When am I entitled to short-term or long-term care leave?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
If you are an employee in the Netherlands and need to care for someone close to you, care leave may help. Eligibility, hours and pay depend on the type of leave. First check your collective agreement and collective workplace rules, which may differ from the statutory baseline.
On this page
1. Who can I take care leave for?
The person may be your partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, housemate or someone with an appropriate social relationship to you. Short-term leave requires necessary care which, in the circumstances, only you can provide. Caring for someone close to you abroad is not excluded. Record who needs help, when and why you need to provide it. Children include your own or adopted child, a child of your spouse or registered partner, a child of your cohabiting partner, or a foster child registered at your address in the Dutch BRP.
2. Which type of leave applies?
Short-term care leave covers necessary care during illness. Long-term leave can cover life-threatening illness; it can also cover prolonged illness or dependency where the care is necessary and only you can provide it. Emergency leave may initially apply if you must collect a suddenly ill child. Distinguish the immediate emergency from subsequent care: these are not automatically the same leave hours.
3. How many hours are available?
The statutory maximum per twelve months is twice your contractual weekly hours for short-term leave and six times for long-term leave. A 24-hour contract gives 48 and 144 hours respectively. The short-term twelve-month period starts on the first leave day, not automatically on 1 January. Track previous leave. Check the collective agreement and works council/staff representative arrangements: collective deviations may also be less favourable.
4. Will I receive pay and accrue holidays?
The baseline for short-term leave is at least 70% of pay, subject to the applicable minimum-wage floor. Long-term leave is normally unpaid; collective rules may differ. Statutory holiday entitlement continues to accrue and cannot be deducted for care leave. Ask payroll for an estimate. Check possible pension and means-tested allowance consequences and update your estimated income where necessary.
5. How do I notify or apply?
Notify short-term leave as soon as possible, preferably stating expected duration and availability. Apply for long-term leave in writing at least two weeks in advance, specifying dates and distribution of hours. The employer may request appropriate information to assess eligibility; do not send an entire medical file unsolicited. Keep your request and response. The draft below is preparation, not an automatically submitted application.
6. What if my employer refuses or circumstances change?
Refusal requires a compelling business or service interest; ordinary scheduling inconvenience is not automatically enough. The employer may intervene immediately after short-term leave is notified; otherwise they cannot stop it later. They cannot stop long-term leave once it has begun either. Request specific written reasons and consult HR, a union or legal help. If you become ill, discuss ending care leave; unemployment ends it immediately.
Rijksoverheid — zorgverlof aanvragen ↗
Draft: care leave notification or request
Choose one leave type and complete the facts. Notify urgent leave immediately. This draft is not approval and sends nothing; do not attach a complete medical file.
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Must I use annual leave for my sick child?
Not automatically. Emergency leave may cover immediate collection, and short-term care leave may cover necessary subsequent care. Consider who can provide care and the applicable collective agreement. Care leave cannot be deducted from statutory holidays.
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Rijksoverheid — zorgverlof aanvragen ↗Rijksoverheid — duur zorgverlof ↗Rijksoverheid — loon en vakantie ↗Rijksoverheid — ziek kind ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.