Regulations for Redeployment and the Filling of Vacancies at Radboud University Nijmegen

In addition to the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU) the Executive Board adopted the following regulations.

Article 1 Definitions

1. Vacancy: a job vacancy of at least 0.2 FTE that needs to be filled for three months or longer.
2. Vacancy holder: the dean or director of the faculty, division or business unit that has a vacancy.
3. Redeployment candidate: the employee subject to potential dismissal due to changes in employment circumstances. Changes in employment circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:
   (a) abolition of a post, redundancy and/or reorganisation;
   (b) incapacity for work due to medical reasons;
   (c) incompatibility of characters;
   (d) disturbed labour relations, unless blame can be attributed;
   (e) unsatisfactory performance, unless blame can be attributed.
4. Career candidate: an employee with whom clear development agreements have been made about a career path.
5. Internal candidate:
   (a) an employee of Radboud University Nijmegen;
   (b) a former employee of Radboud University Nijmegen during the first two years of the unemployment period, provided he/she is not voluntarily unemployed.
   (c) a former employee of Radboud University Nijmegen who, after having been dismissed due to the position being abolished or the number of interchangeable positions being reduced, was awarded statutory or non-statutory unemployment benefit. He/she shall be regarded as an internal candidate during the entire period that the former employee receives unemployment benefit.
   (d) a posted worker within the meaning of the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act or a posted student employee of Campus Detachering B.V. during the period of placement at Radboud University Nijmegen.
6. Suitable position: A position is considered suitable if, in the opinion of the employer:
   - the position matches the education, experience and abilities of the redeployment candidate;
   - if, in the opinion of the employer, the redeployment candidate can be retrained or given further training within 12 months;
   - and the position can reasonably be assigned as a result of the personality, the circumstances and the current prospects of the person concerned; unless compelling business interests do not allow for it.
7. Mobility coordinator: independent officer within the Human Resources Division responsible for the coordination of activities geared towards the guidance of redeployment candidates.

Article 2 The creation of a job vacancy

If a job vacancy arises, the person responsible for the vacancy will report this as soon as possible to the HR advisor, who will then notify the mobility coordinator.

Article 3 Registration of redeployment candidates

If an employee has been designated as a redeployment candidate, he/she will be registered as such by the HR advisor, who will subsequently report this registration to the mobility coordinator.

Article 4 The mobility coordinator

1. Generally, the mobility coordinator is responsible for the optimisation of internal vacancy filling at Radboud University Nijmegen and, more particularly, for the coordination of activities geared towards the guidance of redeployment candidates.
2. After consultation with the HR advisor and the vacancy holder, the mobility coordinator will assess whether or not a registered vacancy is one for which one or more redeployment candidates might qualify.
3. If the mobility coordinator is of the opinion that a vacancy is one for which one or more redeployment candidates might qualify, the mobility coordinator has the right to block this vacancy to prevent further recruitment, but must do so within 5 working days following the date on which the vacancy was reported.

Article 5 Redeployment study

1. For every redeployment candidate, the possibilities of redeployment in suitable work within or outside Radboud University will be carefully studied.
2. The duration of the study concerning redeployment of an employee subject to potential dismissal due to the position being abolished or as a result of the application of the reflection principle due to the reduction in the number of interchangeable positions is 3 months plus the notice period.
3. The duration of the study concerning redeployment of an employee subject to potential dismissal as a result of incapacity for work due to medical reasons is determined by the course of the proceedings in the first and second years of illness in accordance with the Eligibility for Permanent Invalidity (Restrictions) Act (Wet Verbetering Poortwachter) and the provisions of the Sickness and Disability Scheme (Ziekte- en Arbeidsongeschiktheidsregeling) of Dutch Universities.
4. The duration of the study concerning redeployment of an employee subject to potential dismissal as a result of other grounds than those referred to in the second and third paragraphs is 3 months plus the notice period.
5. The redeployment candidate is obliged to cooperate actively and demonstrably in the redeployment study.
6. If, at the end of the redeployment study, it appears that no suitable position has been found, the dean/director will send a written notification to the redeployment candidate, stating the reasons. The reasons provided will indicate which efforts have been made and which causes have led to the redeployment not taking place.

