HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES HRM self-service options HR management information Privacy
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2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT Job vacancy 8 Budget 9 Selection committee 9 Publication 9 Selection 10 Meeting to discuss terms and conditions of employment 10 Employment contract 10 Commencement of employment 10 Induction 11 3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES Annual consultation and assessment Extension of employment contract Changes to working hours and/or schedule Job changes and promotions Transfer Remuneration Changes to cost allocation Education and training Development days Training budget and repayment of fees Beyond training Careers advice Ancillary activities
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12 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 19
4. HOLIDAY, LEAVE AND OPTIONAL MODEL Holiday leave Types of leave Requesting leave Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment
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5. SICK LEAVE Prevention Case manager Calling in sick Returning to work
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6. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT End of contract Employee terminates contract Employer terminates contract Financial arrangements Retirement Death
26 27 27 28 28 28
7. AGREEMENT WITH AN EXTERNAL PARTY Registration Change or termination
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PUBLISHING DETAILS
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INTRODUCTION VU University Amsterdam strives to be a good employer. Our personnel policy takes account of the requirements of both the organization and the environment. Together with you as managers, we at HRM, Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment (HR & HSE) seek to enable all employees, scientific staff and support staff alike, to develop their talents within a responsible working environment. This HRM guide provides you with practical information to help you with your responsibilities in the field of HRM – for example, if you have a vacancy, if you are going to hold annual consultation and assessment or if you would like to know more about careers advice. This guide covers all the most important topics. You do not necessarily need to read the chapters in the order in which they appear in the guide. You can think of this as a reference book in which you look up information when you need it. The guide provides information about general HRM practices at VU University Amsterdam. It is possible that your faculty or service department does things in a slightly different way or provides different information. If this causes any confusion, please contact the personnel consultant in your faculty or department.
YOUR POSITION
VU University Amsterdam distinguishes between two types of managers: A and B. Type A managers provide hierarchical leadership and are authorized to make personnel decisions with financial implications, such as the appointment or dismissal of employees or salary changes. Type B managers provide guidance relating to the work being carried out, for example by setting priorities or providing professional guidance. This means that not all information in this guide will be relevant to type B managers. At almost every level in the organization, the ‘next manager in the hierarchy’ (i.e. the manager’s manager) will also have a say in major decisions. This principle keeps everyone on the ball and ensures that we make consistently good decisions.
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1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES
1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES VU University Amsterdam is investing in a twenty-first century working environment that makes full use of the potential offered by digitization. For example, you can arrange most personnel matters via VUnet → Services → Personnel. All HRM self-service options are available in both Dutch and English, 24 hours a day. This section will explain this method of working. HRM SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS
The HRM self-service options are used to confirm and record the agreements made between employees and managers and other important information in an unambiguous way. You will work with your employees to ensure that all your personnel matters are arranged punctually and correctly. The system will help you by sending you notifications and tasks. Moreover, VUnet provides information pages, including checklists and process flows. Generally, it is the employee that will need to enter most of the data and as the manager you will need to verify and supplement that data where necessary.
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1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES
VUNET VUnet acts as the first port of call for information, both about the university as a whole and about your faculty or service department. It is therefore advisable to log in to VUnet every day at vunet.vu.nl. This will allow you to stay up to date with announcements and news, and also to see any HRM tasks that you have been sent. You will use VUnet so often that it will be useful to create a shortcut on your PC or laptop or to save the page as a favourite in your browser.
The HRM self-service options are designed in such a way that you cannot forget anything. For processes that will have financial or legal consequences, the personnel consultant and controller will also have their say, and your direct manager must also give his or her endorsement. This is the case, for example, when an employee is appointed, promoted or dismissed. You can use VUnet to check the status overviews. These display the progress of HRM processes and indicate who needs to take action at a particular moment in time. Employees can also view their own digital personnel file through VUnet. As a manager, you can view the personnel files of those employees who work under you, as well as your own. The personnel file contains documents such as the employee’s employment contract, forms relating to the annual consultation and assessment, and any agreements made about allowances, bonuses, training, and changing working hours. For security reasons you can only view your digital personnel file and those of your employees. If you as a manager are unavailable or difficult to reach for a period of time, you can appoint a colleague to substitute for you. You do this using the self-service option entitled Arrange replacement. The following list contains the HRM self-service options that are available. VUnet (→ Services → Personnel) displays only those self-services options for which you are authorized. There are also self-service options for financial matters such as submitting expense reports, time recording and invoicing.
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1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES
Personnel files • View my personnel file • View and/or manage personnel files (by manager) My team (for managers only) • Terminate employment contract by manager • Initiate annual consultations and assessments • View my team information • Create new employment contract or work placement agreement • Create agreement with external party • Terminate agreement with external party by manager • Activate or de-activate holiday leave approval • Change distribution of salary expenses • Arrange replacement • Report illness of one of my employees Personnel (relating to you as an employee) • Terminate employment contract by employee • Change employment contract • Make a selection from the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment • View my personal details • Change my personal details • View and complete my tasks • Report, change or discontinue ancillary activities • Change agreement with external party • Arrange a transfer • Arrange training agreements • View salary specification and annual income statement • View holiday leave chart • Request holiday leave and special leave • Activate or de-activate holiday leave registration • Report illness and recovery • Request maternity leave and report childbirth Status overviews • View status of my requests for holiday leave and special leave • View status of my annual consultations and assessments • View my employees’ annual consultations and assessments • View status of my choices from the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment • View status of other personnel matters
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In order to monitor and manage your HRM processes, you need up-to-date, clear and reliable management information. Managers therefore receive HRM reports on staffing, leave, sick leave, staffing distribution per unit or department (such as age, gender distribution, salary structure). Please contact your personnel consultant if you need more specific HRM reports. The MIVU digital portal (Management Information VU) will eventually provide strategic reports for management level employees – for example, information on the relationship between teaching and research achievements on the one hand, and the use of financial and human resources on the other.
