Terms of Employment Multiple Choice Model / Individual Choices Model 

• Introduction
• Targets
• Sources
• Table
• Explanation of principles
• Procedure
• More information?
• Application forms

Introduction

Utrecht University offers a Terms of Employment Multiple Choice Model. This model gives you the opportunity to exchange certain terms of employment for others. This enables you to adapt your terms of employment to suit your specific wishes and needs. Some terms (sources) may be surrendered in order to realise others (targets).

Targets

The term you wish to realise is called the target. Targets may include: a travel allowance, days off, a prolongation of leave hours, money in the form of a pension supplement, a reduction of your salary cut when taking parental leave, or a tax advantage when buying a bicycle.

Sources

You pay for your target by surrendering a source. Sources include holiday hours as well as money in the form of salary, holiday pay or the year-end bonus. You may surrender multiple sources to realise one target.

Exchanging one term of employment for another may affect your income and therefore also certain income-related rights, such as benefit rights (WW) and pension rights.

This Multiple Choice Model is governed by the Terms of Employment Multiple Choice Model Scheme (pdf), which contains the full text and conditions for using the Multiple Choice Model.

Table

The following table contains the various possibilities of the Terms of Employment Multiple Choice Model.

The yellow cells refer to combinations which require the permission of your Service Department or Faculty. Green cells refer to combinations which are always permissible. White cells indicate all invalid combinations.

Explanation of principles

The Multiple Choice Model is based on principles which may apply to various targets and sources.

Hourly value

In the Multiple Choice Model, a working day consists of 7.6 hours.
The value of an hour amounts to 0.704% of the full-time equivalent salary per month (including year-end bonus and holiday pay).

Maximum leave hours

Per calendar year, a maximum of 76 leave hours may be surrendered for all targets together.
To realise additional salary, a maximum of 38 hours may be surrendered per calendar year.

If your superior decides that you may surrender fewer or no leave hours, he/she should inform you of his/her reasons in writing.

These arrangements equally apply if you would like to surrender leave hours for additional life-course savings.

Reimbursement of Commuting Expenses

The basic commuting allowance consists of the tax-free commuting allowance provided by Utrecht Univeristy, which amounts to €0.06 per kilometer, irrespective of the means of transport, with a maximum one-way distance of 25 kilometers. Pursuant to tax legislation, Utrecht University may offer its employees a reimbursement of commuting expenses of €0.19 per kilometer free of tax. The Multiple Choice Model enables you to surrender the source or sources of your choice to make up for the difference between the basic allowance of €0.06 and the additional allowance of €0.19 free of tax.

Bicycle Scheme

A maximum compensation of €749 per three calendar years may be paid free of tax for the purpose of buying a bicycle. This means that you will not have received any bicycle compensation in the calendar year in which you submit an application for such a compensation, nor in the two preceding calendar years. Any accompanying insurance may be compensated completely free of tax. A tax-free compensation of €82 per calendar year may be granted for bicycle accessories. You are not required to submit receipts for bicycle accessories.

Procedure

1. You select a source or sources and a target. Subsequently you fill in the corresponding form.
2. You request your superior to approve and sign the form, if necessary.
3. (Note: In some cases, your superior may raise objections, for example if your request will cause schedule problems. You are advised to first consult your superior if you select a target involving additional leave).
4. You submit your form with the HR Department.

If you have any questions, please contact the HR Department of your Faculty or Service department.

For more information about the terms of employment, please refer back to the keyword register, which contains an explanation of the terms.

More information?

Schemes

• Terms of Employment Multiple Choice Model
• Compensation Scheme for Commuting Expenses
• Scheme for Public Transport Season Tickets
• Bicycle Scheme

CAO-NU

• Chapter 5

Application forms

• Bicycle and Bicycle Accessories
• Compensation for Commuting Expenses
• Multiple Choice Model form for other purposes
• Corporate Fitness