Holiday and Leave regulation

as decreed by the Executive Board and agreed with the employee organisation most recently in the Local Council on 14 April 2025

General

Article 1 Contents

The employer, having regard to Article 4.7, Article 4.10, par. 1c, and Article 4.24 of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU), has adopted the following holiday and leave regulations as defined in the CAO-NU, the Dutch Civil Code (BW) and the Work and Care Act (WAZO).

Article 2 Definitions

Employee: an employee within the meaning of the CAO-NU;
Employer: Stichting Radboud Universiteit;
Remuneration: remuneration as defined in Article 1.1, par. r, of the CAO-NU;
Statutory holiday leave hours: the entitlement to holiday pursuant to Article 7:634 of the Civil Code;
Non-statutory holiday leave hours: the entitlement to holiday as agreed in the CAO minus the statutory entitlement to holiday;
Compensation hours: the hours received by employees if they work more than the standard number of hours under the flexible working time scheme (if applied).

Article 3 Proportionality

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the entitlements in these regulations shall, with regard to employees who are employed for less than a full working week, apply in proportion to the working hours agreed upon.

Part 1: Holidays

Article 4 Holiday entitlements (Article 4.7 CAO)

An employee is entitled to holiday each year, with full retention of remuneration.
In case of standard full-time employment of 38 hours per week, the number of holiday leave hours per calendar year is 232 hours.
Of these, 152 hours are statutory holiday leave hours, while 80 hours are non-statutory holiday leave hours.
Participants in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme receive 96 compensation hours on a full-time basis if they work 40 hours per week.
Participants in the minus option of the flexible working time scheme relinquish 96 holiday leave hours on a full-time basis if they work 36 hours per week.

Article 5 Holiday entitlement during (extended) illness

An employee who is fully or partially absent as a result of illness continues to accrue holiday leave hours in accordance with Article 4 of these regulations for as long as the employee is entitled to continuation of total or partial payment of salary.

Article 6 Taking holidays (Article 4.7 CAO)

Employees are expected to take their holiday in the calendar year during which the entitlement thereto is built up.
Annually, employees shall first take their statutory holiday leave hours before taking their non-statutory holiday leave hours.
Holiday leave hours shall not be paid out during the term of employment.
Employees may take holiday leave hours after prior permission from their supervisor. This permission shall be granted unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.
An employee’s request to take leave for a religious holiday in connection with the employee’s religious convictions shall be granted up to a maximum of five days per year unless business interests do not allow for it.
If employees do not use their entire holiday entitlement in a particular year, they shall, in order to prevent problems in the university’s business operations and to avoid excessive accumulation of holidays, make arrangements with their supervisor on how to take the holiday entitlement by:
• applying the long-term saving option;
• applying the flexible working time scheme (minus option), which involves reducing the actual number of working hours per week;
• applying another arrangement that shall reduce the remaining entitlement.
If an employee has not made any arrangements with the supervisor about taking the holiday entitlement (as referred to in paragraph 1 or 6) by 1 July of the calendar year of accrual, the supervisor can determine a holiday period equal to four times the employee’s weekly working time.
Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 7 and 12, an employee may carry any untaken remnant of the holiday leave hours accrued in a calendar year over to the next calendar year. Statutory holiday leave hours carried over expire 6 months after the last day of the calendar year during which the entitlement was accrued. With regard to remaining non-statutory holiday leave hours carried over, the employee must, within 6 months of the last day of the calendar year during which the entitlement was accrued, make a written agreement with the supervisor concerning taking them within a period not exceeding 5 years after the calendar year during which the entitlement was accrued. The supervisor is expected to respond in a timely fashion to a proposal for a written agreement.
If an employee does not submit a request to take the holiday leave hours carried over to the next calendar year in good time and also fails to make a written agreement in good time regarding taking the holiday leave hours at a later time, the supervisor is entitled, following consultation with the employee, to determine periods during which the employee is to take these holiday leave hours within twelve months after the last day of the calendar year in which the holiday leave hours were accrued.
If an employee was unable to take holidays as a result of actions or omissions of the employer, the employee shall remain entitled to the statutory holiday leave hours for a period of 5 years.
Pursuant to Article 7:642 of the Civil Code, non-statutory holiday leave hours shall expire 5 years after the last day of the calendar year in which they were accrued.
An employee who carries over more than 80 holiday leave hours at the end of the calendar year forfeits the right to participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme, as referred to in Radboud University’s Flexible Working Time Regulations.