HRM SERVICEDESK You can find more information about almost all personnel services on VUnet. If you have any questions, please contact the HRM Servicedesk. They will help you to familiarize yourself with the online self-service options, digital personnel file and personnel management in general. If you have a question related to an online service, they can also view your computer screen remotely in order to assist you even more effectively. The HRM Servicedesk is open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 17.00: servicedesk.hrm@vu.nl or 020 59 82882.
PRIVACY
As a manager, you have access to confidential information about your employees. VU University Amsterdam has a set of regulations that assure your privacy and the privacy of your employees: Collecting and processing employees’ personal details. You will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement based on the provisions of these regulations, which you can find on VUnet. Any printed documents containing personal data relating to employees must be kept securely locked away. You can protect personnel information in a digital format by taking the following measures: • Never share your VUnetID and password with anyone • Change the password associated with your VUnetID regularly • Lock your computer whenever you leave your workplace
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1. ONLINE PERSONNEL SERVICES
HR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT
2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT When you are recruiting and selecting new staff members, you will naturally look at the candidates’ professional and personal qualities. In addition, the employment contract and the obligations associated with it are also important. This section outlines the steps from announcing a vacancy to the new employee’s first day on the job. JOB VACANCY
When a vacancy arises, it is a good time to take stock of the composition of your team. Both in the event of an entirely new position and when a departing colleague needs to be replaced, it pays to reflect on exactly what you are looking for in a new employee. In addition to the desired combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience, you may also consider other aspects, such as: what type of personality would fit best in the team? And what about the balance within the team (young - old, male - female, Dutch - foreign)?
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All positions at Dutch universities are classified according to the University Job Ranking system, also known as UFO (Universitair Functieordenen). If you have a vacancy, you will need to compare the core activities and key result areas relevant to the vacancy with the job profiles listed in UFO. The job profiles provide a concise description of the activities associated with the job, as well as the associated level of seniority and salary level. Sometimes it is immediately clear which profile will apply, while at other times it may take a little longer to find the profile that is closest to the new position. A UFO Ranking tool is available via VUnet. It contains all job profiles and the associated competencies.
BUDGET
If you are responsible for the departmental budget and you are unsure whether a vacancy has been budgeted for, you can consult the controller. If you do not manage the departmental budget, we recommend that you first discuss the financial implications with your immediate manager. This will prevent you from spending time on a job vacancy for a position that may never be filled.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
As a manager you will nominate a committee that will be charged with recruiting and selecting the new employee in an effective and transparent manner. For this you can either invite a head of department and an employee from your team, with the possible addition of an employee (or head of department) from an affiliated department. For some positions, it is possible that the faculty board or the departmental manager will need to approve the composition of the selection committee. This will vary between faculties and service departments. The selection committee will determine the desired profile for candidates. You can find more information on this in the manual entitled Recruitment and selection for selection committees and managers on VUnet.
PUBLICATION
The personnel consultant will check the text for the vacancy and arrange internal publication on VUnet. In consultation with you, external communication channels may also be used, such as specialist journals, scientific networks or recruitment agencies. The processing time for placing the vacancy text on VUnet is at least a week. The proceÂdure is as follows: • Before noon on Friday: personnel consultant submits vacancy to HRM Servicedesk VU IS LOOKING FURTHER - 9
2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT
UNIVERSITY JOB RANKING (UFO)
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The following Tuesday: discussion in personnel consultant meeting The following Thursday: vacancy is placed on VUnet and in the case of academic staff, also on vu.nl and Academic Transfer; for support staff, this will be done two weeks later if required.
2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT
SELECTION
Working with the selection committee, you will determine which candidates you would like to invite for an interview. To do this, you can use the ‘plus and minus table’ from the manual entitled Recruitment and selection for selection committees and managers. THE PERSONNEL CONSULTANT CAN ADVISE YOU ON VARIOUS POINTS, FOR EXAMPLE: • The duration of the employment contract • Tenure & Career Tracks for talented academics • The UFO profile that is applicable to the vacancy • Placing the new employee on a salary scale • The room for negotiation during the interview with the applicant
MEETING TO DISCUSS TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
You will meet the prospective employee to discuss the terms and conditions of employment. This discussion may include, for example, their salary, the duration of their employment contract, their probationary period (if applicable) and opportunities for personal development. The Personnel Guide for (new) employees at VU University Amsterdam includes information about terms and conditions of employment and the staffing arrangements and facilities. If you wish, you may ask the personnel consultant to attend the meeting to discuss terms and conditions of employment.
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
An employment contract can be signed for a definite or indefinite period. A probationary period may be agreed for employment contracts of more than six months. Temporary contracts may only be extended a certain number of times within fixed periods. After that, the employee may assert his or her entitlement to a permanent employment contract, provided your unit can accommodate this in financial terms. For academic staff, it is sometimes possible to make an exception to the duration of the employment contract; see, for example, Tenure & Career Tracks in the brochure entitled Perspective for academics for more information. In addition, we recommend asking your personnel consultant for advice regarding temporary employment contracts.
COMMENCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT
In order to appoint the new employee formally, you can use the self-service option entitled Create new employment contract or paid work placement agreement. The new employee will then automatically be sent an e-mail request to complete a digital form 10 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
The personnel consultant and the controller of your faculty or service department will verify the digital form. Finally, your own manager will also be presented with the new appointment for approval. If the employee involved is an international employee, the International Office will also receive an automatic notification. Once the necessary permits have been obtained, the process can proceed further; often, the new employee will only be able to travel to the Netherlands after the permits have been arranged. The employment contract and the accompanying documents will automatically be archived in the digital personnel file of the new employee. The process of appointing professors, deans and directors differs from the recruitment and selection process for other employees. Please see VUnet for the appointment procedure for professors.
The processing time for a new employment contract is approximately four weeks for Dutch employees, provided all those involved complete the digital process in a timely fashion. The procedure for international employees will take longer because of the permits that are required.
INDUCTION
The induction programme is designed to help new employees to become familiar with the organization quickly. For example, the programme specifies who will explain particular tasks to the new employee, whom the employee will have an introductory interview with, who will supervise the employee during the training period, what is expected of the employee and how the training period will be concluded. If a colleague will be substituting for you and will take on the responsibility of looking after the new employee, that person will obviously need to know in advance what the role of mentor will involve. The secretariat may also ask you to ensure that the employee’s physical and digital workplace are arranged and that someone will be there to familiarize him or her with the university’s systems. It is possible that your service department or faculty has different procedures in place for this.
VU University Amsterdam organizes a quarterly meeting for new employees to familiarize them with the profile, organization and history of the university. They will also be given a tour of the campus. The new employee should consult VUnet for more information on the introductory meeting and to learn how to sign up.
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2. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND EMPLOYMENT
with his or her personal details. Upon receipt of this form, you must check the attached copy of the new employee’s ID: does it in fact belong to your new employee, and is it still valid? You then enter the information relating to the position and the primary terms and conditions of employment.
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES VU University Amsterdam views an open and respectful working relationship as essential. Managers and employees should be able to remind one another of their responsibilities at an appropriate moment and using the correct tone. As a manager, it is up to you to take the initiative in this regard. You are responsible for setting the tone within your department. How you do that is up to you, of course, but there are a few formal guidelines. The rules for these opportunities are set out in this section. ANNUAL CONSULTATION AND ASSESSMENT
You probably speak regularly with your staff about their progress, relations with colleagues, successes and disappointments. In addition to these regular conversations, you are also expected to conduct an annual consultation and assessment with your employees. In this interview, you will consider the ambitions of your employees and their contribution to the objectives of your department in a structured way. This occurs annually and is a formal requirement that involves appraising and evaluating the development and achievements of that employee over the preceding year. You will 12 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
substantiate the scores that you have awarded and give your employee the opportunity to respond. Together, you will also make specific and achievable agreements about the coming year. The annual consultation and assessment also forms part of the procedure for renewing an employment contract or promoting an employee.
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Preparation Ten months following your employee’s commencement of employment or previous annual consultation and assessment, you will automatically be sent a task to remind you that it is time for the next annual consultation and assessment. You can initiate the process in the task that appears in your VUnet task list. Both you and your employee have the opportunity to involve an informant in the assessment procedure; in total, you may call on four informants between you. The role of informant could be taken on by another manager, a colleague or a client. In addition, you as a manager may designate a second assessor; the employee does not have this option. Please note that it is your responsibility to identify any informant(s) and/or the second assessor and to define the role that they will play at the very start of the process; it is therefore necessary to check with the employee whether any third party or parties will be involved in the assessment before you begin the process. You will be alerted to this in the notification mentioned above. This will also be brought to the employee’s attention in the notification sent to him or her.
If you start the self-service option two months before the annual consultation and assessment, the employee, any informant(s) involved and the second assessor will all have enough time to deliberate and record the relevant information. The process flow chart for the self-service option (see VUnet) explains how the process works and which steps you and the others involved need to take.
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Assessment Via the self-service option entitled Initiate annual consultations and assessments, you can award scores to the employee for his or her performance. The employee will only see your scores after the meeting has taken place and you have initiated the next step within the self-service option. It is possible that your faculty or service department uses specific tools and/or criteria for the assessment. You can also consult the University Job Ranking system (UFO). The UFO job profiles provide an insight into the employee’s duties, the results that must be achieved, the competencies needed and the conduct indicators that underlie specific positions. You can find the UFO job profiles via VUnet. VU IS LOOKING FURTHER - 13
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
The following sections provide a brief explanation of this process. You can find more detailed information in the regulation entitled Annual consultation and assessment.
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Development Employee development is an integral part of the annual consultation and assessment. The Digital Feedback Instrument is part of the University Job Ranking system (UFO), and can be used as an aid in this component. This instrument enables employees to identify the specific competencies that they are expected to develop, and their conduct in relation to others. The final result is a feedback report with tips for developing each competency. The employee will make agreements with you about this for the coming year. After the meeting, the employee is to record the agreements in the appropriate self- service option. You and your employee are mutually responsible for ensuring that the agreements are ‘SMART’: Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic (or Relevant) and Time-bound. This not only leads to greater clarity, but it also makes the results easier to assess objectively the following year.
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
How you phrase or formulate things is very important in the formal annual consultation and assessment. It is better not to make commitments that you cannot be confident of delivering. In such cases, it is better to state that you have the intention of providing training (or granting a promotion). •
Support Sometimes working relationships can be somewhat awkward. In such cases, in consultation with the employee concerned, you can decide to ask the person- nel consultant to attend the annual consultation and assessment and the associated processes as a neutral facilitator. He or she can monitor progress and help you with the agreements you make with the employee, for instance.
EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
A temporary employment contract may be extended, but the total duration is limited to the periods set out in the Collective Labour Agreement and by legislation. Different periods apply to academic staff and to support staff. There is a page on VUnet with all information regarding temporary employment contracts. It is recommended that you seek advice from your personnel consultant on matters relating to temporary employment contracts. You will receive a notification and a task two months prior to the expiration of the temporary employment contract. At that time, you need to make a decision about whether or not to renew the employment contract. The Work and Security Act provides for a notice period of one month. This means in practice that the university as an employer must confirm in writing whether the employment contract is to be terminated or extended no later than one month prior to its expiration. This gives you one month (of the two months available) to reach your decision and settle all administrative matters with the parties involved. Should you decide on an extension, then you are to ask your employee to arrange the extension himself in the self-service option entitled Change employment contract. Should you decide to terminate the employment contract, then 14 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
you should go to the task in your task list and click on the button that initiates the selfservice option entitled Terminate employment contract by manager (also see Section 6 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT).
CHANGES TO WORKING HOURS AND/OR SCHEDULE
A change in working hours (whether permanent or temporary) will also result in a schedule change. Your employee’s schedule determines their holiday entitlement. When discussing changes to working hours with your employee, you should also set the new schedule. Your employee will then use the self-service option entitled Change employment contract to enter the new working hours and schedule.
Every employee is assigned a pay scale using the University Job Ranking system (UFO) upon commencement of employment. Duties and responsibilities may change over time, however. For example, it may be decided that he or she will take on new responsibilities or carry out other duties, or the employee may grow into a more senior role. Such changes can have consequences for their position on the salary scale and the corresponding job title. The personnel consultant will inform you about the rules that VU University Amsterdam applies to job changes and promotions. For a job change or promotion, the employment contract will need to be changed. The employee is responsible for making this change using the self-service option entitled Change employment contract. You will automatically be sent the digital form for approval via your VUnet task list. The change date must be set to a date in the future; changes cannot be implemented retroactively.
THE EMPLOYEE ENTERS THE FOLLOWING CHANGES (OR COMBINATIONS OF CHANGES) BY USING THE SELF-SERVICE OPTION ENTITLED CHANGE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT:
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Job change Change an employment contract Changes to working hours and/or schedule Change in salary Start or change fixed allowances Start or change one-off allowances Change in place of work
TRANSFER
Employees may change their position, either permanently or temporarily, both within their own unit or at another faculty or service department. Sometimes this will involve a secondment or a guarantee of return. The employee registers the transfer to another faculty or service department using the self-service option entitled Arrange a transfer. As the manager, you will need to approve this change. VU IS LOOKING FURTHER - 15
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
JOB CHANGES AND PROMOTIONS
REMUNERATION
3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
On top of his or her salary, an employee may also be allocated additional financial remuneration. VU University Amsterdam has the following forms of remuneration: • Increment After twelve months of performing their work satisfactorily, the employee’s salary will automatically be raised by one periodical increment until the maximum level on the current scale is reached. It is possible to award an additional periodical increment if the employee has performed exceptionally well over the long term and you have appraised his or her performance positively in the annual consultation and assessment. • Bonus A bonus is a one-off form of supplementary remuneration for exceptional performance on an incidental basis. The bonus is always quoted as a gross sum. • Allowance An allowance is often awarded on a temporary basis. VU University Amsterdam has various types of allowances, such as the bonus for temporary substitution, which can be awarded to an employee who, for an extended period of time, replaces a colleague who holds a more senior position. Another example is the job market-related allowance, which is awarded to employees who have specific expertise that is hard to find, or a performance bonus. Each allowance is awarded according to specific criteria and rules; please see VUnet for further details. The employee can enter the additional remuneration into the system himself using the self-service option entitled Change employment contract. As a manager, you will need to approve the change. The only exception to this is the bonus, which you must request through the HRM Servicedesk. In addition to monetary remuneration, you can also express your appreciation for the exceptional performance of an employee by offering a training course or coaching. Please contact the personnel consultant in your faculty or service department to discuss a suitable form of remuneration.
You can always contact your personnel consultant to discuss a suitable form of remuneration. Your own manager will also need to give his or her consent for any additional remuneration, just as with any other changes that have financial or legal consequences.
CHANGES TO COST ALLOCATION
From time to time, you may wish to allocate the costs of one of your employees’ salaries to another budget or to available project funding. You can enter these changes in two ways. If only the reciprocal costs are changing, then you should use the self-service option entitled Change distribution of salary expenses. If the salary cost distribution is changing concurrently with a change in the employment contract, then the employee 16 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
should initiate the change by using the self-service option entitled Change employment contract. When prompted for approval, you can then change the salary cost distribution in the self-service option.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
There are entry requirements for certain positions that involve training or education, such as the University Teaching Qualification (BKO) for teaching staff.
Employees may also take a training course or programme outside the university. However, budgets are not unlimited, and each application is therefore evaluated on its merits. The premise is that the course or training programme should be appropriate to the personal development of the employee and that it will enable the employee to make a better contribution to the objectives of the faculty or service department. The employee should use the self-service option entitled Arrange training agreements for these courses and programmes. He will then have to register for the course or programme separately. VU University Amsterdam invests in talent based on our ambition to provide leading research and education across all fields. You will find a range of incentives in the brochure entitled Perspective for academics; please see VUnet for more details. Of course, you can always contact the personnel consultant to find out more about the specific content of the training programmes.
