An internal audit by TU/e at the Student Sports Center (SSCE) has shown that a group of employees and on-call workers are not paid in full accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Universities. TU/e will adjust the underpayments as soon as possible. The injured employees and on-call workers will also receive a correction plus interest over almost six years.
During an internal audit of allowances last year, TU/e found irregularities in allowances, after which this was investigated in detail. It turned out that about fifteen permanent employees and about ninety on-call workers, mostly students, unjustly did not get compensation for work at unusual working hours. The on-call workers also received a basic salary that was too low.
"We regret this undesirable situation. Fortunately, this has come to light during an internal audit, which gives us the opportunity to rectify it," says Patrick Groothuis, vice-president of the TU/e Executive Board. "We understand if those involved feel shortchanged. These are people who have a heart for the business. We are therefore doing our utmost to rectify this as well as possible."
The statutory limitation period is set at 5 years. As the reference date, TU/e takes the moment that it first became clear that payments were not in order, in May 2025. This means that the period for which the correction will be paid is effectively almost six years, namely from May 2020 to January 2026, supplemented by interest. Current and former employees who already worked at the SSCE before that period and are not fully compensated by this scheme, are offered additional compensation.
The correction over the previous period is estimated to cost the university a total of about 750.000 euros (correction payments, employer contributions, extra compensation). Furthermore, the adjustment of future payments will lead to additional annual costs for the SSCE. The level of additional costs is not yet known.
The employees involved have been informed, as well as the approximately fifty on-call workers who are still employed. TU/e aims to have everything repaired as soon as possible, but due to the complexity it may take several months, SSCE director Max van Veen expects. "This is very urgent for us and we are doing our utmost to arrange this properly. But it concerns many people, for whom we have to find out individually what the situation has been. In addition, there is a group of disadvantaged students who have now graduated, for whom we have no addresses. We call on these people to report to us". They can report via m.v.veen@tue.nl . "We will also reflect on the feelings of our employees, because this evokes emotions and we understand that."
