ACADEMIC SABBATICAL LEAVE,
Information for staff of the Faculty of AE
This document contains information for researchers and teachers who are thinking about taking a sabbatical. It goes into the basic principles of a sabbatical, the procedure in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and a number of points that deserve special attention. It is a dynamic document, so if you can think of additional information that may be interesting or important to other people, please let us know.
Guidelines for sabbaticals for academic staff and teachers:
Sabbatical leaves relieve academic staff members and teachers of their usual university commitments to allow them to focus full-time on their research interests while maintaining their professional status, enabling them to return with renewed vitality, perspective and insight.
A sabbatical leave is beneficial for the quality and the employability of academic staff members/teachers. In addition, sabbaticals help strengthen the staff members'/teachers international network and, through their various contacts, the institutional network of TU Delft.
The general rule is that academic staff/teachers can take sabbatical leave once every seven years. In principle, no exchange of funds takes place between the institutions involved in a sabbatical: TU Delft continues to pay the TU Delft employee's salary. Any additional expenses will be paid by the host institution or through a supplementary grant or subsidy.
Additional agreements are possible, but will always be assessed in the light of efficiency and due diligence. Research groups are responsible for making all the financial and organisational arrangements for sabbaticals. The ultimate decision as to who can take sabbatical leave and on what conditions rests with the dean. The departmental director advises the dean in this respect.
The guiding principle is that a sabbatical is not intended for personal financial gain.
All agreements must be laid down in writing and recorded in the personnel file before the sabbatical. A digital application form is available from the HR advisor for AE.
In a meeting on 8 November 2011, the management team approved the regulations for sabbatical leave in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. This resulted in the AE Sabbatical application form, which is used to motivate requests for a sabbatical (see appendix 1). After the employee has completed and signed the form, it must be signed for approval by the manager, the departmental director and the dean.
IMPORTANT POINTS / Q&A
What is the maximum duration of a sabbatical leave?
No minimum or maximum has been set. It usually varies between 6 weeks and 6 months, sometimes longer.
What will happen to my salary?
In principle, your salary will be paid for the duration of the sabbatical. However, depending on the length of the sabbatical and the agreements made with the host university, personal agreements can be made about whether to pay your full salary and the continued payment of employer and/or employee pension contributions.
Will I have to surrender annual leave entitlement?
In principle, you will not have to surrender any annual leave for your sabbatical period. However, if you decide to go on holiday during the sabbatical, you will be required to take the appropriate number of days of leave.
Am I insured while abroad?
TU Delft has travel insurance that includes cancellation insurance for foreign business trips. This insurance will cover you while on sabbatical leave.
What about my third-party (WA) insurance, etc?
Third-party insurance is part of your personal insurance plan. Make sure that your have sufficient coverage abroad and check the maximum period you can spend in another country. There is always a maximum time limit (usually 1 year). If your family is travelling with you, check that your insurance covers them too. Fire and household insurance policies usually remain valid, but again, check the maximum length of time that your house can remain unoccupied.
Will I continue to accrue pension?
The ABP pension regulations make no specific mention of sabbatical leave. It is treated like any other type of leave. If an employee takes paid leave, the premiums are paid in the usual way.
Specific agreements about pension premiums can be made when employees take unpaid leave. The importance and duration of the sabbatical leave will determine how much of the pension premiums will be paid by the employer and the employee. If you are required to pay compulsory pension contributions while on leave abroad, you can apply to ABP to have the value of your pension benefits transferred on your return to the Netherlands. More information on this subject is available from ABP.
What happens to my social insurance?
WW (unemployment benefit), WIA (capacity for work benefit), Ziektewet (sickness benefit):
For periods of paid sabbatical leave of up to 18 months, you will continue to be insured for the social employee insurance benefits (WW, WIA, Ziektewet) in the same way as you would be if you were not taking leave. If your sabbatical leave lasts for longer than 18 months, you will no longer be covered by Dutch employee insurance, unless you have a secondment contract. Voluntary participation is always an option.
In the case of unpaid leave, sickness and invalidity benefits are restricted. If you develop a long-term illness during a period of sabbatical leave, the date of your illness shifts to the day you return to the Netherlands. You will continue to be insured for unemployment benefit. In the case of unpaid leave, discuss your specific situation with your HR Advisor or look on the AE website, HR – Sabbatical Leave, where you will find a document about social insurance and tax during a sabbatical abroad.
When is a sabbatical considered a secondment/placement?
If you normally work in the Netherlands and your employer temporarily sends you to another country to work (on secondment), Dutch social legislation may continue to apply in certain cases. If this is the case, the premiums must continue to be paid in the Netherlands.
A sabbatical abroad, whereby agreements are made about the progress of your work and the continued payment (or partial payment) of your salary, is deemed to be a secondment/placement. In cases like this, the international secondment certificate (E101/A1) of the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank) can be used to ensure an employee remains covered by social insurance in the Netherlands despite working in another country.
