Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment Keuzemodel Arbeidsvoorwaarden

Transcription

1 Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment Keuzemodel Arbeidsvoorwaarden 01/2013 This brochure forms part of the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment for VU University Amsterdam. Contents 1. The key elements of the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment 2. The moment of selection and selection year 3. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment and the Flexible Working Hours arrangement 4. Total value of terms and conditions of employment remains unchanged 5. Opt for the existing terms and conditions of employment 6. Terms and conditions of employment within and outside the optional model 7. Are there consequences to participating in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment? 8. The sources: what can you sell? 9. The targets: how do you want to spend the money? 10. The sources and targets matrix 11. Are you already participating in one of the schemes offered as a target option in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment? 12. General notes on filling out the selection form 13. How do I register my final selection? 14. When and how will my selection be processed? 15. Will my selection always be granted? 16. Further information? 1. The key elements of the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment is a means of introducing variety into the package of terms and conditions of employment offered by VU University Amsterdam. Within limits, employees can modify their terms and conditions of employment package to suit their own requirements. The optional model is based on chapter 5 of the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch universities. This brochure details the options available to you when putting together your package of terms and conditions of employment. It is recommended that you read this brochure in its entirety before making any final decisions. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions still works on the premise of sources and targets. Sources provide you with the necessary budget to pay for the targets. Targets are the schemes or provisions you choose to spend your budget on. In order to fund targets, you must first generate a budget out of the sources. Say, for example, you want to take extra leave, this would be considered a target. In order to obtain the extra leave, you could allocate your salary as the source and the costs of the extra leave would be deducted from your salary. Or vice-versa. You may want to trade in extra leave (source) for a larger pension (target). The value of one hour of holiday leave in monetary terms, when trading in a source for a target, is set at 0.704% of the full-time monthly salary. This percentage includes the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% structural end of year bonus. Please note: It is important that you first consult your superior, and in some cases your colleagues, regarding the purchasing and selling of hours of holiday leave. The choices you make may also affect them. Under certain circumstances, your request may be declined by the Director of your unit. 2. The moment of selection and selection year Employees are given the opportunity to make their selection once a year. This selection can commence in any month of the year and is valid for the subsequent 12-month period, which is referred to as the selection year. For instance, if an employee chooses 1 April 2013 as his starting date, then the choices he makes will apply to the following 12 months. In this example, the selection year runs from 1 April 2013 until 1 April Since the processing time for the selection form is approximately 6 weeks, the employee in this example must submit the selection form on 15 February at the latest. As a rule, late submission will mean that the starting date and end date of the selection year will be moved back. Only the employee s choices with regard to the bicycle, study costs, payment of holiday hours and school fees can be made additionally at a later date in the selection year, provided that the four additional choices are processed in the same selection year.