Article 6 Priority of redeployment candidates

1. If the mobility coordinator believes that there could be a suitable position, the vacancy holder will consider the redeployment candidate for the vacancy in question.
2. The vacancy holder will interview the redeployment candidate concerned in order to assess whether this candidate – given his/her knowledge and skills – will be able to perform the position effectively. The vacancy holder will make this assessment with reference to the job content and job requirements. The redeployment candidate will be obliged to respond to the request to attend the aforementioned interview.
3. If there is more than one redeployment candidate for a vacant position, the most suitable candidate shall be given priority.
4. If the redeployment candidate is not placed in the suitable position, the vacancy holder will state the reasons clearly in a written notification.

Article 7 Priority position of other candidates

If no redeployment candidate can be placed in the vacant position, the vacancy will be released for further recruitment, in which case the following recruitment, selection and priority sequence will apply:

(a) If, in the opinion of the vacancy holder, there could be a suitable position for an employee with whom development agreements about a career path have been made (including agreements within the context of tenure track or career track), then this career candidate will be considered for the vacancy in question. 

(b) If no suitable career candidate can be found for the vacant position, the organisation may then recruit both internally and externally. An internal candidate will be entitled to a selection interview if the internal candidate meets the formal criteria. In the event of equal suitability, the internal candidate will take preference over the external candidate. If the internal candidate is rejected for the vacant position, this be duly substantiated by the vacancy holder.

When recruiting university lecturers, tenured lecturers and researchers who have obtained a doctorate have priority as internal candidates in cases of equal suitability, i.e. if they meet the specified job requirements. This preferential position means that, when recruiting a university lecturer, a tenured lecturer or researcher with a doctorate who applies for the vacant position within their own field or a related field will be invited for an interview or selection interview. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to this internal candidate over an external job applicant.

When recruiting for a permanent teaching position, a tenured lecturer who applies for a vacancy within their own field or a related field will be invited for an interview and selection interview. This candidate, who meets the job requirements for the permanent position, has priority over an external applicant.

In the case of external recruitment for a vacant position in the Education & Research job family, the vacancy will in any case be posted on Radboud University’s intranet and the Academic Transfer website. 

Article 8 Target group policy

Radboud University’s target group policy, in which candidates from the target groups are given priority in the case of equal suitability, continues to apply, but the sequence and priority provisions included in these regulations shall prevail.

Article 9 Application code

Without prejudice to the provisions of these regulations, the Application Code of the Netherlands Association for Personnel Management and Organisational Development (NVP) shall apply, and applicants will be entitled to reimbursement of their travel expenses and other costs reasonably incurred.

Article 10 Effect

These regulations came into effect on 1 January 2008, and were last amended with effect from 10 February 2025.

Explanatory notes

1. Redeployment policy

The aim of Radboud University’s redeployment policy is to consider giving priority to employees designated as redeployment candidates in filling job vacancies. Redeployment status is granted when an employee is subject to potential dismissal as a result of, for example, reorganisation, unsatisfactory performance, incapacity for work or disturbed labour relations.

Mobility coordinator

The mobility coordinator supports the HR advisor in guiding redeployment candidates and other employees whose careers have stagnated or threaten to stagnate towards other suitable work within or outside the university. 

Redeployment study

The duration of the redeployment study in the case of reorganisation is laid down in the CAO NU). The duration of the redeployment study is set at 3 months plus the period of notice. The Eligibility for Permanent Invalidity (Restrictions) Act (Wet Verbetering Poortwachter) and Policy Rules concerning the Occupational Disability Assessment Framework (Beleidsregels Beoordelingskader Poortwachter) stipulate which efforts need to be made to redeploy people who are incapacitated for work.

Regarding the threat of dismissal on other grounds (unsatisfactory performance, disturbed labour relations and the like) no provisions have been made in the legislation or CAO. For these cases, the duration of the re-employment study will be aligned with the 3-month period described in the CAO in the case of reorganization dismissal.

However, special circumstances may always justify a longer term. For example, it may be that the employer has not yet been able to organise the support required within the context of the redeployment study, or that the employee cannot yet be employed for medical reasons or does not yet qualify for placement due to the fact that he/she is frustrated or angry about all that has happened and, for example, first needs to clearly define the search profile with the help of a career advisor. In such a case the redeployment study cannot be conducted effectively. This does not change the fact that the employee is subject to potential dismissal, but then, depending on the circumstances involved, further agreements will have to be made on the basis of good employment practices.