Article 7 Holidays during illness (Article 4.7 CAO)

Employees who wish to take a holiday during a period of illness must ask their supervisor for permission prior to their holiday. The holiday leave hours shall be deducted with due observance of the contractual working hours per day.
The employer, assisted by the occupational health officer, shall ensure that employees who are ill take their holiday entitlement in accordance with the provisions of Article 6. Statutory holiday leave hours expire in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, par. 8, unless the employee who is ill had not reasonably been able to take up a holiday until that time. Holiday leave hours not taken shall then expire 5 years after the last day of the calendar year during which the entitlement was accrued.
Assessment of the above is subject to the advice of the occupational health officer.

Article 8 Holiday entitlement at the end of the employment contract (Article 7:641 Civil Code)

In case of termination of the employment contract, the accumulated holiday leave hours must be taken insofar as possible.
An employee who is still entitled to holiday at the end of the employment contract has the right to a monetary payment up to an amount that corresponds to the remuneration over the period of the entitlement. In case of an employee’s death, the claim for unused holiday leave hours or unused compensation hours shall go to the employee’s estate.
If, upon termination of the employment contract, it turns out that an employee has taken more holiday leave hours than the employee was entitled to, the monetary value of the holiday leave hours taken in excess shall be regarded as a payment not due and shall be deducted, insofar as possible, from the remuneration, holiday allowance and/or year-end bonus to which the employee is still entitled.

Article 9 Illness during holiday

If illness during holiday would have prevented an employee from performing the agreed work if the employee had not been on holiday, the employee retains entitlement to those holiday leave hours for the hours during which the employee was ill.
An employee who experiences the situation referred to in paragraph 1 must report sick with the supervisor during the holiday. If necessary, the employer may ask the employee to submit a doctor’s statement.

Article 10 Collective days off

The following days are designated as collective days off at Radboud University:

the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day;
the Friday morning during the International Four Days Marches event;
the Friday following Ascension Day;
24 December, if this date falls on a Monday;
2 January, if this date falls on a Friday.2

2. Other collective days off may be designated in the Local Council if circumstances arise that make this necessary. Article 4.7, par. 5, CAO-NU applies. If a collective day off falls on a working day for an employee, the number of working hours that the employee should have worked shall be deducted from the compensation hours or from the statutory or non-statutory holiday leave hours, depending on which hours shall expire first.

Deel 2: Leave, other than holidays

Article 11 Leave on public holidays (Article 4.8 CAO)

The following are observed as public holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, King’s Day, Liberation Day (5 May), Ascension Day, Whit Sunday (Pentecost), Whit Monday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (26 December) and the Friday afternoon during the International Four Days Marches.
An employee is granted paid leave on the above public holidays if these fall on a working day for the employee unless the university’s interests dictate otherwise.
An employee who is required to work on a public holiday according to the duty roster may take this leave on another day.
An employee who has to work on Fridays according to a set schedule is able each year, starting with the 2024 calendar year, to exchange Good Friday for another religious, national, regional or local public holiday or day of remembrance. The employer may only refuse this request if it is not submitted four weeks before Good Friday or if there are compelling business interests, including the closure of a building to employees whose position does not allow them to work from home.

Article 12 Pre-maternity and post-maternity leave (Article 4.11 CAO and Article 3:1 WAZO ff.)

