The NFU and the labor unions have reached (preliminary) agreement on a new collective labor agreement (CLA). The new CLA will be effective from January 1, 2024, until December 31, 2025. At this moment, all unions are presenting this proposal to their members. We have listed the changes relevant to PhD candidates below(Note: this is only applicable to you if your contract falls under the CLA UMC!):
- Salaries will permanently increase by 7%; 4 percent on May 1, 2024, and 3% on July 1, 2025.
- Starting October 1, there will be an adjusted arrangement for the reimbursement of commuting costs. For a single trip of more than 7 kilometers, the costs of public transportation will be reimbursed 100%. Employees who use their own transport will receive a reimbursement of 18 cents per kilometer, up to a maximum of 40 km per single trip.
- The work from home allowance will be adjusted to the maximum amount that remains under the tax-free limit. In 2024 that is €2.35 per day.
- The number of statutory holiday hours will be increased to 28 hours in 2024, and to 32 hours in 2025.
- Every UMC is obligated to develop policies regarding the prevention of transgressive behavior.
- The UWV's benefit for additional maternity leave and parental leave is supplemented by the UMCs to the level of the employee's salary, meaning that your UMC will top up your salary to 100% (instead of the 70% you receive from the UWV).
There is also a specific provision for PhD candidates: If you have taken a form of leave during your PhD (such as (additional) maternity leave and paid parental leave), then your contract can be extended in the new collective labor agreement, if you actively apply for this yourself. Note: 1) this only applies to you if your contract falls under Article 2.4.4 (researcher in training) or Article 2.4.5 paragraph 4 sub a (general researcher on project-based, temporary funding) and 2) this is a "may provision", meaning that UMCs are not obliged to do this and it may depend on the available funding for your project.
