Maternity leave
As an employee, unemployed or self-employed person you are entitled to maternity leave. The arrangement varies according to your status.
Are you an employee or unemployed? Then you will find the right information here . Are you self-employed? Then you will find the information here . Or take a look at our brochure 'Pregnancy, birth and postpartum period' .
Maternity leave for employees and the unemployed
The maternity leave is fifteen weeks, divided into two periods.
You decide when maternity leave starts, but you can take a maximum of six weeks before the expected delivery date.
What should you do?
- Send CM the completed Maternity Leave Application form or the doctor's certificate stating when all activities will be discontinued and when the delivery is likely to take place.
- You will receive an information sheet from CM that you must complete and return as soon as possible ( this can also be done digitally ). CM requests your wage data directly from your employer. Are you unemployed? Then the unemployment service will provide the data directly. CM will always let you know from which employer and/or unemployment service it has requested the data. This way you can check if they are correct.
- Provide CM with an extract from the birth certificate or a medical certificate confirming the birth.
What is the duration?
Before childbirth: six weeks of prenatal rest
- You must take at least one week of prenatal rest before the expected delivery date. You can convert the remaining five weeks into postnatal rest.
- Not all days of prenatal rest can be included as postnatal rest.
- Transferable items include:
- days on which you work or stamp;
- legal holidays;
- period that you are recognized as unfit for work;
- days of temporary unemployment due to force majeure or economic reasons;
- period of work removal.
After childbirth: nine weeks of postnatal rest
- The postnatal rest starts from the date of delivery and must be at least nine weeks. It may be extended with the transferable part of the prenatal rest.
Postnatal leave days
- If the maternity leave can be extended by at least two weeks after the nine weeks of compulsory postnatal rest (eleven weeks for multiple births), you can convert the last two weeks into days of postnatal leave. You can take these days during the first eight weeks after returning to work, in order to ensure a smooth transition.
- You can apply for postnatal leave as follows.
- Submit your planning to CM and your employer no later than four weeks before the end of the compulsory postnatal rest.
- Provide CM with a proof of resumption of work , which must also be completed by the employer.
- Afterwards , provide CM with a certificate from the employer stating all days of leave taken .
Specific situations
A specific regulation applies in the following situations:
- Premature delivery
If you do not stop working in time, the maternity leave can be less than fifteen weeks. If you are unable to take the compulsory week of prenatal rest or incompletely because of premature delivery, you will irrevocably lose the days you did not take.
- Late delivery
If the birth takes place later than planned and you already took the six weeks of prenatal rest, the duration of the prenatal rest will be extended until the day of delivery. Because people are obliged to take nine weeks of postnatal rest, the maternity rest in these situations lasts longer than fifteen weeks.
- Multiple birth
In the event of a multiple birth, you will receive four additional weeks of rest and you will be entitled to nineteen weeks of maternity leave.
- Hospitalization baby
If a newborn is hospitalized for more than seven days from the day of birth, the maternity leave is extended by the number of days of hospitalization that exceeds the first seven.
Example: if a baby stays in the hospital for 21 days from birth, the rest is extended by 14 days. In this way, the maternity leave can be extended by a maximum of 24 weeks.
How much is the benefit?
Benefits as an employee
- First 30 days: 82 percent of gross pay (no maximum amount applies).
- From the 31st day: 75 percent of the capped gross salary.
Unemployment benefits
- First 30 days: 60 percent of the gross wage on which the unemployment benefit is calculated (reference wage), but limited to the amount of the unemployment benefit + supplement of 19.50 percent of the reference wage.
- From the 31st day: 60 percent of the reference wage, however limited to the amount of the unemployment benefit + supplement of 15 percent of the reference wage.
The benefit is transferred twice a month .
Maternity leave for the self-employed
The maternity leave is a maximum of twelve weeks. It is split into:
- three weeks that you are obliged to take;
- nine weeks that you can choose to take.
What should you do?
At the start
Send CM the general application form and the corresponding attachment .
The application for maternity leave consists of two parts: a general application form and an appendix .
General application form
- Always provide CM with the completed form 'Application for maternity benefit for the self-employed' .
Appendix
- Always enclose one of the appendices below with the general application form.
- Which appendix applies to you, depends on the choice you make for the two weeks that you can take freely before the probable date of delivery (called optional prenatal rest).
| Situation | To add Appendix |
|---|---|
| You do not take optional prenatal rest | Attachment 1 |
| You take one week of optional prenatal rest during which you completely stop your activities | Appendix 2 _ |
| You take one week of optional prenatal rest during which you continue your activities for a maximum of half | attachment 3 |
You take two weeks of optional prenatal rest: - one week you continue your activities for a maximum of half - the other week you stop your activities completely | Appendix 4 |
| You take two weeks of optional prenatal rest during which you continue your activities for a maximum of half | Appendix 5 |
| You take two weeks of optional prenatal rest during which you completely stop your activities | Appendix 6 |
After the birth
Provide CM with an extract of the birth certificate or a medical certificate confirming the birth as soon as possible.
What are the conditions?
Mandatory to include
For three weeks you must take:
- one week immediately prior to the expected delivery date;
- two weeks, starting from the date of delivery.
During these three weeks you must stop all activities completely.
Optionally included
You can choose to take the remaining nine weeks in periods of seven calendar days:
- from three weeks up to and including the eighth day before the expected delivery date;
- within 38 weeks from the date of delivery (after the period of compulsory maternity leave).
During these weeks you are allowed to carry out your activities as a self-employed person for a maximum of half instead of stopping them completely. You can make this choice separately for each full week.
If you choose this option, each week with complete cessation of activities will be converted into two weeks in which you can do up to half of your activities. In this way, these nine weeks of maternity leave can be converted into a maximum of eighteen weeks of maternity leave.
Specific situations
A specific regulation applies in the following situations:
- Multiple birth
In the event of a multiple birth, maternity leave is extended by one week. You can then choose to record ten weeks instead of nine weeks. You can also spread this additional week over two weeks in which you carry out your activities as a self-employed person for a maximum of half.
- Hospitalization baby
If the newborn has to stay in hospital for at least seven days , an extension of the period to be chosen is possible.- The extension is equal to the number of full weeks of hospitalization of the child exceeding the first seven days of hospitalization.
- It starts on the first day after the compulsory maternity leave.
- It is a maximum of 24 weeks with complete cessation of activities. You can also convert these weeks into two weeks in which you carry out your activities as a self-employed person for a maximum of half. For example, the period can be a maximum of 48 weeks .
Example: A baby stays in the hospital for 25 days after birth. The first week of hospitalization is thus exceeded by 18 days. This allows an extension of two weeks.
If the extension is done in full weeks, that means two weeks in which you completely stop your activities. You can also choose to carry out your activities as a self-employed person for a maximum of half during four weeks.
If you want to make use of the extension, please contact CM within fifteen days after the birth. We will provide you with the necessary application forms.
Payment
The benefit is 872.87 euro per week for the first four weeks . From the fifth week, the benefit is 798.37 euro per week .
A first payment is made no later than the thirtieth calendar day, counting from the first day of maternity leave. Then there are monthly payments. The amount is always reduced by 11.11 percent withholding tax.
Do you choose to continue your activities as a self-employed person for one or more weeks for a maximum of half? Then the benefit for that week is 436.44 euro (first four weeks) or 399.18 euros (from the fifth week).