Maternity leave and parental leave – How does it work?
Which questions should you take to HR, and when should you contact the PSSC? How exactly does leave work, and what about career development? In this column, an HR colleague answers a different question each time. Anna is an HR advisor and knows everything about being pregnant while working.
‘When I started my new job as an HR advisor on 1 October, I was more nervous than usual. Of course, there were the normal nerves that come with a new challenge, but there was also some extra tension. Why? At that moment, I was 11 weeks pregnant.
I found out exactly one week after signing my employment contract. And yes, that was quite a special surprise. The pregnancy was more than welcome (and not entirely unexpected), and of course, it didn’t affect my suitability for the role. Still, I found it nerve-wracking to start a new job while pregnant.
My new colleagues responded incredibly well, instantly putting me at ease. This allowed me to focus on when and how I needed to apply for my leave. Fortunately, pregnancy and work-related matters are well arranged in the Netherlands, but it’s definitely worth looking into them properly (for more information, visit the government website. Only in Dutch).
One or more babies?
In the Netherlands, every pregnant employee or benefit recipient is entitled to maternity leave and postnatal leave. If you’re expecting one baby, this totals 16 weeks. If you’re expecting multiples, you get additional weeks of leave. (For this column, I will assume a single pregnancy.)
Maternity leave
Maternity leave starts a certain number of weeks before your due date. This leave must begin at least 6 weeks and at most 4 weeks before your due date. So, you must take leave no later than your 36th week of pregnancy and no earlier than your 34th week.
Postnatal leave
Your postnatal leave starts after you give birth. This is 16 weeks in total, minus the number of weeks you took before delivery. If you give birth later than your due date, those extra weeks do not get deducted, meaning you get a longer leave. If you give birth earlier, you can add the unused weeks of maternity leave to your postnatal leave. You are always entitled to a minimum of 16 weeks of leave.
It’s a good idea to apply for maternity leave in time. This provides clarity for both you and your team and manager. I also found that knowing I could hand over my work properly gave me peace of mind. You can easily apply for your leave on the ServicePlein via the ‘My Personnel Changes’ tile. The PSSC has also created a handy FAQ about this.
Parental leave
Since 2022, employees with a child – biological, adopted, or a live-in step or foster child - have been legally entitled to 9 weeks of (partially) paid parental leave. If you take these hours before your child’s first birthday, you will receive 70% of your salary.
Our collective labour agreement extends this to 13 weeks. This means that until your child turns one, you may take up to 13 times your weekly working hours as parental leave.
For any hours taken after the child’s first birthday but before their eighth birthday, you will receive 62.5% of your salary (legally, these leave hours are unpaid). Be sure to discuss with your manager whether, how, and when you want to take this leave. The PSSC has also created a useful FAQ for applying for parental leave.
It quickly became clear that I had absolutely no reason to be nervous! Besides the fact that my team and manager responded with incredible kindness and understanding, I also know that I have enough time and space to fully enjoy the arrival of our first child in the spring. Now, I just need to rock that birth!’