Labour union FNV is cautioning university employees not to take time off if they can’t do any work because the buildings are closed.
Over the next few weeks, many UG buildings will close to save energy. Even though many people are able to work from home, not everyone is, says union representative Maarten Goldberg.
‘If there isn’t any work you can do from home, you bag yourself an extra couple of days off’, he says. But these days off should not affect your maximum allotted days off, says the FNV, since it’s the employer that has decided to close the building.
Reports
‘However, we’ve been getting reports from people whose team leaders are pushing them to officially take the days off’, says Goldberg. That’s not allowed, he says.
‘To put it bluntly, if you can’t work from home, that’s your employer’s problem. Days off are a reward for the work you’ve done, and you should be able to take them when you want, not when your boss wants you to.’
Research continues
The RUG does not exactly know how many buildings will be closed,. ‘People who have to perform critical processes, such as animal caretakers, can continue to do so’, says spokesperson Elies Kouwenhoven. ‘But for others, yes, they will get extra days off if they cannot do their work from home.’
This article has been updated. The RUG spokesperson previously stated that one building on each faculty is open during the vacations and that employees can always go into a closed building. She later revealed that this is not correct.