Parental leave

Parental leave

It is not always easy to combine work and taking care of children. As a parent or caretaker, you therefore have the right to birth leave, parental, adoption or foster leave. Continue reading for a summary of the main terms and conditions.

Birth leave

If your wife or partner has given birth, you are entitled, as her partner, to birth leave. Nationwide agreements have been put in place for this. For more information, visit the website of the central government (Rijksoverheid).

Parental leave

You are eligible for parental leave until your child reaches the age of eight. You reach agreements about this with your employer. By law, you have a right to parental leave, a portion of which partially continues to be paid by your employer. With regard to the partial continued payment during unpaid leave, the conditions laid down in the collective labour agreement (CAO) apply. The CAO is in keeping with the Work and Care Act. Effective 1 August 2022, the following will apply:

  1. Continued payment of 70% of the salary for up to 13 times the working hours per week during the child’s first year of life. With effect from 1 August 2022, the same percentage (70%) will apply to any remaining portion of parental leave already taken that continued to be partially paid during the child’s first year of life.
  2. Continued payment of 62.5% of the salary if the leave is taken from the child’s first year of life until the child turns eight.
  3. If you have already taken parental leave for which you received partial or full continued payment of the salary with another employer, but for the same child, the parental leave will be offset.
  4. Article 4.13 up to and including 4.20 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) outlines all of the conditions applicable to paid and unpaid parental leave. More information about partially unpaid parental leave can be found on the website of the central government.

If you wish to take parental leave, you must request this from your employer in writing at least two months prior to the start of the leave. The date on which the leave will start or end will depend upon when the maternity leave ended or when the care of the child began. The employer is permitted to change the scheduling of the leave up to four weeks before it starts in case of serious business or operational interests.

You are entitled to take six weeks of leave if you adopt a child or take on a foster child, whose care and upbringing you have committed to for the long term. While this leave is in principle unpaid, the employee is granted a benefit by virtue of the Work and Care Act. More information can be found on the website of the central government.

Other options

If you wish to take more leave or leave for a longer period, you can discuss the options with your employer.

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