements will expire on 1 January 2024 and we will switch entirely to function-based contracts in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU). The Regulations on Annual Agreements will apply until then. Staff who have annual agreements will be informed.

Request via Service Portal

Carrying vacation hours forward

You may carry forward accrued vacation hours to the next calendar year. From 31th December 2019 applies:

• Compensation hours: build with the flexible working hours programme, will be gone from 31th December of the same year. These are 96 hours at full-time basis
• Extra-statutory hours: will be gone after five years after the year you’ve got them. These are 80 hours at full-time basis.
• Legal holiday hours: will be gone from 1st July of the next year. These are 152 hours at full-time basis.

More details you will find on our page about the leave system.

Vacation while on maternity or sick leave

• Maternity leave
  You continue to accrue vacation during maternity leave.
• Sick leave
  You are allowed and expected to take vacation while on sick leave. If you want to take vacation, for instance if you wish to go on holiday while you are on sick leave, you must first consult your manager and possibly the University doctor. The doctor will consider whether there is any objection to you taking the vacation or going on holiday. Book this vacation in multiples of whole days. This therefore includes the hours for which you registered sick.

Your accrued leave at the end of your contract

You are expected to take any remaining vacation hours before your last working day. Discuss this with your manager.