A secondment certificate cannot be issued for all countries. It only applies if you are seconded to a country that belongs to the EU or EEA/Switzerland, or a country with which the Netherlands has signed a social security treaty. See Appendix 2 for a list of countries for which a secondment certificate can be issued. The certificate is available from HR Services at TU Delft ( ).
The A1 certificate covers the following forms of Dutch social insurance: AOW, Anw, AKW, AWBZ, and the following forms of employee insurance: WW, ZW, WIA and ZVW.
Special agreements have been made regarding family members. Your HR Advisor can provide more information.
Will my expenses be reimbursed?
TU Delft has decided not to implement the 30% rule for staff who go abroad on a sabbatical. This is because pension premiums are reduced when the 30% is applied, and this is not TU Delft's intention in the case of staff taking a period of sabbatical leave.
Extraterritorial expenses can be reclaimed tax-free. You must make clear agreements with your manager about which expenses you can reclaim from your research group and which you cannot. You should reclaim these expenses using an expense claim form (attaching the relevant invoices/receipts). This will then be processed by the Finance department.
Extraterritorial expenses can include the following:
- Extra living costs caused by a higher cost of living in the country concerned, including costs for meals, gas, water and electricity (costs of living allowance).
- The costs of an exploratory trip to the country in question (with the family), to look at housing or a school, etc.
- The costs of applying for or converting official personal documents, such as residence permits, visas and driving licences.
- The costs of medical examinations and vaccinations required for the country concerned.
- Double accommodation costs to cover the employee's home in the Netherlands.
- Primary accommodation costs. For the purposes of extraterritorial expenses, this only applies to primary accommodation costs that amount to more than 18% of the current salary. The remainder of these costs have the status of salary and cannot therefore be reimbursed tax-free.
- The costs of storing household contents that remain in the Netherlands.
- Travel expenses to the home country, for a family visit or family reunification for example.
- The additional cost of having an income tax return form filled in, if this is more expensive than having it filled in by a tax advisor in the country of origin. This is subject to a maximum of € 1,000 per employee.
- The costs of a language course for the country concerned, both for the employee and family members staying with him/her.
- Additional non-work-related telephone costs for calling the home country.
- The costs of applying for an exemption from social security, including the A1/E101 certificate.
- School fees for an international school or the international department of a regular school.
APPENDIX 1
Sabbatical Leave <NAME
DURATION AND LOCATIONThe requested duration of Dr. <NAME> sabbatical leave is of <PERIOD> calendar months (<.... UNTIL ….>, to be spent as <POSITION DURING SABBATICAL LEAVE> at the <UNIVERSITY/INSTITUTE> in <PLACE AND COUNTRY>
RESEARCH/TEACH ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED DURING THE SABBATICAL
The main activities to be performed at <UNIVERSITY/INSTITUTE> are the following:
1. ……………..
2......
3. ……………..
…………………
GIVE AN EXPLANATION HOW YOUR SCIENTIFIC/TEACHING CAREER WILL BE IMPROVED AND YOUR EMPLOYABILITY WILL BE INCREASED
……………
WHAT IS IN IT FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING / TU DELFT
……………
COSTS OVERVIEW (PLEASE SEPARATE TU DELFT AND OTHER PARTIES COSTS)
……………
AGREEMENTS ABOUT CONTINUE PAYING SALARY
……………….
Name:
Date:
signature: / Approval manager,
Name:
Date:
signature:
Approval Head of the Department,
Name:
Date:
Signature: / Approval Dean,
Prof.dr.ir. H. Bijl.
Date:
Signature:
APPENDIX 2
Landenoverzicht Verdragslanden / duur detacheringverklaring
Land / aantal maandeneenvoudige procedure / aantal maanden
maximaal / gezinsleden
meeverzekerd / mogelijk voor
werknemers / mogelijk voor
zelfstandigen
EU/EER / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / ja
Australië / 60 / 60 / ja / ja / nee
Bosnië
Herzegovina / duur werk / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Canada / 60 / 60 / ja / ja / ja
Chili / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / ja
Cyprus / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Egypte / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Israël / 24 / 60 / ja / ja / ja
Japan / 60 / 60 / nee / ja / ja
Kaapverdië / 12 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Kosovo / duur werk / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Kroatië / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Macedonië / duur werk / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Marokko / 12 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Montenegro / duur werk / 60 / Nee / Ja / nee
Nieuw-Zeeland / 60 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Servië / duur werk / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Tunesië / 12 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Turkije / 12 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Verenigde Staten / 60 / 60 / ja / ja / ja
Uruguay / 24 / 60 / nee / ja / nee
Zuid Korea / 60 / 60 / ja / ja / ja
29/07/2014, version 1.
Jeannette de Jong