DEVELOPMENT DAYS
In order to promote sustainable employability, every employee is entitled to at least two development days annually. He can then follow a specialist course, acquire some new knowledge or skills, or gain experience in a different position, either within or outside the university. Employees and managers will discuss the requirements for development days at the annual consultation and assessment during the Development component. The employee may save up unused development days if he or she makes a written agreement with you regarding this before the end of the year. Development days are not holidays. They cannot be used in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment and they expire upon the termination of the employment contract.
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3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
The university encourages its employees to work continuously on their personal development and to get the best out of themselves. We offer a comprehensive and dynamic programme of development activities and education for this purpose. This enables employees to acquire new skills or knowledge, so that they will remain an asset within the university community for many years. The courses are listed on VUnet in the Training course catalogue for employees. Once the employee has discussed his intentions with you, he should use the self-service option entitled Arrange training agreements to enter the relevant information. In addition, the employee must also register for the course or training programme in question.
TRAINING BUDGET AND REPAYMENT OF FEES
As a manager, it is your responsibility to reserve a training budget for your employees. You can ask the colleague who is responsible for the training budget within your unit about the amount of funding reserved for this purpose. The Collective Labour Agreement prescribes which financial arrangements you need to make with your employees concerning training. It also specifies the working hours that you are to make available for this purpose. In some cases, the employee will have to pay for the training (partially) or follow the training (partially) in their own time. You can find more information in the regulations on Training facilities.
Training and personal development are a fixed item on the agenda during the annual consultation and assessment. 3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
BEYOND TRAINING
A training course is not the only way to develop knowledge and skills. There is also peer review, coaching, on-the-job training and participating in conferences and seminars.
CAREERS ADVICE
Most employees are entitled to careers advice at any time under the terms of the Collective Labour Agreement. This is particularly relevant for PhD candidates. Employees who have a permanent contract are entitled to professional careers advice at least once every five years. An employee who wishes to exercise this right may be referred to the careers advice coordinator at HR & HSE. The careers advice coordinator will conduct an intake interview and then refer the employee to an external agency that can look at his or her specific experience or careers question.
The careers advice coordinator or careers advisor will always send you a proposal and a quote for careers advice for your employee.
If an employee is made redundant or his or her position is abolished, a careers advisor at HR & HSE can provide an individualized programme to help the employee find suitable new work. Of course, you can also use your own network to help the departing employee find other employment.
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ANCILLARY ACTIVITIES
The publication of the ancillary activities undertaken by academic staff enables third parties to know about their partnerships with, and commitments to, other parties. This safeguards the independence and impartiality of scientific research in the Netherlands. The ancillary activities of professors are listed on the university’s website, and those of the other university academic staff are listed on their personal web page on the faculty website.
The employee and you will both receive a reminder to extend the approval shortly before the end of the cycle. Ancillary activities are published automatically on the personal web pages of academic staff. If an employee carries out ancillary activities at VU University Amsterdam, such as holding the position of professor by special appointment, then according to the rules that employee must declare the main working activities that he or she carries out elsewhere (i.e. not at VU University Amsterdam) as ancillary activities. There may be circumstances in which the publication of ancillary activities on the internet is undesirable. If your employee refuses to publish his ancillary activities, and if the reasons are well-founded, then you must inform the dean of your faculty of the situation. The dean will then submit an official report to the Executive Board. Support staff who conduct ancillary activities are also required to report on their activities. In this case, the director (of operations) will receive a notification by e-mail. Ancillary activities conducted by support staff are not published on the website.
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3. SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
Employees must inform their manager personally about their ancillary activities, during the annual consultation and assessment for example. They should register these using the self-service option entitled Report, change or discontinue ancillary activities. This will require your approval, and you will see any new change that has been made in your task list on VUnet. Following your approval, the dean will receive a notification by e-mail. The system monitors the four-year approval cycle automatically.
4. HOLIDAY, LEAVE AND OPTIONAL MODEL
4. HOLIDAY, LEAVE AND OPTIONAL MODEL Employees are entitled to holiday leave and a holiday allowance. They are also entitled to leave in certain other situations, such as in the case of pregnancy, if they need to care for close family members or if an emergency situation arises. The type of leave will determine whether the university will continue to pay their salary and for how long. This section covers the various types of leave and the role you play as a manager. HOLIDAY LEAVE
According to the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch universities, full-time employees are entitled to 232 paid hours of holiday leave per year. Every year in January, VU University Amsterdam allocates some of these hours as collective holiday leave; this is shown in the digital holiday leave chart. Supplementary holiday leave will vary according to the employee’s age and the flexible working hours scheme; please see the Collective Labour Agreement for more information. Holiday leave for parttime employees is calculated on a pro rata basis. Upon commencement or termination of employment midway through the calendar year, the holiday leave balance will be adjusted according to the employee’s period of service in the relevant calendar year. 20 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
Employees record their holiday leave using the self-service option entitled Request holiday leave and special leave. As a manager, you can decide whether to authorize all such requests automatically using the self-service option entitled Activate or de-activate holiday leave approval. If you de-activate holiday leave approval, all holiday leave requests from your employees will be registered directly in the system without requiring further approval from you.
