You are entitled to take 26 weeks of parental leave (in accordance with your contract of employment) for each child up to eight years old. You will receive 70% of your salary for 13 weeks during the first year after your child is born. If you take parental leave after the first year you will receive 62,5% of your salary. The other 13 weeks are unpaid.
You may take your parental leave per week. You can take parental leave in any way you like, unless it is not possible due to company or departmental reasons. For example, because a certain department would be understaffed as a result. It is not the intention to stop parental leave for a single day just because of a paid public holiday that coincides with parental leave. So, if the parental leave falls on a public holiday, that day counts as parental leave.
You are not entitled to parental leave if you have already taken parental leave for the same child with another employer. If you have not taken the full entitlement, the weeks taken will be settled.
If you live in a country other than the Netherlands and are socially insured there, other rights may apply to you. In that case, contact your department's HR officer.
Multiple birth
In the case of a multiple birth, parental leave may be taken separately for each child.
Parental leave in case of adoption / foster child
When you take parental leave for an adopted or foster child, you are entitled to 70% of your salary during the first year after the child enters the family. If the child is not yet 8 years old.
Requests
If you wish to take parental leave, you will need to notify your supervisor in writing at least two months in advance. Please include the following information in your request:
- The period during which period you wish to take your leave
- The number of hours of leave that you want to take per week
- The way in which you plan to spread the hours of leave over the week
Once you have received approval from your supervisor, you can request your leave from the Human Resources Department (HR). For this purpose, you can use the ‘Parental Leave Request Form’ at the bottom of this page.
Financial implications
Partially paid leave
- For the hours on which parental leave is granted, you retain 70% (during the child's first year of life) or 62.5% (after the child's first year of life) of your salary.
- Your allowance for your travel expenses between your home and place of work will be adjusted in accordance with your workdays.
- If you become ill or you are unable to work, your parental leave will continue and payment of your leave will remain at 70% or 62.5% of your salary.
- Parental leave will be postponed during pregnancy and maternity leave.
- You will only accrue statutory holiday hours during your parental leave.
Unpaid leave
- You will not receive any salary for the hours during which parental leave has been granted.
- Your allowance for your travel expenses between your home and place of work will be adjusted in accordance with your workdays.
- If you become ill or you are unable to work, your parental leave will continue.
- Parental leave will be postponed during pregnancy and maternity leave.
- You will continue to accrue pension rights during your leave. You will be required to pay both the employee’s and the employer’s share of the pension contribution during your leave. This contribution will either be deducted from your part-time salary or will be deducted during the entire period of your leave.
- You will not accrue any holiday hours while you are taking your parental leave.