‘It hits like a bomb’, says athlete Hanky Terpstra, who has been coming to the sports centre for years. ‘There are very strong bonds between the athletes and the instructors. Had I known this was going to happen, I’m not sure I would have renewed my membership. It's a mess now.’

Terpstra is frustrated with how the university is dealing with the consequences of the Assessment of Employment Relationships (Deregulation) Act, or DBA Act. For years, the USC has worked with instructors contracted as self-employed workers to teach group classes. The Dutch Tax Authority will begin enforcing the DBA Act on 1 January 2025, which means that all contracts with self-employed workers across the university will be re-evaluated. The intention is to protect the workers from so-called false self-employment: repeatedly extended contracts for employees who should actually be on the payroll. But the regulation also has adverse consequences. 

University spokesperson Caroline van Overbeeke states that ‘the risks of false self-employment have been mapped out’ and that this ‘may mean that employment contracts will be required instead of work on a self-employed basis’.

APPLICATION PROCESS

At the USC, this means that collaborations with the current group of sports instructors have been fully suspended and new vacancies have been posted for a total of three FTEs. Everyone was free to apply for these positions. Many of the current group instructors have since been informed that they cannot stay on.  

Because their contracts are still running, the instructors wish to remain anonymous. Their names are known to the editors. The instructors say that there was poor communication about the application process, which meant that not everyone responded to the vacancy. ‘It was also presented as a kind of formality’, says one sports instructor. ‘But the interview turned out to be quite intense, and they asked many unpleasant questions. I wasn’t prepared for that.’

Van Overbeeke acknowledges that several applicants had not expected a ‘formal application procedure’: ‘an understandable but unfortunate misunderstanding. Not everyone currently working at the USC on a self-employed basis was eligible for the job. Of course, people may feel disappointed.’

Some of the current instructors were not invited for an interview. ‘I didn’t even get a chance’, says one of them. ‘I was trained by other USC instructors and I’ve been teaching here with great pleasure for two years. And now, suddenly, that’s no longer enough. They said I didn’t have enough professional training.’

The sports instructors do not understand the criteria on which they were rejected. ‘Officially, they only said that there was a lot of competition’, says one of the instructors. ‘But that’s not true.’

‘The candidates were assessed against the job requirements in the vacancy description, Van Overbeeke explains. This states that the USC is looking for ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘motivating’ instructors who can provide group classes ‘within their own specialisation’. The ability to ‘teach different types of classes’ is considered ‘a plus’.

Internal documents viewed by Mare show that the focus is on applicants who are versatile and can work many hours. The sports instructors confirm that this appears to be a requirement for staying on. Therefore, they believe that instructors who teach alongside their studies, job or state pension are at a disadvantage. However, the advertised vacancy states that at the USC, ‘you can work either a smaller or a larger number of hours’.

The instructors say they were rejected because they have too little experience, are unable to teach enough different types of classes, or because ‘a male instructor would not be desirable for women in a yoga class’.

Raja yoga instructor Kries Manniesing is not allowed to stay because he has already passed retirement age. His manager had the ‘legalities checked’, but even as a volunteer, he is no longer allowed to teach at the USC. ‘I never did it for the money. I just want to give something back.’

 ‘The USC was a kind of training ground for students to learn and teach. It’s a shame that this is being taken away’, says Terpstra. ‘I’ve really built a community’, says a disappointed instructor.

GROUP CLASSES

According to the athletes and instructors, the fact that group classes will be taught by a small group of instructors will come at the expense of class diversity and quality.

The number of yoga instructors in particular is shrinking. ‘We’re going from around ten to just one or two, says a yoga instructor. ‘Especially with yoga, it’s important to have multiple instructors, because everyone has something very different to offer’, says Terpstra. ‘The quality of the classes is currently very high because they are all taught by someone who is truly specialised in a particular style’, athlete Mora Viñal agrees.

‘It feels strange that instructors who have been successfully teaching here for a long time aren’t even invited for an interview now’, says athlete Victor. ‘The reasons they give sound like excuses. I don’t know if I want to stay at the USC.’

Several athletes and instructors have expressed their concerns about the changes to the USC, including Victor. ‘I barely got a response’, he says. ‘They said the decision came from above and that the compliments I had made about the instructors would be passed on to them. That never happened.’

On Monday 8 December, Nadine Potters (of student party PBMS) will address questions about the policy to the Executive Board during the University Council meeting.