Employees who become pregnant are entitled to pre-maternity and post-maternity leave.
To become eligible for pre-maternity or post-maternity leave, the employee must submit a written notice from a doctor or midwife stating the expected date of birth.
The employee must inform the supervisor of the date on which the employee plans to go on pre-maternity leave no later than ten weeks prior to the expected date of birth.
A pregnant employee is entitled to pre-maternity leave from six weeks before the day following the expected date of birth, as indicated in a written notice from a doctor or midwife submitted to the employer, up to and including the day of the birth. The pre-maternity leave must commence no later than four weeks before the day following the expected date of birth.
Contrary to the provision of paragraph 4, in case of a multiple birth the right to pre-maternity leave applies from ten weeks before the day following the expected date of birth, up to and including the day of the birth. The pre-maternity leave must commence no later than eight weeks before the day following the expected date of birth.
If the employee becomes ill within six weeks (within ten weeks in case of a multiple birth) prior to the expected date of birth and before the start of the pre-maternity leave, the employee shall be deemed to have gone on pre-maternity leave as from the first day of illness.
The employee must report the birth no later than on the second day after the date of the birth.
The post-maternity leave commences on the day following the date of the delivery and consists of ten consecutive weeks, plus the number of days by which the pre-maternity leave up to and including the expected date of birth (or, in case of early delivery, up to and including the actual date of birth) was less than six weeks (ten weeks in case of a multiple birth).
If a child is hospitalised during the post-maternity leave because of its medical condition, the post-maternity leave is extended by the number of days of hospitalisation, starting from the eighth day of hospitalisation up to and including the last day of the post-maternity leave with a maximum of 10 weeks. The extension of the post-maternity leave referred to in the above sentence applies exclusively insofar as the hospitalisation is longer than the number of days by which the post-maternity leave is extended as a result of the actual date of birth by virtue of paragraph 7 (see explanation). The employee must notify the employer of the day on which the child entered the hospital and when the hospitalisation ended. The employee shall immediately afterwards submit to the employer a written statement by the hospital that identifies the entire duration of the child’s hospitalisation.
Contrary to the provisions of paragraph 8, the employee may ask the employer to interrupt the post-maternity leave after six weeks following the start of the right to such leave. The employee may take up the remaining post-maternity leave during a period of thirty weeks. This request must be submitted no later than three weeks after the leave has started. The employer shall agree to this request no later than two weeks after the request is submitted unless a compelling business or service interest does not allow this.
In accordance with the Work and Care Act, the total term of pre-maternity plus post-maternity leave is at least 16 weeks (at least 20 weeks in case of a multiple birth), of which at least 10 weeks are reserved for post-maternity leave.
Employees retain their entitlement to full remuneration and holiday accrual during pre-maternity and post-maternity leave.
The employee is obliged to cooperate in the application for benefits under the Work and Care Act to the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Article 12a Transfer of post-maternity leave from the person who gave birth to the partner (Article 3:1a WAZO ff.)

Should the person who gave birth die during the post-maternity leave and a birth certificate of the child has been prepared, the employee who is the spouse or registered partner, or who has acknowledged the child, is entitled to the remaining post-maternity leave with retention of pay.
The partner is to report the death of the person who gave birth and take-up of the leave to the employer no later than on the second day after the death. The partner must provide the employer within four weeks after the death with a copy of the birth certificate of the child and of the death certificate of the person who gave birth.
The partner is obliged to cooperate in the application for benefits under the Work and Care Act to the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).

Article 13 Leave for adoption and foster care (Article 4.12 CAO and Article 3:2 WAZO ff.)

