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UFS amends the retirement age for all staff members to 65

10 December 2021 | Story Lacea Loader

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the retirement age of all staff members to 65 this week.

“The current retirement age for staff members of the UFS is 65 years for those appointed prior to 1 June 1998, and 60 years for those appointed after 1 June 1998. The Council’s decision to amend the retirement age to 65 comes after an extensive benchmarking process involving the university’s two labour unions, NEHAWU and UVPERSU, which requested that the retirement age of all staff members be adjusted to 65,” said Prof Francis Petesen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

This amendment brings the university in line with other universities and will assist in overcoming a negative impact on the recruitment and attraction of high-calibre academic and specialist staff.

Parallel to the amendment of the retirement age in the Conditions of Services, the university is also adapting the allocation of vacation leave. “We are currently facing a challenge in terms of the provision of the staff leave liability, which has a major financial implication for the UFS. In consultation with stakeholder unions the accumulation of vacation leave has been adjusted to a maximum of five days per year,” said Prof Petersen.

The new retirement age to 65 and the adjusted accumulated vacation leave days will be affected from 1 January 2022. Staff who are set to retire on 31 December 2021 may opt to continue to the age 65. This amendment will not apply to staff that may have already retired.

Adjusted vacation as from 1 January 2022:

Academic staff:

Current number of vacation days: 42

Approved Leave Days

Number of vacation days: 30

Additional research leave days: 12 (non-cumulative and expires at the end of each calendar year)

Support staff:

Deputy Director and higher levels

Peromnes Level: 1 – 6

Current number of leave vacation days: 36

Approved number of vacation days: 30

Assistant Director to Officer

Peromnes Level: 7 – 14

Current number of leave vacation days: 30 - 28

Approved number of vacation days: 28

Service Workers

Peromnes Level: 15 - 18

Current number of leave vacation days: 24

Approved number of vacation days: 24

News Archive

Council approves appointment of two deans

2008-06-14

	The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the extension of the contract of Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences for a further five years during its recent meeting. The appointment of Prof. Francois Tolmie as acting Dean of the Faculty of Theology was also approved. Prof. Tolmie will be acting as Dean as from 1 July 2008 and will be appointed as dean on 1 January 2009 for a term of five years. He is appointed in the place of Prof. Hermie van Zyl who will be retiring at the end of June 2008. The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has reached many highlights under Prof. Van Schalkwyk’s leadership. It has grown to an influential faculty, known for its world-class academic quality and research and the successful preparation of students for their careers in the sciences. Before his appointment as dean, Prof. Van Schalkwyk was chairperson of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the UFS. He serves on the executive committee of the UFS’s Executive Management and is chairperson of the Deans Committee. Over and above his work at the UFS, he is involved in various provincial and national organisations. He was among others appointed by the Minister of Agriculture in 2007 as member of the National Agricultural Marketing Council and in 2008 he was appointed vice-chairperson of the Land Bank Council. He is also a consultant to the World Bank and other South African organisations, a specialist in agricultural and related court cases and popular speaker at agricultural societies in South Africa and Namibia, to name a few. Prof. Tolmie was a Senior Professor in the Department New Testament at the UFS. He is member of various national and international organisations and academic committees, among others editor of Acta Theologica, the faculty’s accredited journal. During his term as Dean, Prof. Tolmie aims to establish meaningful liaison with international universities, increase the faculty’s average research output and increase the current number of academics from the faculty who are graded by the National Research Foundation (NRF). Media Release Issued by: Lacea Loader Assistant Director: Media Liaison Tel: 051 401 2584 Cell: 083 645 2454 E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za 13 June 2008
Prof. Francois Tolmie

Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk

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