This year, a number of changes to the holiday arrangements for UGent staff were negotiated.
Specifically, this concerns the extension of the number of vacation days that can be carried over to the following calendar year on a voluntary basis, as well as an adjustment and extension of the number of vacation days that a staff member can take annually without the request for leave on that specific day being subject to refusal.
Finally, we will also briefly address the board's proposal to increase the number of designated annual leave days—effectively a proposal to extend the period of UGent’s collective shutdown—which had been under consideration for some time but was halted due to the unanimous opposition of the three UGent trade unions.
Up to 20 remaining vacation days can be carried over to the next calendar year.
While this was previously limited to a maximum of 10 carry-over days of unused leave, starting this year, staff members may voluntarily carry over a total of up to 20 days of unused leave to the following calendar year. These carried-over leave days must then be taken within the next two calendar years.
Extension to 10 working days of vacation leave per year, the taking of which by the staff member on a date of their own choosing cannot be refused.
Until recently, a staff member at Ghent University was entitled to 7 so-called "non-refusable" vacation days. Specifically, these are vacation days that the staff member can take at their own discretion, without the request for leave on those chosen days being subject to refusal. A maximum of 4 of these vacation days could be taken consecutively.
This allowance has been increased to 10 working days, which the staff member may take as leave that cannot be refused by the employer. These 10 working days are calculated in proportion to the staff member's employment percentage (e.g., a part-time employee is entitled to 10 working days based on their part-time schedule).
Of this 10-day non-refusable annual leave, a maximum of half may be taken consecutively. At the employee's discretion, these consecutive days may be taken as full days or half-days.
As a reminder: staff members must also be able to take their remaining "standard" vacation days during the relevant year; however, the supervisor needs to agree on the timing of these periods. The supervisor assesses such leave requests based on operational needs and continuity, existing team agreements, and a fair distribution of absences. The aim is to strike a balance between the interests of the department and the staff member's right to vacation.
No extension of the collective closure period or the number of mandatory vacation days at Ghent University
Currently, most Ghent University staff members are entitled to 36 days of annual leave (based on full-time employment), supplemented by a number of days to compensate for "bridge days" in that calendar year. Consequently, this generally amounts to a total of 38 to 39 days of leave.
Of these, the bridge day following Ascension Day and the collective shutdown week during the Ghent Festivities have already been scheduled.
Ghent University is also closed for a collective break during the Christmas and New Year period. These closure days serve as compensation for statutory public holidays that fall on a weekend. Consequently, staff members do not need to use annual leave for these days.
For quite some time—even before any proposal regarding this matter had been discussed or placed on the agenda for consultations with the trade unions—word had been circulating within our university that the week following the Ghent Festival was also to be designated as a period of collective closure, during which staff members would be required to take annual leave.
When the university representatives finally tabled this matter during union consultations, ACOD—together with the other trade unions—repeatedly asked exactly what problem the administration intended to solve with this proposal. The arguments presented in the dossier were, in fact, far from convincing.
In many parts of the university, sound arrangements regarding when leave can be taken are already being made. Naturally, intervention is required wherever this is not being handled correctly, but a university-wide measure of this kind does not seem appropriate for that purpose. On the contrary, an additional mandatory week of leave threatens to create further difficulties for many colleagues—for instance, for parents, those in co-parenting arrangements, or individuals with other caregiving responsibilities.
Naturally, we believe that UGent staff members should be able to take extended periods of leave and disconnect from work. From a well-being perspective, however, we consider it particularly important that they have as much autonomy as possible in deciding when to take this leave. Of course, this must also take into account any time-bound work obligations associated with their roles (such as scheduled classes or peak periods) and requires fair, balanced agreements to be reached within the teams.
We therefore saw—and still see—little benefit in extending the mandatory holiday period at Ghent University.
Consequently, at the Staff Negotiation Committee meeting on 17 September 2026, the three trade unions concluded a unanimous protocol of non-agreement regarding this proposal.
As this matter concerns determining the dates for the annual collective holiday—a subject that is legally required to be included in the work regulations—it cannot be altered without agreement. Consequently, the proposal to extend the period of collective closure and mandatory leave to include the week following the Ghent Festival cannot be implemented.