a. An employee who becomes an adoptive parent is entitled to adoption leave.
b. An employee who becomes a foster parent may be eligible for foster care leave, provided that the employee lives at the same address as the child whom the employee raises and provides for on a long-term basis and can submit a fostering agreement stating that the employee is responsible for the upbringing and care of the child.
References in this Article to ‘adoption’ shall be understood to also refer to ‘foster care’.
The entitlement to adoption leave applies during a period of 26 weeks and amounts to a maximum of six consecutive weeks. The leave may commence from four weeks before the child is actually placed in the care of the employee and must, in any case, be taken within 22 weeks after the actual adoption.
Contrary to the provision of paragraph 3, the employee may ask the employer to be permitted to take the leave not during six consecutive weeks, but to spread it over a period of 26 weeks. The employer may deny this request if a compelling business or service interest would not justify it.
If and insofar as possible, the employee must apply for adoption leave at least three weeks in advance, stating the period of the leave.
If two or more children are being adopted at the same time under a single adoption procedure, the entitlement to leave shall apply only with respect to one of the children.
Full remuneration shall be maintained for a maximum of five working days during the adoption or foster care leave. Thereafter, adoption or foster care leave shall be unpaid. The employee is required to apply for benefits under the Work and Care Act through the employer. During the period of paid leave, the benefit shall be deducted from the employee’s remuneration. The employee shall continue to accrue holiday leave hours during the adoption or foster care leave.

Article 14 Parental leave (Article 4.13 to 4.20 CAO and Article 6:1 WAZO ff.)

The CAO and the Work and Care Act apply with regard to partially paid parental leave, and the Work and Care Act applies with regard to unpaid parental leave.
When taking up partially paid parental leave, the employee is required to apply for benefits from the UWV under the Work and Care Act through the employer.

Article 15a Emergency leave (Article 4.22 CAO and Article 4:1 WAZO ff.)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15c, an employee is entitled to paid leave in the event of unforeseen circumstances where the employee must take immediate measures and this involves an immediate disruption of the work.
The employee must report the take-up of emergency leave as soon as possible.
The right to paid leave in the event of an emergency applies for a maximum of two days per year.

Article 15b Short-term leave (Article 4.22 CAO and Article 4:1 WAZO ff.)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15c, employees are entitled to paid short-term leave if and insofar as they are prevented from performing their work on a normal working day for them due to a special personal circumstance.
The employer shall grant an employee paid short-term leave for the following events or special personal circumstances
a. if the employee’s spouse or registered partner or a person whose child the employee acknowledges is giving or has given birth: two days of leave;
b. when giving official notice of intended marriage, or when entering into a marriage or registered partnership: one day and four days of leave, respectively;
c. on the occasion of the employee’s 25th or 40th employment or wedding anniversary as well as the 25th, 40th, 50th and 60th wedding anniversary of the parents, parents-in-law and step-parents of the employee: one day of leave;
d. to look for somewhere to live if the employee is obliged to move house: one day of leave;
e. to move house if the employee is obliged to move house: two days of leave;
f. in the event of the death of a spouse, registered partner or person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent or foster parent, child, stepchild or foster child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law: a maximum of four days of leave; in the event of the death of a brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandfather, grandmother or grandchild: a maximum of two days; in the event of the death of an uncle, aunt, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, nephew, niece and other relative: one day of leave unless the employee has been charged with the funeral arrangements and handling the deceased’s estate, in which case the employee may be granted a maximum of four days of leave. The last two sentences apply mutatis mutandis in the event of a registered partnership;
g. for the necessary care due to illness of the persons mentioned in Article 17, par. 1: one day of leave. If the employee’s presence at home is required as a result of illness of the spouse or of a child under the age of 14: a maximum of three days of leave. This applies in addition to the provisions in Article 17;
h. for doctor’s or hospital visits by the employee that are urgent, unforeseen or not reasonably possible to plan outside working hours, or the necessary escort in these for the persons mentioned in Article 17, par. 1;
i. To attend the wedding or registered partnership of the employee’s child, adopted child, stepchild or foster child: one day of leave.
On the occasion of the employee’s own marriage or registered partnership, or the death of a relative as referred to in Article 15b, par. 2(f), the employee shall be entitled to short-term leave regardless of whether the event falls on a scheduled working day.
An employee is entitled to paid short-term leave for the hours required for the discharge of an obligation imposed on the employee by law or by government that is not remunerated, which cannot be discharged in the employee’s spare time.
Employees are entitled to paid short-term leave for the time they require to exercise their voting right.

