What is Educational Leave?
Educational 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, do. Educational leave allows an employee in the private sector to take classes during working hours (or after working hours) and either still receive full pay or take extra holiday hours.
If you wish to take educational leave, you will need to request it from your employer's HR department.
Conditions
Employment status: This is for employees in the private sector who work at least 80% part-time (before Sept. 2025 it was 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)
AttentionWith rule changes from 1 September 2025, the list of courses became narrower - so it's best to check if the class you want to take is eligible. Just because it worked for a colleague in the past, doesn't mean it will still be eligible!
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
- Comprehensive list of changes to Flemish Educational Leave that were introduced on 1 September 2025.