Parental leave in the Netherlands: paid, unpaid and applying
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
An employee caring for a child under eight may have parental leave equal to 26 times their weekly working hours. Up to nine working weeks within that total may be partly paid if taken in time. Request leave from your employer in writing at least two months ahead; the UWV benefit requires a separate application.
On this page
- Check the child and employment conditions
- Separate total entitlement and paid hours
- Request leave in writing
- Record the schedule and any change
- Track the separate UWV application
- Check income and collective agreement
- Keep your balance and seek timely help
- Are the nine paid weeks additional to the 26 weeks?
- Documents to prepare
- Sources
1. Check the child and employment conditions
This concerns employees under the Dutch scheme. Eligibility can start on joining an employer, and both parents have their own entitlement. The child must be under eight. Fosterchildren, stepchildren and prospective adopted children involve BRP shared-address conditions; emergency foster placements are excluded. Twins normally give entitlement per child, but paid leave for multiple fosterchildren or stepchildren has different rules. Ask UWV to check unusual circumstances.
2. Separate total entitlement and paid hours
With an unchanged 24-hour working week, total leave is 26 × 24 = 624 hours before deducting leave already used. Up to nine working weeks within it can qualify for a UWV benefit, not nine extra weeks. Take these in the child's first year; for adoption or fostering, within one year of joining the family and before age eight. Untaken paid entitlement remains available within the remaining unpaid balance until eight. Recalculate the balance if contractual hours change.
Rijksoverheid · Ouderschapsverlof berekenen ↗
3. Request leave in writing
Write or email your employer at least two months before starting. State start and end dates, hours per week and preferred days; the start can depend on the birth date. Identify the intended paid and unpaid portions and request acknowledgment. Complete the draft below and send it yourself. Requesting this leave does not automatically change your contractual hours.
4. Record the schedule and any change
The employer cannot refuse the right to parental leave. Up to four weeks before it starts, it may change the distribution after consultation for compelling business or service reasons. Ask for specific reasons and a workable alternative. Agree how public holidays are handled. A dispute does not automatically extend the first-year limit; seek help promptly if rescheduling threatens your paid entitlement.
5. Track the separate UWV application
Your employer normally applies through UWV's employer portal, Digipoort or the official form. Application is possible only after at least one working week's worth of leave hours has actually been taken, in whole working-week equivalents, and within one year and three months after the first leave day. Taking individual hours across weeks is allowed. Ask for application and payment confirmation. Directors-major shareholders, domestic helpers and pgb care workers have special routes: follow UWV's instructions and contact it if an application stalls.
6. Check income and collective agreement
The statutory benefit is 70% of the assessed daily wage, capped at 70% of the maximum daily wage; it is not necessarily 70% of net salary. Holiday allowance is included. Check your collective agreement, top-up and payment timing with payroll. Other leave hours normally carry no salary unless additional arrangements apply. A lower annual income can affect allowances. Have pension and other employment-condition consequences checked separately. UWV uses a different calculation for directors-major shareholders and certain domestic helpers. Ask UWV which calculation basis applies to your situation.
Rijksoverheid · Betaald ouderschapsverlof ↗
7. Keep your balance and seek timely help
Keep your used-hours balance, schedule, employer response and UWV decision. Remaining leave can transfer to a new employer: request a balance statement from the previous one. Unemployment ends leave; illness does not automatically interrupt it. Discuss rehabilitation and changes promptly. Employer refusal and a wrong UWV decision need different follow-up: follow the decision's objection instructions and use our own help-request route for individual assessment. Parental leave is separate from additional birth leave.
Rijksoverheid · Recht op ouderschapsverlof ↗
Draft parental-leave request
Complete brackets and check balance and dates. Send it yourself at least two months before starting. This requests leave from the employer; it is not a UWV application. Include only information needed for this request.
Edit your draftWord
Your edits stay on this page and are not automatically saved or sent. Complete every placeholder.
Are the nine paid weeks additional to the 26 weeks?
No. The nine paid working weeks form part of the total of 26 times your weekly hours. The UWV benefit has a leave-taking limit and a separate application deadline. Hours may be spread out, but benefit applications cover whole working-week equivalents. Check previous leave and collective arrangements.
Documents to prepare
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Relationship to child, birth/placement date and any BRP condition
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- Relationship to child, birth/placement date and any BRP condition
- Contractual hours, leave used and previous employer's balance statement
- Paid hours before first-year limit; remaining leave before age eight
- Written request two months ahead with days and hours
- Collective agreement, top-up, UWV application and payment arrangements
- Schedule, acknowledgment, decision and relevant deadlines
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Rijksoverheid · Recht op ouderschapsverlof ↗Rijksoverheid · Ouderschapsverlof berekenen ↗Rijksoverheid · Betaald ouderschapsverlof ↗Rijksoverheid · Verlof aanvragen ↗UWV · Uitkering aanvragen ↗UWV · Verlof opnemen ↗UWV · Hoogte van de uitkering ↗Rijksoverheid · Gevolgen voor inkomen ↗Rijksoverheid · Nieuwe werkgever ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.