Special leave and short-term absence

Article 28 Short-term absence, birth leave, and special leave

1. Temporary workers are entitled to short-term absence. This means absence for a reasonable period when the temporary worker is unable to work due to: A. Unforeseen circumstances requiring an immediate break from work; B. A legal or government obligation, without financial compensation, that cannot be fulfilled outside working hours; C. very special personal circumstances. We assume that you will try to plan these meetings/ obligations at the end or beginning of your working day.
2. After the partner’s childbirth, the temporary worker is entitled to birth leave for a period of four weeks, starting from the birth date. Birth leave equals one workweek.
3. The temporary worker is entitled to special leave for specific situations:

In this article clause, it is also meant by:

4. The temporary worker should inform the agency as soon as possible about taking short-term absence, birth leave, or special leave.

Birth leave for fathers.

Employees who become fathers receive one workweek of birth leave paid at 100%, based on the average of the last 13 weeks, which can be taken within a month after the birth.

Additional birth leave for fathers.

This additional leave is a benefit from the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) and differs from the first week of paid birth leave. The UWV pays 70% of the daily wage during additional leave.

Eligibility

1. After you have used the standard birth leave
2. If you are the child’s registered father or the mother’s partner. You are the partner of the child’s mother if one of the following situations apply to you:

• You are married to the mother of the child.
• You are the registered partner of the mother of the child.
• You cohabit with the mother of the child and you only share household expenses between you and the mother of the child.

How much is it?

You can take up to five times the weekly hours within six months after the birth, in whole weeks. You can spread this (for example each week 1 day), but it needs to be within the six weeks after the day of birth. The UWV pays 70% of your daily wage.

How is the daily wage calculated?

They look at the dat 1 month/ 4 weeks before the leave begins. From that date, they look back 1 year to determine your SV wage (your wage before deductions) in that year. This SV wage is divided by 261 days, the average number of working days per year. If you have been employed for less than a year, the SV wage is divided by the number of days you were paid. The outcome is your daily wage.

What are the rules:

• You must apply for the leave at both Effect and the company where you work. This must be done at least 4 weeks before the intended start date of the leave period. You must specify the period when you want leave, how many weeks, and how you want to spread your leave out.
• The leave must be taken within 6 months of the birth.
• If you are late in applying (e.g., if the child is born early), inform as soon as possible.
• Your employer may change the schedule of your leave up to 2 weeks before it starts, but only based on significant business reasons and in consultation with you.

When the time comes, notify the company where you work and Effect as soon as possible so they can accommodate your absence and Effect can apply for your benefit.

Effect needs the following information from you:

• BSN number (social security number)
• Bank account details
• Current address and mobile number
• Child’s birth date
• Desired leave start
• Desired leave duration

Once the leave has been applied for, UWV has 4 weeks to make a decision and calculate the daily wage. If approved, you will receive a letter with the benefit amount.

UWV pays the benefit directly to you. This payment is made every 4 weeks, with UWV having set payment dates. The amount paid per period depends on the start date of your leave. For example, if you take 5 weeks of leave and the first payment date is 2 weeks after the start, the first payment will cover 2 weeks. After 4 weeks, the remaining 3 weeks of the total amount are paid. If you take the leave spread out, payment will also be in 1 or 2 installments. Even if you spread it over six months, you receive the payment in 1 or 2 installments. If you apply for leave retroactively, the entire amount is paid at once.

Note!

Taking additional birth leave may impact benefits you receive from the Tax authorities. For more information, visit www.belastingdienst.nl/toeslagen or call the Tax information line at 0800 – 0543.

Paid parental leave

Starting August 2, 2022, you can take 9 working weeks of paid parental leave from 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave, with a benefit from UWV. The key points are:

• Paid parental leave lasts between 1 and 9 working weeks and is requested per week
• You can take leave flexibly, such as a few hours per day over several weeks, but it is still requested per week
• Leave must be taken within 1 year after the child’s birth or within 1 year after adoption or foster care placement if the child is under 8 years old
• Unused paid parental leave weeks can still be taken as unpaid parental leave
• The paid parental leave benefit can be requested after taking at least once the number of hours in a workweek as leave.
• Paid parental leave is a WAZO benefit of 70% of the daily wage and can only be requested and paid retroactively after taking the leave (in parts). We can request payment a maximum of 3 times.