Suitable position

A redeployment candidate shall not be dismissed before the possibilities of the redeployment candidate’s redeployment in suitable work within or outside Radboud University have been carefully studied. What constitutes a ‘suitable position’ has been defined in the CAO NU.

Employees unfit for work

An employee who is unfit for work for medical reasons occupies a special position within the legal and regulatory framework. The employee is considered a redeployment candidate if the Department of Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Service (AMD) and/or the Public Employment Service (UWV) have determined that the employee can no longer fulfil the current duties due to partial or full occupational disability (temporarily or permanently), but is nonetheless still capable of performing other duties. This may involve what is known as passable work/generally accepted work, which may be of a totally different nature and level than the work performed in the position(s) previously held. The Policy Rules concerning the Occupational Disability Assessment Framework (Beleidsregels Beoordelingskader Poortwachter) even state that, if necessary and possible, an employer should reorganise the work within their own department in such a way that an employee who is partially unfit for work can remain in employment.

2. Priority of career candidates and internal candidates

From 10 February 2025, the Regulations for Redeployment and the Filling of Vacancies will grant specific priority to career candidates. If no redeployment candidate can be placed in the vacant position, the next step is to see if a career candidate can be considered for the vacant position. A career candidate is an employee with whom development agreements about career paths have been made (including agreements in the context of tenure track or career track). Because these are agreements and commitments within the context of the career principle, this group of employees will be given priority immediately after the redeployment candidates.

If no suitable candidate can be found for the vacant position, the organisation may then recruit both internally and externally. If both candidates are equally suitable, the internal candidate will be given priority over the external candidate. However, the organisation may also choose to only recruit internally first.

All those employed by Radboud University Nijmegen are considered internal candidates, regardless of whether they have a contract for a definite or indefinite period of time, and regardless of the duration of employment (Equal Treatment [Temporary and Permanent Contracts] Act).

As Radboud University Nijmegen can realise considerable savings on benefits if former employees receiving statutory or non-statutory unemployment benefits go back to work, the present regulations include the provision that not only former employees as referred to in Article 9:14, par. 5, of the CAO but all former employees who have been unemployed less than two years and receive unemployment benefits paid by the university will be considered equivalent to internal candidates, with the exception of employees who are culpably unemployed.

Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Non-Statutory Unemployment Regulation of the Dutch Universities 2020 (BWNU) stipulates that a former employee who, after having been made redundant due to reorganisation, was awarded statutory or non-statutory unemployment benefit, will be employed by the former employer in a suitable position as defined in Article 9.12 of the CAO NU when such a position becomes vacant. Such a former employee will therefore be regarded as an internal candidate during the entire period that the former employee receives unemployment benefit. At Radboud University, this applies to any former employee of Radboud University Nijmegen who receives unemployment benefit after being dismissed due to the position being abolished or as a result of the application of the reflection principle due to the reduction in the number of interchangeable positions.

Pursuant to the amended Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (WAADI), Radboud University Nijmegen is obliged to inform the workers posted at the university clearly and in good time of any vacant positions at the university to give them the same opportunity as other workers at the university to find permanent employment. This means that the workers posted at Radboud University Nijmegen qualify as internal candidates. ‘Posted workers’ are workers with a contract of employment or employment relationship with an agency who, for consideration, are assigned to Radboud University Nijmegen to work under the university’s supervision and direction. It makes no difference which terms are used to refer to this procedure (e.g. temporary agency work, secondment, payrolling, hiring-out of manpower, or employee leasing). The provision of personnel by way of help without any profit incentive (e.g. in the context of reintegration or outplacement) does not fall within the definition of posting of workers. The workers remain in the employ of the agency, and the maximum charge is the wage costs plus a surcharge of 10% of the wage costs.

Students posted with the university through Campus Detachering B.V. shall also be regarded as internal candidates during their period of placement at Radboud University Nijmegen.

If no redeployment candidates or career candidates are available for certain job vacancies, the vacancies in question will be released for further recruitment. In all cases, recruitment may then be simultaneously carried out both internally and externally, but it is also possible to recruit internally first. For vacant UD (assistant professor) positions, tenured lecturers/researchers have priority in cases of equal suitability. When recruiting for a tenured lecturer, a lecturer who is already (temporarily) employed by the university will also be given priority.

The privileged position of an internal candidate entails that the internal candidate will be entitled to a job interview if the internal candidate meets the formal criteria and that, when an internal candidate and an external candidate are equally suitable for a vacant position, preference will be given to the internal candidate.