Leave

After checking with your supervisor you can take leave in DSPE.

1. Go to Self-service > Leave and LE and select Create request.
2. Select the type of leave, for example Holiday leave or Long term Employability hours (LE).
3. Select the start and end date of your leave request. If you take leave for less than a day, the start and end date is the same. Fill in the number of hours that you're away.
4. If necessary, add a comment for your supervisor.
5. Click Send. Your leave is now registered, you receive a confirmation in DPSE.

If you do not request leave in DSPE because your leave is the same as the school holidays, you do not need to register this actively.

Are you teaching staff? Then you only need to register Long-term Employability hours (LE hours) taken from your savings balance in DSPE. You do not register the annually acquired LE hours, as these are already included in your annual task. Please make written agreements with your supervisor about the use of your annual LE hours (when, how much, what you spend them on) or if you decide not to use your LE hours.

Annual work activities amounting to 1,659 hours constitute a full-time position in higher professional education and serve as the point of departure for calculating your leave entitlement.

This calculation method accounts for the length of the working week (36, 38 or 40 hours), the extent of the annual work activities (number of FTEs) and a standard eight-hour working day. Each year, employees are entitled to increase or cut back their working hours to one of these three variants with their supervisor's permission.

• If you work 36 hours you are entitled to 219 leave hours gross
• If you work 38 hours you are entitled to 323 leave hours gross
• If you work 40 hours you are entitled to 428 leave hours gross

A public holiday cannot be compensated if it coincides with another type of leave. In some situations, however, you can compensate a collective day off:

• If your parental leave falls on a collective day off, you can take this day off on another day. If your parental leave falls on a public holiday, you cannot take it on another day.
• If you are ill on a public holiday or a collective day off, you cannot take this public holiday or mandatory day off on another day.
• If you are reintegrating on a collective day off, you can take this day off on another day. If you are reintegrating on a public holiday, you cannot take this public holiday on another day.
• If you are on maternity leave on a collective day off, you can still take this day off at the end of your maternity leave (preferably after your maternity leave). If there's a public holiday on which you are on maternity leave, you cannot take this public holiday at any other time. The above also applies to adoption and foster care leave.

Holiday leave that you have not taken this year is automatically converted into residual leave. You can take these hours for another five years. The leave from 2023 will expire on 1 January 2029.

You can choose which leave you want to take first: the holiday leave from the current calendar year or your remaining leave from the previous year(s).

In DSPE you can see when the unused hours expire: those from 2023 will expire on 1 January 2029.

Since 2021, it is no longer possible to save LE hours. Any saved hours will remain valid until 31 December 2025. See Long-term employability for more information.

If you remain ill for longer than six months your accrual of supplementary holiday leave will change. You can find more information under Illness and absence.

Adoption leave

An employee who adopts a child is entitled to paid leave. More information about Adoption leave.

Special leave

The cao-hbo stipulates that under certain circumstances you are entitled to special leave, either on full pay or unpaid. More information about Special leave.

Long-term Employability

The Long-term Employability scheme gives you the opportunity to make agreements with your supervisor which will help you to continue working effectively while staying healthy and motivated, and ensure a good balance between work and private life. More information about Long-term Employability.

Parental leave

Under certain conditions, employees with children eight and under can request unpaid parental leave and those with children four and under can request paid parental leave. More information about Parental leave.

Pregnancy and maternity leave

Expectant mothers are entitled to pregnancy leave before and maternity leave after the birth of their baby. More information about Pregnancy and maternity leave.

Birth leave (partner leave)

If your partner gives birth you can take up to 5 working days of birth leave afterwards. If you have made use of the birth leave, an additional birth leave of 5 weeks applies. Go to Birth leave for more information.

Care and emergency leave

Paid care leave is granted if you must take care of your partner, parents or children, in-laws or members of your step or foster family (including those of your partner). More information about Care and emergency leave.

Reduction in working hours for older staff

Read more about the option to reduce your working hours.

For more information you can check the overview of leave arrangements or check chapter J of the Collective Agreement of Universities of Applied Sciences (CAO-HBO).