Article 15c Duration of emergency and short-term leave

The proportionality of Article 3 of these regulations does not apply to Articles 15a and 15b, on the understanding that the period of leave shall not amount to more than the agreed working time on a regularly scheduled working day.

Article 15d Bereavement leave

In addition to short-term leave as referred to in Article 15b, par. 2(f), the employee is entitled to two weeks of extraordinary paid leave following the death of a spouse, registered partner or person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent or foster parent, child, stepchild or foster child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Following the death of a brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandfather, grandmother or grandchild, the extraordinary leave is one week. This applies mutatis mutandis in the case of a registered partnership.
If a person with whom the employee otherwise had a social relationship dies and the employee had a duty of care in respect of that person, one week of bereavement leave may be granted.
The employer and employee shall agree on the scope, duration and details of any leave.
Leave take-up depends on the individual. The employer and employee may make other or further arrangements regarding the take-up of bereavement leave or additional extraordinary leave.

Article 16a Birth leave (Article 4:2 WAZO)

An employee is entitled to a full week of paid birth leave, during a period of four weeks, after the spouse, registered partner, person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis or person whose child the employee acknowledges has given birth.
At least four weeks before the start of the birth leave, the employee must report to the employer, in writing or electronically, the period, duration and, if applicable, the spread in time of the leave. If this is not possible, the employee must report the intention to take such leave as soon as possible. The moments of the start and end of the birth leave may be set to depend on the date of the birth.
The right to birth leave applies as from the first day after the birth.
An employee may choose to let the birth leave commence immediately following the short-term leave that is granted for attending the birth.

Article 16b Additional birth leave (Article 4:2 WAZO)

After having taken up the birth leave referred to in Article 16a, the employee is entitled to additional but unpaid birth leave during a period of six months, starting on the first day after the birth.
This additional birth leave amounts to a maximum of five times the number of working hours per week.
At least four weeks before the start of the birth leave, the employee must report to the employer, in writing or electronically, the period, duration and, if applicable, the spread in time of the leave. If this is not possible, the employee must report the intention to take such leave as soon as possible. The moments of the start and end of the additional birth leave may be set to depend on the date of the birth and the end of the post-maternity leave.
After consultation with the employee, the employer may change the specifics of the additional birth leave until two weeks before the moment of the start of the leave, on account of compelling business or service interests.
The employee is required, when taking up additional birth leave, to apply for benefits under the Work and Care Act through the employer. Benefits shall be paid for a maximum of five times the number of working hours per week, amounting to 70% of the daily wage of the employee, up to 70% of the maximum daily wage. The application to the Employee Insurance Agency must be filed in the period between four weeks before the first day of the additional birth leave and four weeks after the last day on which the leave is taken.
The employee continues to accrue holiday hours during the additional birth leave period.

Article 17 Short-term care leave (Article 4.21 CAO and Article 5:1 WAZO ff.)

An employee is entitled to leave to provide necessary care due to illness of:
a. a spouse, registered partner or person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis;
b. children (including step-children and foster children);
c. parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren;
d. persons who belong to the household of the employee, without an employment relationship being involved; or
e. persons with whom the employee has an attestable social relationship, insofar as the care to be provided arises directly from this relationship and must in all reasonableness be provided by the employee.
For each period of twelve successive months, the period of leave amounts to a maximum of two times the number of working hours per week. The twelve-month period starts on the first day on which the leave is taken. During this period, the employee is entitled to 70% of the remuneration, with a minimum amount equal to the statutory minimum wage and a maximum of 70% of the maximum daily wage, as referred to in Article 17, par. 1, of the Social Insurance (Funding) Act.
The employee must report in advance, stating the reason, the intention to take short-term care leave. Along with this intention, the employee must also state the scope, the way in which taken and the expected duration of the care leave.
The care leave shall not commence, or shall end in any case, as soon as the employer notifies the employee that compelling business interests that outweigh the employee’s interests according to the standards of reasonableness and fairness oppose the granting of this leave or its continuation.

