Pay and benefits
Wages and benefits can vary according to your staff status.
Wages
The K.U.Leuven is bound by decrees to grades and salary scales. The grade of a function is determined by the content of the function. Grades are divided into salary scales. The qualifications and the relevant experience of the employee determine the saraly scale and seniority.
You can find more information on: salary scales of the academic staff and the administrative and technical staff (Dutch versions).
- Senior academic staff members (ZAP) start, in principle, at the grade of (part-time) assistant professor (“docent”).
- Academic employees start, in principle, at the salary scale of assistant (salary scale 43). Researchers with a PhD can be appointed as a post-doctoral assistant (AAP) or as an academic employee at the salary scale of a post-doctoral assistant (BAP – salary scale 44).
A special group is research management (salary scales 50-57). - Assistants and teaching assistants (AAP) can only be paid at the salary scale of assistant (salary scale 43). Doctoral and post-doctoral fellows follow different regulations.
- Administrative and technical staff members (ATP) can find the grade of the function in the vacancy announcement. ATP members start, in principle, at the first salary scale of the indicated grade. Seniority (expressed in steps) is determined according to the employee’s relevant experience.
End-of-year bonus
The end-of-year bonus is a percentage of the gross monthly income for the month of November.
The percentage applied depends on the employee’s grade and salary scale.
For doctoral fellows, the bonus is calculated on the basis of the gross fellowship amount for the month of November. Postdoctoral fellows do not receive an end-of-year bonus.
The end-of-year bonus will be awarded fully, if you worked full-time during the reference period (1 January – 30 September).
For part-time employment during the reference period, the bonus will be awarded pro rata.
The end-of-year bonus is subject to social security and income tax deductions.
Holiday allowance
The holiday allowance amounts to 92% of the gross monthly income. This percentage applies to all staff members, with the exception of doctoral fellows. Their holiday allowance is 72% of their monthly fellowship amount and it is not subject to income tax deductions.
Postdoctoral fellows do not receive a holiday allowance.
Benefits
As an employer, K.U.Leuven offers you many employee benefits.
All K.U.Leuven staff (ZAP, AAP, BAP, ATP) receive free hospital insurance (standard cover) (= "sociale formule". The only conditions are that the staff member is employed for at least 20% and paid by K.U.Leuven.
Staff members can choose to sign up for enhanced cover (= “privéformule”). The amount of the standard premium will be deducted from the premium for enhanced cover. Staff members can also enroll family members.
As a member of the administrative and technical staff and the research management, you are enrolled in the group insurance of the K.U.Leuven. This group insurance gives you a supplementary pension that, together with your legal pension, approaches a civil-service pension.
Further, you receive discounts in numerous shops, both within and outside of Leuven. You can eat cheaply at our Alma restaurants. You can have access to our sports facilities at advantageous rates. You can have cheap telephone and internet service and you get discounts for public transport. We also make city bicycles available to all staff undertaking to use this bicycle for commuting to work and for short trips between departments (the Dutch acronym is '2WD'). There are K.U.Leuven day nurseries. And if all this is not enough …
You can enjoy an exceptional holiday arrangement:
- 20 days of legal vacation (based on your performance in the previous year)
- 5 extra holidays on top of statutory holiday entitlement
- Collective closure between Christmas and New Year’s day: this week is topped up with holidays that have fallen on weekends, and possibly supplemented with the equalization of State Universities.
- At least 3 additional days (depending on your staff status and seniority)
- A short leave arrangement that is broader than the legal arrangement
Extra for administrative and technical functions (ATP)
- 11.5 recuperation days as compensation for the 40-hour workweek
For staff members who are employed part-time, these vacation days are calculated pro rata.
Further, the K.U.Leuven offers opportunities for personal growth and development. Thus, next to function-specific education, you can follow numerous other educational programmes at our institution. We offer: language education, computer education, educational formation, time management, skills training, and much more.
Career possibilities
For career possibilities in research functions, please consult the following URL:
http://www.kuleuven.be/research/career/
For senior academic staff positions (ZAP), it is possible to be promoted to a higher salary scale. Further, full-time members of the senior academic staff can also request a part-time status.
Senior academic staff members (ZAP) can request a sabbatical year.
