In order to encourage more parents to take parental leave, the Dutch government has launched a new scheme for nine weeks of paid leave, which will be paid for by the government.
For the past few years, the government has been working to encourage more parents to take leave and to extend the parental leave available to them. Since 2019, partners have been entitled to a full week of paid parental leave, a significant increase compared to the meagre two days they received before. Since last summer, partners have also been granted an additional five weeks of leave at 70 percent pay.
In principle, parents are entitled to a total of 26 weeks of leave within the first eight years of their child’s life. However, as a rule, this leave is unpaid, and so very few parents can afford to take that much time off. “Only a third of parents take parental leave. That is why the cabinet has decided to pay for the first nine of the 26 weeks of parental leave.”
The latest plan will see the government pay 50 percent of the parents’ wages for the first nine weeks of leave, guaranteeing all parents at least nine weeks of paid parental leave. The rule will come into effect on August 2, 2022, and the leave will only be reimbursed if taken during the first year of the child’s life.
“Having a child is a beautiful and special event, but it also brings about significant change,” says Wouter Koolmees, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment. “Paying part of parental leave makes it easier to both have a job and spend more time at home. And that is important because in the first year we make agreements about the division of work and care.”