Netherlands - Bill adopted to introduce nine weeks of paid parental leave - October 31, 2021

The Senate approved the paid parental leave bill, which will come into force on 2 August 2022. The bill adheres to the provisions of the EU directive on the work-life balance of parents and carers and introduces a two-month (nine weeks) period of paid parental leave, which is non-transferable from one parent to the other. At present, parents can take 26 weeks of parental leave in the first eight years of their child’s life. However only a third of parents actually make use of this allowance, as it is unpaid unless a company or collective agreement dictates otherwise. The government has therefore decided to cover the first nine weeks of the 26 weeks of parental leave.

Read on: in English.

For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.