parental leave

Since 2022, parental leave consists of two parts:

1. Parents receive 9 weeks of paid parental leave in the child's first year of life

2. Parents can take a total of 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave in the first eight years of their child's life. The first 9 weeks are then paid (see point 1), so if you use this, you are still entitled to 17 weeks of leave after the first to the eighth year of life. In principle, this leave is unpaid, unless the employer and employees make other agreements about this within the company or collective agreement.

The employee may decide for himself how he or she takes parental leave. This applies in the first year for paid leave, but also thereafter for unpaid leave. For example, in the case of unpaid leave in the child's first 8 years by working half as much for a year or by taking six months off. But as an employer you can also ask to arrange parental leave in a different way. This is only allowed if your organization would otherwise run into serious problems. As an employer, you can propose a different distribution of parental leave up to 4 weeks before the commencement date.

The employee is also entitled to parental leave with a min-max contract or zero-hours contract. He or she is entitled to leave of 26 times the number of working hours (working hours) per week. Your warranty hours will in any case count as working hours. Guarantee hours are the minimum number of hours that the employee works per week according to his or her contract. If these are not fixed, or are zero, the average hours worked over the last 3 months are considered. Multiply the average number of hours per week by 26.

If an employee goes on parental leave, this does not change the employment contract. This means that he or she retains the right to his or her position during the leave. Even when the parental leave has ended, the employee retains the right to his own position. After the leave, the employee also retains the right to the number of original hours stated in the contract.

At the end of the parental leave, the employee returns to the original working hours. However, the employee has the option of temporarily adjusting these working hours (working time pattern). The number of hours worked remains the same as before parental leave.
The employee can adjust the working hours for a maximum of 1 year. If you agree as an employer, this period may take longer. The employee must request the temporary adjustment of working hours from the employer. He or she must do this 3 months before the parental leave ends. As an employer, you must respond to this no later than 4 weeks before the end of the leave. You may also refuse the request.

Yes, an employee can transfer his or her remaining parental leave to a new employer. As a (new) employer you can ask whether the employee has already taken parental leave with a previous employer. The employee can ask his or her previous employer for a statement showing how much parental leave he or she is still entitled to. Employers are obliged to issue this statement upon request.

The cabinet has decided to pay for the first 9 of the 26 weeks of parental leave. Parents are eligible for a benefit from the UWV of 70% of the daily wage up to a maximum of € 179.58 per day (price level 1 January 2023). In addition, an important element of the paid part of parental leave is that it must be taken during the child's first year of life. The remaining 17 weeks of leave remain legally unpaid and can still be taken until the child's 8th birthday.

It remains possible for employers and employees to make additional agreements about this. This can be done at company level, but of course also through negotiation and including additional rules in the collective labor agreement.

The costs for the employer for the first 9 weeks in the child's first year of life therefore depend on whether there is a supplement on top of that 70% (this can be compulsory via the collective labor agreement or voluntarily, of course) and the amount of the benefit from the UWV. In addition, the reimbursement from the UWV does not cover additional costs such as days off, pension scheme and/or use of a company car.

The remaining 17 weeks in subsequent years are for the account of the employee and, in principle, free of charge for the employer. However, there may be ongoing costs in the form of fringe benefits.

The employee must request parental leave in writing from the employer. This must be done at least 2 months before the leave starts. If the parental leave depends on the date of birth, the employee can indicate this. In the request, the employee must also indicate how he or she wishes to take parental leave.