With your agreement, employees may choose not to register their holiday leave. In such cases, they will receive a holiday leave chart at the beginning of the year showing their holiday leave entitlement and collective holiday leave for that year already deducted. They will also retain the right to use their holiday leave as a source in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment, but they will not register their holiday leave unless they actually take time off. Their holiday balance will then be automatically reset to zero on the last day of the year. On 1 January of the following calendar year, they will be given a new holiday leave chart and the cycle will begin again. They can choose this method themselves using the self-service option entitled Activate or deactivate holiday leave registration. As a manager, you will need to approve this choice. Please note that external funding bodies require time recording and holiday leave registration. If an employee does not register holiday leave and starts to record time in the course of a calendar year, then the employee will be required to enter all holidays retroactively with effect from 1 January of that year by using the self-service option Request holiday leave and special leave.
The university is legally obliged to register untaken holiday leave as a debt for accounting purposes. This means that the outstanding amount remains on the balance sheet of the unit and cannot be spent on primary processes.
TYPES OF LEAVE
Below is an overview of the various types of special leave at VU University Amsterdam: • Adoption leave or foster care leave VU IS LOOKING FURTHER - 21
4. HOLIDAY, LEAVE AND OPTIONAL MODEL
The university encourages employees to take their holiday leave during the same year in which they accrue this leave. This is firstly because employees are healthier and more motivated when they take an occasional rest, and secondly in order to prevent employees from accruing a backlog of holiday leave. Holiday leave that has not been used will have a negative effect on your department’s budget. However, sometimes it is impossible to use all holiday leave, in which case you can advise the employee to use a part of his or her holiday leave for the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment. This can be traded in for a sabbatical, for example. You can find more details about this on VUnet. In order to do this, the employee uses the self-service option entitled Make a selection from the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment.
• • • • • • • • • •
Emergency leave Family circumstances leave and short-term absence Jubilee leave Community service leave Long-term accrual leave Training course leave Parental leave Mandatory relocation leave Care leave, short-term and long-term Pregnancy leave, maternity leave and postpartum leave
REQUESTING LEAVE
The employee is to discuss his need for a period of leave with you prior to requesting it. For some types of leave, the employee is entitled to continued payment of salary and is not required to take any holiday leave. This leave can be requested with the self-service option entitled Request holiday leave and special leave. Other types of leave do have salary implications. Given the complexity of these types of leave, the employee must fill in a form and send it to the HRM Servicedesk, which processes all such requests manually. There is one type of leave with salary consequences that employees can arrange themselves online: the self-service option entitled Request maternity leave and report childbirth. 4. HOLIDAY, LEAVE AND OPTIONAL MODEL
You can find more information on the regulations concerning leave on VUnet. You can also find there the self-service options and forms that employees use to apply for leave and submit to you for approval. It is your responsibility to ensure that the leave regulations are applied honestly and equitably.
OPTIONAL MODEL FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Employees can use the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment as a means of introducing variation into the university’s package of terms and conditions of employment. The model is based on the Collective Labour Agreement. The full regulation is available on VUnet, and you should read it in its entirety prior to using it. The optional model is based on sources and targets; sources provide the budget from which the employee ‘pays for’ the targets selected. For instance, if the employee wants extra hours of holiday leave, they can pay for this out of their salary. Similarly, employees can trade hours of holiday leave for additional salary. The employee can view the options that are open to him or her and make selections using the self-service option entitled Make a selection from the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment. In order to buy or sell holiday leave, your permission will be needed, however. The employee makes a request to do this using the self-service option, whereupon you will receive a notification. You can only decline the employee’s request if there is a good reason to do so. This might be for operational reasons or due to understaffing during the additional hours of holiday leave. Furthermore, the budget may be insufficient to fund the request.
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5. SICK LEAVE Wherever there are people working, illness will occur. If one of your oversight. This begins as soon as the employee calls in sick. This section outlines the procedures and (legal) issues regarding sick leave. PREVENTION
Current legislation (the Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act) stipulates that both the employer and the employee have a role to play in preventing illness. VU University Amsterdam seeks to reduce the risk of work-related health problems by means of the following measures: • Enforcing a proper policy on health and safety and sick leave • Complying with statutory safety standards • Assessing personal working conditions as standard procedure • Supporting the work of the Department of Occupational Health, Safety and Environment • Maintaining regular contact with sick employees
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5. SICK LEAVE
employees is sick, you as a manager are responsible for maintaining
CASE MANAGER
When an employee is ill, his or her supervisor will act as the case manager. This involves maintaining contact with the sick employee and, in the case of prolonged sick leave, making agreements about their reintegration (return to work) and then coordinating and monitoring this process. Some employees have both a superior in terms of the university hierarchy and also a functional manager. In the case of illness, the employee’s superior in the hierarchy will formally act as the case manager. In practice, both managers should decide who can best assume the duties of the case manager. For example, the functional manager may decide to be the employee’s first point of contact.
CALLING IN SICK
VU University Amsterdam’s policy on sick leave and absenteeism requires employees to report themselves sick to their manager by telephone before 09.30. They must also use the self-service option Report illness and recovery. You will receive a notification of this. Reporting sick may be done up to two weeks retroactively, starting from the first day of sick leave. When the employee returns to work, he or she needs to report better within two weeks using the same self-service option. It is very important that any sickness is registered properly so that the relevant information can be relayed to the benefits agency (UWV) and that any benefits under the Sickness Benefits Act are properly administered. If the employee has not reported sick or better within the two-week deadline, he or she should contact the HRM Servicedesk as soon as possible.
5. SICK LEAVE
Guidelines for when an employee calls in sick to his manager: • Ask the employee to confirm his or her sickness using the relevant self-service option. If the employee is too sick to do this, you can do it for him. Use the self-service option Report illness of one of my employees. • Discuss when the employee expects to be fit for work again. • The employee may say something about the cause of his illness; he is not obliged to do so, but he should at least describe in general terms whether his poor state of health is due to an accident, for example, or a physical or psychological problem. • Discuss whether the employee’s work could be adapted so that he or she can continue to work. • Discuss whether appointments need to be cancelled or activities need to be taken on by someone else.
