What is Educational Leave?
Euducational leave (or Vlaams opleidingsverlof/VOV) is an advantage that you can use to combine your job with a training. Not all training courses entitle you to take educational leave, but Dutch classes at a recognized school, for example, does. Educational leave makes it so that an employee in the private sector can take classes during working hours (or after working hours) and either still receive full pay or the ability to take extra holiday hours.
If you wish to take educational leave you will need to request it from the HR department of your employer.
Conditions
Employment status: This is for employees in the private sector that work at least part-time (50%) in Flanders. To find more about what is meant by "private sector" you can go here (article in Dutch).
Course conditions: You must be enrolled in a course for at least 32 hours, 3 credits or a career-oriented training. The course must also be in the training database (more info in Dutch here). You must actively follow the training course meaning that you are present in class and take the final assessment.
Keeping your employer up to date: You should inform your employer if you were not present in class, do not participate in the final assessment, or if you stop the training. You are entitled to 1 hour of educational leave for every hour of class attended (with a maximum of 125 hours per school year). You are responsible for keeping track of your own attendance.
Which courses entitle you to take educational leave?
- Courses in the training database (link in Dutch) = Dutch course at CVO CLT, CVO Volt, and ILT are included in this database
- Career orientated courses (link in Dutch)
- Exams with the Flemish Examination Committee for Secondary Education (link in Dutch)
- EVC courses (Dutch required)
Procedure (from Vlaanderen.be)
- Check whether you satisfy all the conditions for taking Flemish training leave (VOV).
- Notify the training provider that you wish to make use of VOV.
- Submit the registration certificate to your employer (with the VOV number).
- Calculate with your employer the number of hours of VOV and schedule the leave.
- Follow the training conscientiously.
More info
You can find more info via the following links:
- Flemish website in English = basic information
- Flemish website in Dutch = extensive information