Accrued leave
At Radboud University, the rule is that a full-time employee may carry 80 holiday hours over to the next year without a written agreement. This is included in the University’s flexible working time scheme. This is the only way to ensure that accrued leave remains viable for use in healthy operational management. For this reason, it continues to be essential that the full-time employee and the supervisor strive to ensure the number of holiday hours on 31 December of the calendar year does not exceed 80 hours. Below you will find information on how to deal with this issue.
(Written) agreements
Annual written agreements on holiday hours
A full-time employee who carries more than 80 holiday hours over at the end of the calendar year without a written agreement loses their right to participate in the plus variant of the flexible working time scheme. The supervisor must consult the HR advisor to determine that the standard working week of 38 hours (which entitles an employee to 232 holiday leave hours on a full-time basis) will apply for the coming calendar year (or as long as more than 80 hours of holiday entitlement remain at the end of subsequent calendar years). This serves as a substitute for the plus variant of the 40-hour flexible working time scheme, which has 96 compensation hours.
Possibility of carrying more than 80 holiday hours over into the following calendar year
An employee can still carry more than 80 holiday hours over into the following calendar year without a written agreement. However, the supervisor must then ensure that the employee works according to the standard hours. In this case, the employee is no longer entitled to participate in the plus variant of the flexible working time scheme.
No written agreement for carrying more than 80 holiday hours over into the next calendar year and no arrangement has been made for the employee to work according to the standard hours
The employee must use the statutory holiday hours of the current year before 1 July of the following year, otherwise those hours will expire. This is also applicable if the supervisor has arranged for the employee to work according to the standard hours. The statutory holiday hours are equal to four times the weekly working hours. For a full-time employee, this is 152 hours. For the remaining hours of non-statutory leave carried over, the employee must, within six months of the last day of the calendar year in which the hours of non-statutory leave were accrued, make a written agreement with the supervisor to take those remaining hours of leave within a maximum of five years after the calendar year during which they were accrued.
Option in the following year if there is no written agreement and the employee has not been working the standard hours
The supervisor may – after discussing the matter with the employee (i.e. not while discussing it with them) – still decide that they must use the remaining non-statutory leave from the first year in the second year. This means it may be compulsory for the employee to use their non-statutory leave from the first year in the second year, according to the supervisor’s instructions. This reduces the remaining hours from the first year to zero. This does not apply if the employee makes timely arrangements with their supervisor for using the hours later (within five years of the end of the calendar year in which the holiday hours were accrued).
No agreements on taking holiday hours, the employee has not used holiday hours and the supervisor has taken no action
The statutory holiday hours from the first year expire on 1 July of the second year. The non-statutory holiday hours expire at the end of the sixth year.
Payment of holiday hours
Rules on the payment of holiday hours for temporary contracts
The supervisor ensures that the employee uses their holiday hours during the contract period. It is also the employee’s responsibility to ensure that they comply with this. The employee knows well in advance that their employment contract will end and should therefore make every effort to take their holiday in good time. The Holiday and Leave Regulations therefore state that the employee must use as many of their holiday hours as possible before the end of their employment contract. The supervisor must give the employee the opportunity to do so.
If the employee has any remaining holiday hours at the end of the employment contract, these hours will be paid out.
Options in the Selection Model to sell holiday hours
The Employment Terms Selection Model gives employees the opportunity to use holiday hours in a tax-efficient manner. The employee can use a maximum of 76 holiday hours per year, for example for a bicycle for commuting to work or as a supplement to the travel allowance. Of these, the employee can sell a maximum of 38 holiday hours per year for additional gross income. For more information, see the Selection Model regulations.
Holiday hours from previous years and the Employment Terms Selection Model
It is possible to use holiday hours from previous years in the Selection Model. Holiday hours are understood to be the non-statutory holiday hours allocated for the relevant calendar year, the non-statutory holiday hours from previous years that have not yet been taken and the compensation hours from the relevant calendar year. These hours may all be used in the Selection Model, up to the maximum number of hours to be used.
Illness
Holiday accrual during illness
The employee continues to accumulate their normal holiday hours while they are ill. By the same token, if the ill employee goes on holiday or uses holiday time, the holiday hours are deducted according to the normal working hours per day. The supervisor ensures that the ill employee also uses their holiday time.
Expiration of holiday hours if an ill employee does not use them
The statutory hours also expire for an ill employee on 1 July of the second year. This does not apply if the employee cannot use their holiday time for medical reasons. In that case, the limitation period of five years also applies to the statutory holiday hours.
Multi-year savings model
Taking holiday hours saved through the multi-year savings model
The basic principle is that the holiday hours accrued through the multi-year savings model may only be used within one year of the end of the savings period. However, the employee and supervisor may agree otherwise. Unused holiday hours expire five years after the last day of the calendar year in which the savings model began. Saved holiday hours must be used immediately prior to termination of employment. If this is not possible due to exceptional circumstances, these hours will be paid out.