Types of leave

Which legal types of leave are employees entitled to?

By:
Melissa Overbeek
Which legal types of leave are employees entitled to?
With all the periodic updates in leave entitlements... are you still able to oversee the different types of leave? What rights do your employees have, and what does this mean for you as an employer? We provide an overview of the statutory leave entitlements (based on a full-time employment contract).
Contents

Pregnancy and maternity leave (female employee)

Your pregnant employee is entitled to a total of 16 weeks of paid leave. This leave is divided into pregnancy leave and maternity leave:

  • Pregnancy Leave
    Your employee can take this leave 4 to 6 weeks before the expected due date.
  • Childbirth Leave
    Your employee can take this leave 10 to 12 weeks after giving birth.

Together, these periods should add up to a total of 16 weeks. During this leave, the employee will receive benefits from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV), up to the maximum daily wage.

Please note: If your employee is expecting twins or multiple births, she is entitled to a total of 20 weeks of leave.

Paternity leave (partners)

The partner of the pregnant employee is entitled to paternity leave after the birth.

  • The duration of this leave is equal to the employee's weekly working hours.
  • The partner must take this leave within 4 weeks after the birth.
  • You, as the employer, must fully pay for this leave.

Additional paternity leave (partners)

After taking paternity leave, the partner is entitled to additional paternity leave.

  • The duration of this leave is 5 times the number of weekly working hours.
  • The partner must take this leave within 6 months after birth.
  • UWV pays 70 percent of the salary (up to the maximum daily wage) during this leave.

Paid paternity leave (both parents)

As from August 2nd, 2022, both parents are entitled to paid parental leave.

  • The duration of this leave is 9 weeks.
  • Parents must take this leave within the child's first year of life.
  • UWV pays both parents 70 percent of the maximum daily wage during this leave.

Unpaid parental leave (both parents)

In addition to paid parental leave, both parents are entitled to unpaid parental leave.

  • The duration of this leave is 17 weeks.
  • Parents may take this leave after they have taken the 9 weeks of paid parental leave.
  • This leave lasts until the child's eighth birthday.

Adoption or foster care leave

If your employee adopts a child or takes in a foster child, they are entitled to leave.

  • The duration of this leave is 6 weeks.
  • Your employee must take this leave within a period of 26 weeks (either spread out or consecutive).
  • The leave can be taken from 4 weeks before the child enters the family, and lasts until up to 22 weeks after the child’s arrival.
  • UWV pays 100 percent of the salary, up to the maximum daily wage during this leave.

Emergency leave or short-term absence leave

Your employees are entitled to emergency leave or short-term absence leave for urgent, unexpected, or special personal situations. For example, a suddenly ill child or a burst water pipe at home. If your employee is in a situation that is beyond their control and it's a valid reason to take this type of leave, you must grant time off. It is not possible to refuse this. To regulate this properly, you can make additional agreements with your employees in the employment contract or the personnel handbook regarding the conditions for taking emergency leave.

  • This leave can last from a few hours to a few days, depending on the situation.
  • You must fully pay the salary during the leave.

Short-term and long-term care leave

Your employee can take short-term care leave, when they need to care for a relative, for a short period, or long-term care leave when the care lasts for a longer period of time.

Short-term care leave:

  • The duration is a maximum of 2 times the number of hours your employee works per week, utilized on an annual basis.
  • UWV pays 70 percent of this leave (up to the maximum daily wage).

Long-term care leave:

  • The duration is a maximum of 6 times the weekly working hours per year.
  • The hours taken for long-term care leave are unpaid.

What about accruing vacation days during leave?

With the exception of unpaid leave and parental leave, your employee continues to accrue vacation days during the various types of leave. If your employee works part-time and/or has been employed for less than a year, you calculate the vacation days proportionally.

New forms of leave?

The Dutch advisory body, the Social and Economic Council (“SER”), advised the government on all these types of leave. The SER believes that the current regulations are too complex. The new cabinet should simplify the leave regulations for employees into a new 'Social Leave Act'. According to the SER, the cabinet should combine all leave possibilities into three categories:

  1. Care for children
  2. Care for relatives
  3. Personal leave

Besides these three categories, the SER also recommends simplifying the current leave regulations and bringing the funding into better balance. Simplified legislation should relieve the administrative burden on you as an employer and encourage your employees to take leave. This, in turn, leads to better performance and less absenteeism.

We'll keep you informed!

We will, of course, closely monitor the developments for you and keep you informed as soon as there is more clarity on this matter.

Do you have any questions about leave regulations? The employment lawyers at Grant Thornton are happy to help!

Contact us