RETURNING TO WORK
Usually, a sick employee is back on his feet after a few days. Sometimes, however, he or she will be out of the running for a longer period. If the sickness lasts longer than two weeks, you will receive an automatic notification. Current legislation (the Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act) stipulates that the manager should initiate the reintegration process in consultation with the sick employee. The aim is that the employee should return to work as soon as possible, but without impeding the recovery process.
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The supervisor assumes the role of coordinator in the event of sick leave. The occupational health physician has an advisory role for both the employee and the manager. You can ask the physician to provide his or her services whenever you require this – to compile a problem analysis for example.
After six weeks of sick leave, the occupational health physician will compile a problem analysis at your request, in which he or she will present an opinion on how much work the sick employee might be able to carry out (if any). This analysis of the workload will include all factors in the workplace (duties and environment while at work). The employee’s capacity relates to his resilience on the physical, psychological and social level. As the manager, you will draw up an action plan after eight weeks and discuss this with your employee. Your employee is obliged to cooperate on implementing this action plan. This will enable you to take the appropriate measures at the appropriate moment. You can incorporate the problem analysis written by the occupational health physician into your action plan and you can seek further advice from the occupational health physician and/or your personnel consultant. In spite of all these efforts, if the employee in question does not return to work, the HRM Servicedesk will notify the benefits agency (UWV) of the case in the 42nd week of sick leave. You will find the university’s policy on sick leave and absenteeism on VUnet.
If an employee is regularly sick for short periods, try to find out why yourself. If this does not work, you can ask the employee to see the occupational health physician. He or she can investigate whether the cause of the frequent illness is medical or psychological. Workload and the atmosphere at work may be playing a role, for example, or the employee’s personal circumstances or level of motivation. By identifying the real problem, it may be possible to find a lasting solution.
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5. SICK LEAVE
During the course of the employee’s sick leave, various non-medical documents need to be completed, signed and added to the digital personnel file. This includes the problem analysis and the action plan. All parties concerned can access these documents in the digital personnel file. The Eligibility for Permanent Invalidity Benefit (Restrictions) Act flowchart on VUnet indicates which documents should be submitted to the HRM Servicedesk, when and by whom.
6. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT There are various reasons why an employee may leave the university. A temporary employment contract may come to an end or they may have reached the statutory retirement age. It is also possible, of course, that an employee may decide to continue his or her career elsewhere. This section describes the various ways in which employment may be terminated and the implications of each. 6. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
END OF CONTRACT
You will receive a notification and a task two months prior to the expiration of the temporary employment contract. At that time, you need to make a decision about whether or not to renew the employment contract. The Work and Security Act provides for a notice period of one month. This means in practice that the university as an employer must confirm in writing whether the employment contract is to be terminated or extended no later than one month prior to its expiration. This gives you one month (of the two months available) to reach your decision and settle all administrative matters with the parties involved. Should you decide on an extension, then you are to ask your employee to arrange the extension himself in the self-service option entitled Change 26 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
employment contract. Should you decide to terminate the employment contract, then you should go to the task in your task list and click on the button that initiates the selfservice option entitled Terminate employment contract by manager. If a situation arises where the contract has not been officially terminated properly and the employee turns up for work as normal on the following day, then you will be legally required to offer the employee a contract extension. Under certain circumstances, this may result in a permanent contract. This is why it is crucial that you inform your employees in a timely fashion of your intention with regard to extending or terminating their contract. It is best to avoid any legal problems, after all.
VU University Amsterdam does not pay unemployment insurance contributions, but, like other employers in the public and education sectors, it is an own-risk bearer for the Unemployment Insurance Act (WW). If an employee becomes unemployed, the UWV agency will pay unemployment benefits to that employee and recover the associated costs from the university. In an effort to avoid involuntary unemployment to the greatest degree possible, the university offers work-to-work guidance to employees whose temporary contracts are ending.
EMPLOYEE TERMINATES CONTRACT
If an employee decides to leave the employment of the university, he or she must officially hand in his notice to you. The employee must then record the details of his or her departure using the self-service option entitled Terminate employment contract by employee. The term of notice will depend on how long the employee has been working at the university without interruption under his current employment contract. This term of notice may be shortened in consultation with your employee. The Collective Labour Agreement stipulates the following notice periods: • Three months if, at the start of the term of notice, the employee was employed for 12 months or longer • Two months in other cases
There may be all kinds of reasons for terminating an employment contract. Positions may be abolished in a reorganization or employees may need to be made redundant. It is also possible that an employee is not doing his or her work properly, or that working relations are so bad that neither the employee nor you and the rest of the team can continue. Before you consider the option of dismissal, you probably will have tried to discuss matters with the employee on several occasions and explained what improvements need to be made. If you keep a written record of the agreements made, this creates greater clarity and avoids misunderstandings down the line. There are quite a few potential snags and pitfalls when going down the route of terminating an employment contract, which is why it is wise to discuss the formal steps with the personnel consultant in your service VU IS LOOKING FURTHER - 27
6. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYER TERMINATES CONTRACT
department or faculty. You will make your decision on terminating employment official by using the self-service option entitled Terminate employment contract by manager.
FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
When an employee leaves, many arrangements will often need to be made such as holiday leave entitlement or reimbursement of the cost of a recently completed training course or period of leave. If an employee has a large number of holiday leave outstanding, he or she will be able to stop working (much) earlier than the last day of his or her employment contract. Generally speaking, VU University Amsterdam will not disburse the outstanding holiday leave balance unless you specify that the employee needs to continue working for as long as possible for operational reasons. The departing employee may also have an obligation to reimburse the university for items such as a training course or leave. In all cases, the HRM Servicedesk will draw up a final settlement.
Departing employees should hand in their pass, keys, laptop or tablet, phone and any other university property to you or your deputy.
RETIREMENT
An employee leaves the organization when they reach the statutory retirement age. They will receive a message well in advance from the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) regarding their state pension. The General Pension Fund for Public Employees (ABP) will send them a letter about their pension options five or six months before their retirement age. Questions about the pension can be addressed to the ABP.
DEATH
6. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
The university has established a procedure for dealing with the death of a (former) university employee appropriately. The supervisor will probably be the first to hear the sad news that an employee has passed away. Before taking any other action, the protocol is that the manager first contacts the director of operations or the dean of the faculty, or the director of the service department. Together you should decide who will contact the employee’s relatives and what should be discussed, such as the funeral arrangements, a correspondence address, the death certificate, a condolences card and, if appropriate, a public obituary on behalf of the university. The director or dean will then notify the HRM Servicedesk of the death of the (former) employee. The procedure on VUnet also include instructions for a condolence letter, the public obituary and the administrative process to be followed upon the death of an employee. If you have any questions, please contact the personnel consultant.
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7. AGREEMENT WITH AN EXTERNAL PARTY The university has various types of work relationships with external partners. Sometimes it is difficult to identify which particular type you are dealing with. If you are in doubt, please seek the advice of your personnel consultant. The possibility of using temporary external workers is explained briefly below; you can find comprehensive information on the legal aspects and financial risks via VUnet. For external parties, you need to enter the type of service, the duration of the contract and the remuneration that has been agreed. You can do all of that using the three relevant self-service options. This registers the external party in the university’s system. He or she will then be sent a VUnetID and an access card for certain buildings and systems.
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7. AGREEMENT WITH AN EXTERNAL PARTY
REGISTRATION
7. AGREEMENT WITH AN EXTERNAL PARTY
• Temporary employees Temporary administrative positions are usually carried out by temporary employees. For further details, please contact your personnel consultant. He or she will initiate the recruitment process with the employment agency that the university uses. You will then receive a number of CVs from the representative of the employment agency that you can choose from. You can enter the details of the selected candidate using the self-service option entitled Create agreement with external party. • Payrolling Alternatively, you might select someone yourself (a student, for example) for a temporary administrative job. In this case, the services of an employment agency will not be required. The temporary employee will officially be employed by a payroll company that the university uses for this purpose. This company will act as the temporary employee’s legal employer, and will assume all associated legal responsibilities. Before your temporary employee may start, you must first contact the payroll company. You must then take care of registering the individual in the university’s systems by using the self-service option entitled Create agreement with external party. • Guest VU University Amsterdam extends courtesy privileges to academics who wish to gain knowledge and/or experience at our university. These privileges include, for example, the use of advanced equipment or the exchange of valuable research results. No formal agreement with the university is needed for this, but a confirmation of courtesy privileges is required. After you have completed the self-service option entitled Create agreement with external party, the HRM Servicedesk will generate a confirmation of courtesy privileges and send it to the individual concerned. • Secondment A secondment agreement will apply if an employee works at our university temporarily, but continues to have an employment contract with another (educational) institution or company. You can find more details on secondment on VUnet. It is very important that the relationship between VU University Amsterdam and the second employer is properly regulated. To this end, the individual’s employer should draw up a secondment agreement. You then register this individual in the university’s systems by completing the self-service option entitled Create agreement with an external party. • Self-employed partners and contracts for services A self-employed partner (ZZP-er) declares his or her business activities to the Dutch Tax Administration independently. When using the services of a self- employed partner, always ask for a valid Declaration of Independent Contractor Status (VAR). The VAR is a document that proves that the university does not need to pay any payroll taxes for that partner. There are various types of VARs. Sometimes it is difficult to identify which particular type the self- employed partner should possess. If you are in doubt, please seek the advice of your personnel consultant. After you have completed the self-service option entitled Create agreement with external party, the HRM Servicedesk will generate and send a contract for services to the self-employed partner. 30 - HRM GUIDE FOR MANAGERS
This agreement states that there is no relationship of authority between the self-employed partner and the university as a client.
The benefits agency (UWV) and the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) will check agreements made with external partners and impose fines if they observe irregularities. VU University Amsterdam will forward these fines and surcharges to the relevant faculty or service department.
CHANGE OR TERMINATION
You will receive a notification and a task two months prior to the expiration of the agreement with an external party. At that time, you need to make a decision about whether or not to renew the agreement. Should you decide on an extension, then you are to ask the external partner to arrange the extension himself in the self-service option entitled Change agreement with external party. Should you decide to terminate the agreement, then you should go to the task in your task list and click on the button that initiates the self-service option entitled Terminate agreement with external party by manager. You should inform the external partner in good time about your decision in order to prevent confusion or legal problems.
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7. AGREEMENT WITH AN EXTERNAL PARTY
If the external partner is a temporary employee or a ‘payroller’, then please do not forget to contact the employment agency or payroll company to inform them of the extension or termination.
NOTES
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NOTES
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PUBLISHING DETAILS This brochure has been published by HR & HSE. No rights may be derived from the contents of this brochure. VU | HR & HSE March 2017