2 3. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment and the Flexible Working Hours arrangement Employees have the opportunity to make a selection within the framework of the Flexible Working Hours arrangement. Once a year, employees are given the opportunity to adjust their flexible working hours in consultation with their superior. In certain cases, your selection may not be upheld should you fail to meet the criteria (e.g. you have too much outstanding holiday leave, Senior Staff scheme comes into effect, etc.). The Flexible Working Hours arrangement can have a bearing on the number of hours available for allocation in the optional model. If you have chosen to work a 36-hour week as a full-timer, for example, you will not have sufficient holiday leave to nominate this as your source in the optional model. Information regarding the Flexible Working Hours arrangement can be found at > Regulations > Flexible working hours 4. Total value of terms and conditions of employment remains unchanged With the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment, you can exchange your terms and conditions of employment. However, the starting point is the original value set in the standard package of terms and conditions of employment: this does not change. Changes may occur for individual employees within this package of terms and conditions of employment, but the total value remains the same for each employee. Some may want to take less holiday leave and use the sale of holiday hours to cover study costs, whereas others may want to take extra holiday leave in exchange for a cut in their salary. This is just one example of a number of available options. When expressed in monetary terms, however, everyone maintains the same value. 5. Opt for the existing terms and conditions of employment You are not obliged to make a selection from the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment. For those who are satisfied with the existing terms and conditions of employment or for those who want to take more time to consider the options, no changes will be made. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment is intended to offer employees more freedom of choice rather than to force them to participate. 6. Terms and conditions of employment within and outside the optional model The introduction of the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment does not mean that the existing terms and conditions of employment will only be available as part of this optional model. The Bicycle Arrangement, for example, will still be available throughout the whole year, separate from the optional model. The main difference with the optional model is the financing method. Under the normal terms and conditions, you would use your gross salary to pay for a bicycle and would not have the option of trading in holiday leave or holiday pay and/or the year-end bonus on a one-off basis as a method of financing. These options are therefore only available as part of the optional model. This also applies to ABP Extra Pension, Trade Union Contribution and Life Course Savings Plan 7. Are there consequences to participating in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment? Yes, participating in the optional model has its consequences. In a number of cases, these are very favourable. In many instances, there are tax advantages to paying for targets out of your gross salary. This means that you do not have to pay income tax and employment insurance contributions on that particular part of your salary. On the other hand, however, the (temporary) reduction in your gross salary can result in a reduction in the amount of unemployment and incapacity benefit you would be entitled to. We recommend that you study these consequences carefully (for more information, see the section on Sources and Targets Matrix in this brochure). Selling holiday hours will also have consequences. The extra income that you will earn as a target will be added to your ABP pensionable annual income. You will have to pay pension premium on this extra income, but it will also result in greater pension accrual. And if you nominate sources which later transpire to be unavailable, as a result of termination (premature or otherwise) of your contract, the costs will be deducted from your normal salary. 8. The sources: what can you sell? A large number of terms and conditions of employment apply to all employees: salary, pension, holiday leave, and various reimbursements. Part of these terms and conditions of employment make up the sources in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment. This applies to the following: 1. Salary (Salaris) You can nominate your salary, including structural allowances, as the source for all your targets (except for extra income), but as a source it must not fall below the statutory minimum wage as a result (see - search: minimumloon). The amount you are allowed to spend is stated on the selection form. 2. Holiday allowance (Vakantie-uitkering) You can nominate your holiday allowance as the source for all your targets, except for extra income. However, your holiday allowance must not fall below the Collective Labour Agreement minimum as a result. The amount (the source) you are allowed to spend is automatically calculated on the selection form. 3. End of year bonus (Eindejaarsuitkering) You can nominate your end of year bonus as the source for all your targets, except for extra income. 2

3 4. Holiday (Vakantie) Targets can be funded using holiday leave. You cannot use leave accrual from previous years as your source. Please note: You can trade in a maximum of 76 hours of holiday leave, of which only 38 hours can be traded in for the target extra income. Part-timers are also set a maximum of 76 or 38 hours. The amount you are allowed to spend is automatically calculated on the selection form. Full-time workers are required to keep a minimum of 152 hours a year in reserve (4 working weeks of 38 hours) to be taken as holiday leave throughout the course of the year (for part-timers this will be proportional to their FTE). If, for example, you participate in the Senior Staff scheme, you will have virtually no excess holiday leave available for use in the optional model. As a full-timer, choosing a different number of working hours per week than the standard 38, within the framework of the Flexible Working Hours arrangement, can affect the maximum number of hours you are allowed to trade in. Termination of your employment contract, parental leave, special leave, long-term illness, and early payout of holiday leave (by raising the FTE factor) during the selection year will also affect the amount of holiday leave available to you. 9. The targets: how do you want to spend the money? a. Leave accrual (Meerjarensparen) For a minimum period of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years, you may save for long-term leave in accordance with the leave accrual option, detailed in Article 5.5 of the Collective Labour Agreement. The optional model allows you to extend your sabbatical leave by trading in money and/or holiday leave. You can purchase more holiday leave to extend your period of leave in the future. The statutory maximum is still 250 days for a full-time contract. Please note: You should already be making use of the leave accrual option if you choose this target. b. Purchase holiday leave (Koop vakantie-uren) You can earn extra holiday leave by trading in part of your salary, holiday allowance or end of year bonus. You may, for example, wish to receive extra holiday leave in order to take a course or to extend your parental leave. These hours will be added to your holiday leave balance. The value of one hour is automatically stated on the selection form. c. Life Course Savings plan (Levensloopregeling) With the optional model, you can trade in holiday leave, gross salary, holiday allowance or the end of year bonus to participate in the Life Course Savings plan. New participation is not possible any more; employees can only continue to save if they have a balance in their Life Course Savings account of 3000 euro minimum per 31 December Your chosen sources will be used first and foremost to finance the amount you currently save. If you are allowed to participate, you should submit a completed Life Course Savings plan form together with the option form. d. Study costs (Studiekosten) You can trade in holiday leave, gross salary, holiday allowance or the end of year bonus to finance the costs of a study programme or course. These costs should finance a course of study which will enhance your performance to the benefit of your own organization or further your own professional development. In certain cases, these costs will not be reimbursed by your employer. If you select study costs as your target, you will be entitled to tax advantages on these costs. The study costs are paid using a gross to net ratio. For further information, please go to > Regulations > Optional Model: implementation regulation on the tax-free reimbursement of study costs e. Bicycle Arrangement (Fietsregeling) You can buy a bike and accessories by trading in holiday leave, gross salary, holiday allowance or your end of year bonus. These costs are then subject to tax advantages. It is important to note that you can only participate in this arrangement once every three years and the maximum amount subject to tax advantages is 749 (for accessories the maximum is 82). The exact rules and conditions are detailed in the VU University Amsterdam Bicycle Arrangement > Regulations > Bicycle Scheme. You do not need to use the optional model if your only nominated source is salary. In this case, you can use the normal Bicycle Arrangement. Please note: It is not possible within the optional model to nominate sources for a Bicycle Arrangement that is already up and running. f. Extra Pension (ExtraPensioen) You can use your holiday leave, gross salary, end of year bonus or holiday allowance to finance an ABP Extra Pension. Information brochures on ABP Extra Pension can be found (in Dutch) on the Internet at Please note: If you do not already participate in the ABP Extra Pension scheme, you should submit a completed ABP Extra Pension Application Form, plus a copy of your most recent ABP Pension, along with the selection form. A completed ABP Extra Pension Application Form (in Dutch) is also required if you choose to use the optional model for earning extra savings: > Forms > ABP Extra Pensioen g. Trade Union Contributions (Vakbondscontributie) You can trade in holiday leave, your gross salary, end of year bonus or holiday allowance to pay for your trade union contributions (see point 6 for an explanation of the consequences). The exact rules and conditions are detailed in the regulations for Trade Union Contributions (in Dutch): > Regulations > Vakbondscontributie. Please note: If you do not yet participate in the Trade Union Contributions scheme, you should submit a competed Trade Union Contributions application form along with the selection form. 3

