The expansion of parental leave has been a hot topic in politics lately. A good work/life balance is crucial to employees, but also to employers. Psychological issues can be avoided when employees get the chance to create a good division between time spent at work and time spent at home.
In short, all the more reason to really get into this topic. This blog lays out the most important developments and facts.
Paternity leave: relevant in the Netherlands and beyond
In the Dutch Lower House, a bill is currently being discussed, which would mean the expansion of paternity leave to five paid leave days. Even though this bill has not been passed yet, this matter has also been on the agenda on a higher level. The European Commission has recently presented the aim to create a better division between men and women when it comes to child care. This includes expanding the legal minimum number of paternal leave days to ten days, to give both parents four months of paid leave, and to create the possibility of flexible work times for parents.
This proposal is still being discussed, but it predicts many possibilities in the future, and many modern companies are happily anticipating such changes.
Expanding your leave registration: how to go about it?
Organisations can offer appealing terms of employment by implementing an expansion of paternity leave. If you would like to do this, first check the collective agreement to see whether changes in parental leave are allowed. If there are no prior agreements about this, it is often wise to contact the employees council about this.
Have you decided in which way you will expand parental leave? Technically, you should ask all employees for permission. But as this change in contract affects them positively, you could agree that employees who are against this decision can object to it in writing within a month. If there are no objections by the end of the month, they will have tacitly accepted the change.
What are the rules?
Employers dealing with parental leave should be aware of the following:
- Employees should request their parental leave at least two months before the start date of the leave.
- The leave request should include how the leave is to be distributed.
- You can never deny an employee parental leave.
- The requested distribution of the leave may be rejected, but only under substantial business interests.
- In agreement with your employee, you can decide to temporarily adapt their position. After the period of leave, the employee has a right to the same position and working hours as before the leave.
Good registration of parental leave? Try using a user-friendly, cloud-based leave registration system which will help you in keeping organized. Feel free to contact us to discuss the possibilities!
