As a UvA staff member you have been assigned a job profile based on the University Job Classification (UFO). Each profile consists of a number of levels with corresponding salary scales. Salary scales depend on your education, level of knowledge and experience. In addition to your salary, you receive an annual holiday allowance (8% of your gross salary) and a year-end bonus (8.3% of your gross salary, roughly equivalent to an extra month’s salary).

If you are a foreign national employed by the University of Amsterdam (UvA), or an UvA employee posted to another country you may, under certain conditions, be eligible for the ‘30% rule’. This rule allows you to receive part of your salary – up to 30% – as a tax-free allowance, resulting in a higher net income. The allowance is intended to compensate for the additional costs incurred as a result of your temporary stay in another country.

As a UvA employee you build up a pension with the ABP. You are, to an extent, free to decide when you retire. The longer you keep working, the higher your pension. You can also take partial retirement, but this must amount to at least 10% of your working hours. Are you planning to retire before you reach the age you are entitled to AOW (basic state pension in the Netherlands)? If so, you can use the ABP to compensate for the AOW, so that your gross income before and after the AOW remains the same. You need to apply for this scheme yourself, around six months before you want it to start. You can start receiving the ABP Multi-Option Pension from the age of 60 up to a maximum of five years after you become entitled to AOW. Your date of birth determines when you qualify to start receiving the AOW pension. You can easily determine on what date you are entitled to AOW on the website of the SVB.

As from 1 January 2015, you no longer accrue pension over your income in excess of €100,000 (in 2024: €137,800). You can offset this reduction by using the ABP's net pension scheme.

The UvA offers you a compensation for travel-to-work expenses, a working from home allowance and an internet allowance. The travel-to-work expenses reimbursement is part of the UvA’s Terms of Employment Menu scheme. This scheme allows you to exchange certain terms of employment for other terms. In this case, you exchange gross salary for a tax benefit. This reduces the amount of tax and premiums you pay and results in a higher net salary each month. The UvA determines the level of the travel-to-work expenses reimbursement based on the distance between your home and your work address and the travel days you have submitted. The calculation is based on up to 75 km for a one-way journey. As of 1 January 2024, the allowance per kilometre travelled is €0.12 gross via the Terms of Employment Menu, supplemented by €0.11 net from the terms of employment funds.

The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities stipulates that employees are eligible for a working from home allowance of €2 net per day and an internet allowance of €25 net per month. Exceptions to the rule are student teaching assistants employed by the UvA (in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement).

For a full-time position (38 hours per week), you are entitled to 232 vacation hours (approximately 30 vacation days) per year. You can customise part of your employment conditions through the so-called Terms of Employment Menu, including additional vacation hours.

Employees who have children of up to 8 years old can take a period of parental leave during which a large part of their salary will continue to be paid. After taking paid parental leave employees can also opt to take unpaid parental leave.

Additional Leave (Introduction) Act (WIEG: Wet Invoering Extra Geboorteverlof). The University of Amsterdam (UvA) has made the conscious decision to pay the entire salary during the birth leave. This means you will receive your full salary (100%) during this additional leave.

The UvA encourages its staff to take an active role in society. Employees who carry out unpaid activities serving a general public interest, such as a board role or supporting school activities, and who acquire new skills, knowledge, energy and inspiration in the process, can apply for a maximum of five leave days per calendar year for this purpose.

As a new staff member at the UvA you will receive an employment contract. Before you commence employment, your HR department will schedule an appointment to explain the terms of employment to you. They will discuss your salary, the nature and duration of the contract and other important aspects with you. You will also receive information about UvA schemes and how you may use them. The HR department will ask you to bring along the information and documents required to formally finalise your employment agreement.

A full-time working week consists of 38 hours. You can choose to work either two hours more or two hours less than the standard full time week. 

Generally speaking, the maximum term of a temporary employment contract is one year. For academic staff, some positions are subject to a maximum term of four years. These include postdoc positions (Researcher 3 and 4) and positions that involve temporary external funding or co-funding. In the case of support and management staff, the term can be extended, for example in the case of temporary projects designed to support operational management, or in the case of external funding or co-funding.

After temporary employment, employment for an indefinite period of time follows upon proven suitability and continuation of the position.

For student assistants, the UvA has special regulations governing the duration and scope of their appointment. For more information, see the regulation below and Article 10.1 to 10.4 of the CAO.

In the case of academic staff, the Board establishes appointment criteria that job candidates must meet for each individual position. The Framework for Requirements for Appointments and Promotions of UvA Academic Staff (Kader Benoemings- en Bevorderingseisen van Wetenschappelijk Personeel) sets out the conditions for new appointments and promotions. The Framework document stipulates, per post and level, which requirements apply to the UvA as a whole and which can be specified by individual faculties.

As an employee you are insured in and around your UvA workplace. In addition, the UvA offers several group health insurance policies. UvA staff and their family members, as well as pensioners and (former) employees who are incapacitated for work are entitled to make use of this policy. Visit the websites to calculate your health insurance premium and apply for health insurance:

The UvA has purchased group partial disability insurance for its staff members. This policy ensures that all UvA employees receive at least 70% of their most recent salary in the event of partial disability. Employees also have the option to take out full disability insurance at a discount through the UvA.

Discounts are also offered on a lot of other insurance policies relating to housing, cars, travel, mortgages, legal aid, etc.