Maternity leave in the Netherlands: how long and who pays
Employed in the Netherlands? You get 16 weeks of paid leave: pregnancy leave (zwangerschapsverlof) starts 6 to 4 weeks before your due date, and maternity leave (bevallingsverlof) follows the birth. Checked 22 September 2026.
Tell your employer at least 3 weeks before it starts. UWV pays 100% of your daily wage, up to a maximum, usually through your employer. Your employer cannot refuse it. People often look this up as “Holland maternity leave”: Holland is two of the twelve Dutch provinces rather than the country, but the leave rules are national, so the answer above is the same wherever in the Netherlands you work. If you are self-employed the ZEZ benefit does the same job on different terms, and a partner's leave and paid parental leave each run on rules of their own. Child benefit and childcare benefit are separate again, and each is claimed in its own way.
Tell your employer when your maternity leave starts
Employees get at least 16 weeks of paid leave in total: pregnancy leave (zwangerschapsverlof) starting between 6 and 4 weeks before your due date, then maternity leave (bevallingsverlof) after the birth. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 22 September 2026.
Applies to people who are employed (in loondienst). Paperbump schedules this usually between week 26 and week 33 of the pregnancy. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Claim maternity pay as a self-employed parent (ZEZ)
ZEZ (Zelfstandige en Zwanger) is maternity pay for self-employed parents in the Netherlands: at least 16 weeks around the birth, 20 weeks for twins. It starts 6 to 4 weeks before your due date and you always keep at least 10 weeks after the birth. Checked against uwv.nl on 22 September 2026.
Applies to people who are self-employed (zzp). Paperbump schedules this usually between week 30 and week 34 of the pregnancy. What this step involves · uwv.nl
Partner's birth leave (geboorteverlof)
A partner in employment gets 1 working week of paid birth leave, taken in the first 4 weeks after the birth, paid in full by the employer. Tell your employer as early as you can so the week is planned rather than improvised. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 22 September 2026.
Applies to people who have a partner going through it with them. Paperbump schedules this within 4 weeks of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Partner's extra birth leave (aanvullend geboorteverlof)
After that first week, a partner can take up to 5 more weeks in the first 6 months after the birth, in one block or spread out. The first week has to be taken first. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 22 September 2026.
Applies to people who have a partner going through it with them. Paperbump schedules this within 6 months of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Paid parental leave (betaald ouderschapsverlof)
Each working parent can take up to 9 working weeks of parental leave paid at 70% of their daily wage by UWV, up to a maximum daily wage, as long as the weeks are taken in the baby's first year. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 22 September 2026.
Applies to people who are employed (in loondienst). Paperbump schedules this within 1 year of the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Claim child benefit (kinderbijslag)
The municipality tells the SVB about the birth, and about 2 to 4 weeks later the SVB writes to you at the address where the baby is registered, inviting you to claim. You then apply on the SVB website with DigiD, or ask them for a paper form. Checked against rijksoverheid.nl on 22 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this between 2 weeks and 6 weeks after the birth. What this step involves · rijksoverheid.nl
Claim childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag)
If your baby goes to registered childcare, the government pays back part of the cost. You can claim as soon as the contract is signed, but only once the baby exists and has a citizen service number (BSN). Checked against belastingdienst.nl on 22 September 2026.
Paperbump schedules this within 6 months of the birth. What this step involves · belastingdienst.nl
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