Salary and payment
In this section, we outline the key aspects of the salary and payment for PhD candidates. It is important to note that, in the Netherlands, not all PhD candidates work on their thesis under the same conditions. Below, you can find detailed information about this according to the type of contract or agreement that applies. Do you not know (yet) which contract applies in your case? Go to this page to find out!
Employed PhD candidate at a university or research institute
Employee PhD candidates are subject to the P-scale (short for promovendi), which includes four salary grades. The salary tables are different for universities and research institutes:
At the start of your employment contract, you are placed in grade P0 for a period of 12 months. At the end of this period, you will be placed in salary grade P1.
If your personal contract does not state that salary increases are related to an annual assessment, the increase will take place automatically. However, if this is part of your personal contract and you did not have an annual assessment during the 15 months after the last periodic salary increase, the next increase takes effect automatically while upholding the original incremental date. Please consult the CLA for details on these dates and scales.
End-of-year bonus
You are entitled to a structural end-of-year bonus expressed as 8.3% of the salary received during the calendar year. The minimum amount of the end-of-year bonus is €2,250 gross. When you work part-time, or only a part of the year, the minimum is adjusted pro rata.
Holiday allowance
You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% of your total yearly salary. The allowance is paid once every twelve months, generally in the month of May. Sometimes, local regulation may stipulate that you have the option to receive the holiday allowance monthly. In case of dismissal, payment is made over the period between the end of the last period for which holiday allowance was paid out and the date of your dismissal.
PhD candidate employed at a UMC
In UMCs there are different types of contracts for PhD candidates. Medical doctors (who completed bachelor and master in Medicine) are often hired as physician researchers and are classified in ‘schaal’ 10, ‘trede’ 2. The salary table you can find the salary table in Attachment B of the CLA. It is important to know that work experience as a medical doctor counts towards classification in which ‘trede’ you will start. PhD candidates employed in UMCs that are not medical doctors, are often hired as onderzoekers in opleiding (oio’s). There is a separate oio salary table in Attachment D of the CLA.
At the start of your employment contract, you are placed in the first grade for a period of 12 months. At the end of this period, you will be placed one salary grade higher.
If your personal contract does not state if salary increases are related to an annual assessment, it will take place automatically. However, if it is part of your personal contract and you did not have an annual assessment fifteen months after the last periodic salary increase, and you cannot be charged for this, the next increase takes effect automatically while upholding the original incremental date.
End-of-year bonus
You are entitled to a structural end-of-year bonus expressed as 8.3% of the salary received during the calendar year. The minimum amount of the end-of-year bonus is €2,250 gross. When you work part-time, or only a part of the year, the minimum is adjusted pro rata.
Holiday allowance
You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% of your total yearly salary. The allowance is paid once every twelve months, generally in the month of May. Sometimes, local regulation may stipulate that you have the option to receive the holiday allowance monthly. In case of dismissal, payment is made over the period between the end of the last period for which holiday allowance was paid out and the date of your dismissal.
Do you want to know more? Contact Martine van der Linde for advice.
Martine van der Linde
Arbeidsomstandigheden – ziekenhuizen
hospitals@hetpnn.nl
Non-employed PhD candidate
Non-employed PhD candidates do not receive a salary for working on their dissertation, and their source of income varies depending on the specific situation (savings, part-time work, scholarship, etc.).
For scholarship PhD candidates, the amount of their scholarship is expected to be the minimum established by the immigration authorities (IND). You can check more information on their website. Some universities have stopped admitting PhD candidates with a scholarship that does not meet the minimum requirements, while few others offer so-called ‘top-up’ payments to supplement the necessary amount. However, this is handled locally, so for more information, please contact your institution.
PNN’s position is that doing a PhD is work and we advocate that all PhD candidates receive an appropriate salary and are guaranteed sustainable conditions to do their work. Likewise, we are very concerned about the reports that show that PhD candidates increasingly pay to conduct their own research and continue to monitor the situation closely to address these inequalities.
Do you want to know more? Contact Teebah Abu-Zahra for advice.
Teebah Abu-Zahra
Labor conditions - external, international and scholarship PhD candidates
Are you currently experiencing issues during your PhD that you need help with?
Most institutions have a number of contact points for help. This compass is designed to help you find the right support.
In the drop-down menu you can select the institution that you are doing your PhD at. Then the roadmap will show you available contact points. In most cases it makes sense to start by considering contact points in your immediate work environment first and then progress to higher levels (like institutional or national).
At the bottom of the page you can find some examples of problems you can run into and a list of descriptions of each contact point.
Your first contact points
Colleagues: Sometimes it can already help to talk with your colleagues about the issue you are experiencing. This will help you judge the severity of it and can provide you with allies in taking further action.
Daily supervisor*: Naturally, your daily supervisor is the first contact point for all issues. They can help you determine the next steps. Of course, you may not feel comfortable discussing everything with your supervisor, or maybe your daily supervisor is involved in the issue. In these cases have a look at the other available contact points.
Promotor or Co-Supervisor*: Especially, in cases of issues with your daily supervisor, consider reaching out to your promotor or another member on the supervision team and ask for a one-on-one meeting. Maybe they can (temporarily) step-up and help you resolve the issue.If you have a conflict with your supervisor(s), you can also have a look at the PNN PhD supervisor conflict roadmap.
*Note that your annual review talk with your supervisory team is a good opportunity to address issues or suggestions for improvement.
National contact points
Labor unions: Organizations representing the interests of academic staff, offering support on employment-related matters, rights, and fair treatment.
NWO Scientific Integrity Desk: A specialized desk addressing scientific integrity concerns in projects related to or funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
Netherlands Board of Research Integrity (LOWI): An independent body handling complaints related to scientific integrity, providing a platform for fair investigation. If you feel like the local scientific integrity committee at your institution did not handle a case correctly, the LOWI can be the next contact point.
Making a police report: In cases involving a criminal offense, please consider contacting local law enforcement to report incidents and seek assistance.