4 h. School fees for international employees You may use holiday hours, gross salary, holiday allowance or your end of year bonus to participate in the School fees for international employees plan. This plan is available to international workers who have received a ruling on the thirty per cent facility from the tax service. These international workers are eligible for a reimbursement of the school fees for international schools. By selecting the School fees for international employees option, you will enjoy a tax advantage when paying these costs. The precise rules and conditions are listed at: > Regulations > School fees for internaional employees i. Reimbursement of public transport season ticket (Vergoeding OV-abonnement) You can trade in holiday hours, your gross salary, end of year bonus or holiday allowance in order to finance your public transport season ticket. The reduction in the contribution base for pensions and social security payments (the basis for any future unemployment or incapacity benefits) can be annulled by using your holiday leave as your source of finance. The tax break is retained, for all sources. Reimbursements can only be paid with respect to season tickets purchased via VU University Amsterdam. The maximum amount of the reimbursement is equivalent to the cost of the season ticket minus the standard subsidy (20 percent) that you receive from VU University Amsterdam, and any other travelling expenses. Sample calculation: let s say that you pay 150 per month for your season ticket and that you receive from VU University Amsterdam 70% subsidy ( 105). Via the optional model, the maximum amount of financing available to you will be 45 (= ) times 12, which comes to 540. j. Extra income (Extra inkomen) You can trade in a minimum of 7.6 hours and a maximum of 38 hours a year for extra income. This maximum is the same for part-timers. 10. Sources and Targets Matrix The table below indicates the different target options available and which sources can be used to finance each. You can choose from the combinations marked yes. Sources Targets Salary Holiday allowance End of year bonus Holiday leave a. Leave accrual yes* yes* yes* yes b. Purchase holiday hours yes* yes* yes* no c. Life Course Savings plan yes yes yes yes d. Study costs yes*** yes*** yes*** yes e. Bicycle Arrangement yes**** yes*** yes*** yes f. Extra Pension yes*** yes*** yes*** yes g. Trade Union Contributions yes*** yes*** yes*** yes h. School fees for international employees yes*** yes*** yes*** yes i. Reimbursement of public transport season ticket yes*** yes*** yes*** yes j. Extra income no no no yes** The above matrix lists a number of combinations with no in the right hand columns. These combinations are not permitted on the grounds that they are not advisable. For example: It would not make sense to use the source salary to finance the target extra income (j). Some of the combinations have been marked with one or more asterisks. Explanation: * The gross salary will be reduced temporarily. As a result any social security benefits (the state unemployment and incapacity benefits WW/WIA) and your pension will be calculated against the reduced wage for social insurance (sv-loon). ** The gross salary will be raised temporarily. As a result any social security benefits (the state unemployment and incapacity benefits WW/WIA) and your pension will be calculated against the raised wage for social insurance (sv-loon). *** The gross salary will be reduced temporarily. As a result any social security benefits (the state unemployment and incapacity benefits WW/WIA) will be calculated against the reduced wage for social insurance (sv-loon). **** The gross salary will be reduced temporarily. As a result: 1. The holiday allowance, end of year bonus and any salary related allowances will be calculated against the reduced salary; 2. Any social security benefits (the state unemployment and incapacity benefits WW/WIA) will be calculated against the reduced salary. 4