Article 18 Long-term care leave (Article 5:9 WAZO ff.)

An employee is entitled to leave to provide care due to a life-threatening illness or necessary care due to illness or infirmity of:
a. a spouse, registered partner or person with whom the employee cohabits on an unmarried basis;
b. children (including step-children and foster children);
c. parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren;
d. persons who belong to the household of the employee, without an employment relationship being involved; or
e. persons with whom the employee has an attestable social relationship, insofar as the care to be provided arises directly from this relationship and must in all reasonableness be provided by the employee.
Long-term care leave is unpaid and amounts to a maximum of six times the number of working hours per week over a period of twelve successive months. The twelve months’ period starts on the first day on which the employee takes the leave.
The employee needs to submit a request for long-term leave in writing to the employer at least two weeks before the intended start of the leave, stating the reason, the name of the person requiring care, the commencement date, the scope and expected term of the leave, and the spread of the hours of leave over the week or other agreed period.
The employer shall grant the employee’s request for leave unless compelling business or service interests that outweigh the employee’s interests according to the standards of reasonableness and fairness oppose the granting of this leave.
If the employer contemplates refusing or only partially honouring an employee’s request for leave, the employer shall consult with the employee in question about the request. The employer shall inform the employee of the decision on the request in writing. If the request is refused or not entirely honoured, the employer shall inform the employee about this, stating the reason.
Long-term care leave shall end upon expiry of the period for which the leave was granted. If the person with the life-threatening illness dies before the end of that period, or if the circumstance mentioned in paragraph 1 no longer exists, the long-term care leave shall end as from the day following the day on which this circumstance occurred.

Article 19 Leave for trade union activities

An employee who is a member of the employee organisation FNV, AC/FBZ, CNV Overheid or AOb may be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings, activities or courses in the context of membership, provided that service interests do not dictate otherwise.
An employee who is a member of the board of the employee organisation FNV, AC/FBZ, CNV Overheid or AOb shall be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings, activities or courses by virtue of this position, provided that service interests do not dictate otherwise.

Article 20 Extraordinary leave for political activities

An employee holding a part-time office on a municipal executive board, a provincial council, the Senate of the States General or committees of these bodies shall be granted extraordinary paid leave for attending meetings pursuant to Article 7:643 of the Civil Code. The same applies for the performance of any consequent activities if and insofar as these cannot be performed in the employee’s spare time.
If the employee receives a fixed fee for the activities referred to in paragraph 1, the employer shall withhold an amount from the employee’s remuneration for the period that the employee is on leave. The amount withheld shall not exceed the amount the employee receives as a fee.
An employee holding a full-time political office as an alderman or a member of the Provincial Executive or House of Representatives shall be granted extraordinary unpaid leave. The employee’s employment contract shall continue to exist, but the employee shall be granted dispensation from performing the job.
Extraordinary leave for full-time political activities is only granted for one term of office. Following this term of office, the employer is obliged to make every effort to find a suitable position for the employee concerned unless the employee opts for a second term of political office. In that case, the employee shall be deemed to have resigned with immediate effect.

Article 21 Additional extraordinary leave

The employer may, at the employee’s request, grant the latter additional extraordinary leave in the event of special circumstances. The employer decides whether this leave shall be granted with or without maintenance of full or partial remuneration and may impose specific conditions.

Article 22 Transition leave

With effect from 1 August 2023, an employee who is undergoing or shall undergo a gender transition process during employment at one of the universities is entitled to a maximum of two weeks of paid transition leave per calendar year for necessary medical and non-medical treatments and any recovery time without having to report sick. If the employee is unable to work due to medical treatment (such as surgical intervention), leave shall commence from the first day of this inability to work.
The employee may take the maximum transition leave in parts. The employee must report the taking of transition leave to the employer in writing at least eight weeks before the start of the leave, stating the scope of the leave, the expected duration of the leave, together with a statement from a registered treating doctor, the time of the start of the leave and, if applicable, the spread of hours over the week. If this is not possible, the employee must report the taking of leave as soon as possible. The employer shall grant the request to take transition leave.
This arrangement applies until the date on which transition leave is regulated by law and certainly no later than 1 January 2026. Once legally regulated transition leave enters into force, this article shall be deleted from the CAO-NU and the parties to the CAO shall enter into consultation to see whether further agreements are necessary.

