Maternity leave

In the Netherlands you are allowed to work up to four weeks before the due date (36 weeks of pregnancy). After that you must take maternity leave. You may also stop two weeks earlier and take leave at 34 weeks of pregnancy. The maternity leave lasts until you give birth.

DELIVERY LEAVE

The delivery leave starts on the day you give birth and lasts at least 10 weeks. Together with the maternity leave you are entitled to 16 weeks of leave. Even if you give birth after the due date, your delivery leave will last at least 10 weeks. For example, if you give birth two weeks earlier than the due date, those weeks of maternity leave will be added to the delivery leave. You then have 4 weeks of maternity leave and 12 weeks of delivery leave.

Since 1 January 2015, you can have your maternity leave extended if your baby has been in hospital for more than one week.

PARTNER LEAVE

Since 1 January 2019, partners have also been given the number of working hours per week of birth leave. Furthermore, partners can take up to 5 weeks (5x the number of working hours per week) as additional birth leave. During the leave, the partner does not receive a salary, but a benefit from the UWV. The leave must be taken within 6 months after the birth of the baby and the 1-week birth leave must first be taken.