5 11. Are you already participating in one of the schemes offered as a target option in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment? If you already participate in the Life Course Savings, and/or Trade Union Contributions schemes of participate in ABP Extra Pension (designated as targets in the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment), there will be no changes made to the current agreements. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment does, however, offer you the opportunity to (temporarily) adjust how you want to finance these schemes. Say, for example, you participate in ABP Extra Pension and are currently paying for this out of your salary. The Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment offers you the opportunity to finance your ABP Extra Pension (in part) using holiday leave or a one-off allowance/bonus. Please note: any changes to your method of financing are valid for 12 months only. Should you choose not to participate in the optional model in the subsequent period, your gross salary will revert to being your normal source of finance. In other words, the Life Course Savings plan, ABP Extra Pension and the Trade Union Contributions will not be terminated after the 12 months, only the way in which they are financed will change (salary). Of course, in the following selection round for the optional model, you will be able to opt for another means of financing. The agreed deadlines and conditions governing a current Bicycle Arrangement will otherwise still apply. You cannot use the optional model to make any changes to the chosen method of financing. 12. General notes on filling out the selection form The personal selection form can be downloaded from > Forms > Form Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment. Make sure you have your most recent pay slip to hand when you complete the form. The form consists of the following six sections: 1. Toelichting In this section you should fill in your name, address and the town or city in which you live. If you live outside of the Netherlands, you should also fill in your country of residence. 2. Gegevens werknemer In this section, you should fill in your personal details. You can obtain the relevant information from your most recent pay slip. Please note: you are required to submit a copy of this pay slip as an attachment to your selection form. 3. Bronnen: hoeveel kan ik besteden? These are the sources applicable to you, calculated on the basis of the details you have filled in. Here you are given the value of one hour of holiday leave and, in the right-hand column, you will find the maximum annual amount you can spend per source in the optional model, per year and per month. 4. Doelen: waaraan wil ik op jaarbasis het geld besteden? Here you can indicate your target(s) and the source(s) you wish to use to finance them. Where applicable, the minimum and maximum expenditures are automatically given 5. The starting month for the selection This section is for indicating the starting date for your selection. This selection is valid for 12 months, even if you have selected a target for which the adjustment is made in one month and you have specified all sources (in that case you are not permitted to participate in the optional model for the subsequent 11 months). 6. Ondertekening Your manager is required to countersign the form if your selection involves exchanging time for money or money for time. Your manager does not have to countersign the form if your selection involves exchanging time for time or money for money. 13. How do I register my final selection? Once you have completed and checked your selection form, sign and date it. If applicable, your manager should countersign the form. You should then send the form, along with the pay slip you used to complete the form and any supporting documentation to: VU University Amsterdam HRM Expertise Centre De Boelelaan HV Amsterdam The Netherlands You must do so six weeks before the desired starting date. As a rule, late submission will mean that the starting date and end date of the selection year will be moved back. 14. When and how will my selection be processed? Once your selection form has been processed, Human Resource Management will return a copy to you at your home address. You will be able to see confirmation of your payment on your pay slip. All payments or allowances made within the framework of the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment will be indicated as such on your pay slip. Depending on the sources/targets nominated, a monthly or one-off allowance or deduction will be made. 5

6 15. Will my selection always be granted? In principle, your selection will be granted as long as you meet the conditions set. Should there be any serious management problems (filling your position whilst your away, timetabling, security or financial issues), the Director of your unit may decline your selection, stating reasons. It is therefore important, for example, that you first consult your superior, and in some cases your colleagues, regarding the purchasing and selling of holiday hours. The choices you make will also affect them. 16. Further information? You can consult all of the English information on the Optional Model for Terms and Conditions of Employment on the intranet at > Regulations. If you have any further questions after reading the above information, please send an to 6