Final provisions

Article 23 Effective date

These Holiday and Leave Regulations of Radboud University shall come into effect on 1 January 2025.

Explanatory notes on the holiday and leave regulations of Radboud University

These regulations describe in greater detail the rules concerning holiday and leave as referred to in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

1. Holiday

According to the CAO-NU, university staff members who have a standard working week of 38 hours are entitled to 232 holiday leave hours per calendar year. However, the CAO-NU uses a flexible working time scheme. Employees who participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme receive 96 compensation hours, while those who participate in the minus option of the flexible working time scheme relinquish 96 holiday leave hours. This is in accordance with the Regeling Flexibele Werkduur (flexible working time scheme) of Radboud University.

An employee who carries over more than 80 holiday leave hours (proportionate to employment) to the next calendar year forfeits the right to participate in the plus option of the flexible working time scheme. The employer may then 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 the previous calendar year). Furthermore, the CAO provisions for the prevention of excessive accumulation of holidays have been included in Article 6. However, the basic principle is and remains that, in the context of ‘good employment’, employees should take their holidays in the calendar year in which the entitlement arises. An employee who does not use up all the holiday leave hours accrued in a year must make arrangements with the supervisor on how to take these holiday leave hours in some other manner, thus preventing excessive accumulation of holidays. If an employee does not make such an arrangement, the employer is entitled to determine when the employee must take the holiday leave hours.

Statutory holiday leave hours carried over to the next year expire six months after the last day of the calendar year during which the entitlement was accrued. This means that employees will at least need to take their statutory holiday leave hours within this six-month period. If employees do not do so, or do not do so in time, these holiday leave hours will be deducted from their holiday entitlement unless the employee has a valid reason for not having been able to take the holiday leave hours. This has to be because of medical or other special circumstances. This may be the case, for example, if an employee has been ill for an extended period of time and was exempted from all work re-integration obligations during that period, in other words if the employee was too ill to be re-integrated into work. Another special circumstance may be that an employee was unable to take the minimum number of holiday leave hours due to actions or omissions on the part of the employer. The holiday leave will not expire in this case until five years after the last day of the calendar year during which it was accrued. Non-statutory holiday leave hours expire likewise after five years.

An employee who is on full or partial leave as a result of illness continues to accrue holiday leave hours during this time. This is set out in Article 5 of these holiday leave regulations. In this respect, no distinction is made between full and partial leave as a result of the employee’s illness.

Furthermore, Article 7 now reflects the statutory provision that the holiday leave hours of an ill employee who goes on holiday will be deducted with due observance of the employee’s contractual working time per day. This applies regardless of whether the employee is on full or partial leave as a result of illness.

2. Leave

Pre-maternity and post-maternity leave

An employee is entitled to a minimum of 16 weeks of pre-maternity plus post-maternity leave. The employee may determine the starting date of the pre-maternity leave. The right to leave applies as from six weeks before the expected date of delivery, with four weeks before this day as the latest possible starting date. The post-maternity leave applies for a minimum of 10 weeks.

An employee expecting a multiple birth is entitled to a minimum of 20 weeks of pre-maternity plus post-maternity leave. The right to leave then applies as from 10 weeks before the expected date of delivery, with eight weeks before this day as the latest possible starting date. The post-maternity leave in such cases applies for a minimum of 10 weeks.

