If you are pregnant or your partner is having a baby and you are in the Netherlands, you can go on leave. Information about pregnancy leave can be found on this page.
If you are pregnant and you have paid employment, you have the right to pregnancy leave. This leave lasts for 16 weeks. If you are pregnant with twins, your leave last 20 weeks. Your leave starts four to six weeks before your baby is due. After giving birth, you have the right to at least ten more weeks of leave. While you are on leave you have the right to a benefit from UWV that is equal to your wages. This benefit is paid to you through your employer. You must request the leave from your employer. The law says you must do this no later than three weeks before your leave will start.
If you are pregnant and you are self-employed, you can claim a benefit from the government. This is called ZEZ benefit. If you receive ZEZ benefit, you get money while you are on pregnancy leave. This leave lasts at least 16 weeks. If you are having a multiple birth, such as twins, your period of leave is four weeks longer.
You have to claim this benefit from UWV on time. Make sure you do this between two and four weeks before your leave starts. The amount of benefit you get depends on how many hours you work as self-employed person or on your income, and is never less than the minimum wage.
The period of leave before your baby arrives is called pregnancy leave. The period of leave after you have given birth is called maternity leave. Both periods of leave might be referred to as pregnancy leave or maternity leave in the Netherlands. You are granted leave for the following two periods: a period of four to six weeks before your due date, and a period of at least ten weeks after you give birth.
You decide whether you want your leave to start four, five or six weeks before your due date. Count backwards six weeks from the day after your due date. This gives you the earliest date you can go on leave. If you want your leave to start less than six weeks before your due date, the week or weeks you miss will be added to your leave after you have given birth. You always get at least 16 weeks of leave in total.
Your maternity leave starts the day after your baby is born. This leave lasts for at least ten weeks. If you give birth after your due date, you will still get the same amount of maternity leave. This means your total leave (pregnancy leave + maternity leave) will be more than 16 weeks.
Your newborn baby might have to stay in hospital. This is obviously a stressful situation. If that happens, you do not need to go back to work immediately. You can get additional leave in some cases.
Mothers get at least ten weeks of leave after giving birth. If your baby is sick and needs to stay in hospital, your leave continues as normal. You get additional leave if:
You can take the additional leave immediately after your regular leave. During the period of additional leave, you receive the wages you would get if you were on regular leave.
You can calculate the number of additional days of leave as follows:
Example: Your baby is in hospital for 20 days. You had 11 weeks of maternity leave (one additional week).
As a partner, you have the right to a week of paid paternity leave after the birth of your child. After that, you can take up to five additional weeks of paternity leave. This extra leave is called additional paternity leave. You must take this leave within six months after the birth of your child. If your baby is in hospital, you can go on additional paternity leave later. UWV pays for this leave. You receive up to 70% of your wages while you are on leave.
Information on how to request and calculate this additional leave can be found on the UWV website.
Your CAO might contain additional rules for pregnancy leave. Your might get more leave or receive more wages than the legal minimum. Make sure you read your CAO carefully. If you do not understand the rules in the CAO, ask your employer to help you.
If you are having a baby, your partner has a right to paternity leave. This is also called partner leave. Your partner is allowed to take a week off. During this week, your partner receives their usual wages. Your partner must take this leave within four weeks after the birth of your child.
Your partner is also entitled to five weeks of additional paternity leave. During this additional leave, your partner receives a benefit from UWV that is equal to 70% of your partner’s daily wages. Your partner requests this leave from their employer.
Yes. This is possible. You can use holiday days or parental leave to extend your leave. You are always paid your wages while you are on holiday, but if you take parental leave you are often paid 70% of your wages. Check your CAO for detailed information.
Request this leave from your employer at least four weeks before the due date. If your child is premature, your paternity leave request must be made as soon as possible after the birth.
Yes, but only if your leave does not start within the next two weeks and only if there is a significant problem at work. Your employer must discuss this with you.
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