The post-maternity leave is extended by the number of days that the hospitalisation of the child is longer than seven days. The extension of the leave is a maximum of 10 weeks. The threshold of seven days does not apply per hospitalisation. If, in the case of multiple hospitalisations during the post-maternity leave, the total number of days in hospital is more than seven, the threshold is then exceeded. Extension of post-maternity leave only applies if the hospitalisation has taken place because of medical reasons involving the baby (and not the person who gave birth). Another condition for entitlement to an extension is that the hospitalisation is longer than a possible extension of the post-maternity leave because the pre-maternity leave taken was shorter than the six weeks (10 weeks in case of a multiple birth).

An example: If the pre-maternity leave only lasted four weeks, so that the post-maternity leave was not 10 weeks but 12 weeks, then the hospitalisation of the baby must be at least two weeks before an extension of the post-maternity leave is applicable because of the hospitalisation.

After six weeks of post-maternity leave, the remaining period of that leave can be taken within a period of 30 weeks on a flexible basis. The permitted leave does not need to be taken all at once but may also be taken on a part-time basis.

Parental leave

The CAO establishes that an employee who is entitled to parental leave under the Work and Care Act has the right to partially paid parental leave for the duration of 13 weeks. During the partially paid parental leave, only the statutory holiday hours are accrued on the hours of parental leave.

The total duration of paid plus unpaid parental leave is 26 weeks.

Adjusted legislation regarding partially paid parental leave will come into effect as from 2 August 2022. As a result, the CAO entities have agreed to adjust the university regulations for partially paid parental leave as follows as from 1 August 2022:

As from 1 August 2022, the percentage of continued renumeration pay over a maximum of 13 times the weekly working hours during the first year of life of the child will be raised to 70% of the remuneration, accounting for the paid parental leave benefits paid by the UWV. The other terms and conditions of the university regulations will remain in effect. This means continued pay of 62.5% of the renumeration for any remaining part (or the total of the 13 weeks) taken after the first year of life of the child.
For any remaining part from partially paid parental leave already taken before 1 August 2022 in the first year of life of the child, a percentage of 70% will apply as of 1 August 2022.
The condition in the current regulations that stipulates that one only has a right to partial payment of parental leave after a year of employment will be terminated as from 1 August 2022. The condition that one has no right to partially paid parental leave if one has already received parental leave from a different employer will also be terminated as from 1 August 2022. This condition will be replaced with a provision offsetting the weeks already taken.
The repayment scheme will lapse as from 1 August 2022. This means that repayment will no longer be necessary for employees who leave employment as of 1 August 2022.

The following is important when applying to the UWV for payment of partially paid parental leave benefits under the Work and Care Act: The number of hours of partially paid parental leave taken by an employee must be a multiple of the hours the employee works per week. Employees may apply to the UWV for partially paid parental leave benefits only once (per child).

Additional birth leave

The following is important when applying to the UWV for payment of additional birth leave benefits under the Work and Care Act:

The number of hours of additional birth leave taken by an employee must be a multiple of the hours the employee works per week, with a maximum of 5 weeks. For example, if the employee works 32 hours, it is possible to take 32 hours, 64 hours, 96 hours, 128 hours or 160 hours.

It is not possible to alter an application after it has been submitted to the UWV. Employees may apply to the UWV for additional birth leave only once.

If an employee submits a request not to take additional birth leave or not to continue to take additional birth leave due to unforeseen consequences, the employer will agree to this unless compelling business or service interests are at play.

Bereavement leave

The supervisor and employee will agree on the scope, duration and details of the bereavement leave. Given that every individual processes loss in their own way, further measures may be necessary. One employee may want to resume work as quickly as possible, while another employee may need more time to process the bereavement and is not yet ready to resume work. In that context, the Holiday and Leave Regulations of Radboud University offer the option of granting additional extraordinary leave, with or without full or partial remuneration, tailoring the solution to the individual at all times.

If, after time has passed, the employee is still not able to resume work, it is recommended that a staff social worker, occupational health doctor or campus psychologist be consulted for advice on how to proceed. In some cases, it may be necessary to grant additional extraordinary leave, while in others the employee may become occupationally disabled for medical reasons.

HR Labour Expertise Centre Modified on: 19 May 2025, 14:11 Valid since: 14 April 2025