Patricia Rehe / Dutch Height
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NOS News•today, 08:35
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As of today, parents will be paid part of the parental leave. Until the child is 1 year old, a parent can go on leave for nine weeks while 70 percent of the salary is paid. The UWV will pay out this money.
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When the extension of the law was announced, breaking the “traditional division of labor” between men and women was cited as an important argument. “If you both have a job, this paid leave gives both parents more time to get to know their child and to reorganize their lives,” says Marjet Winsemius, director of the Working Parents Foundation. “But it is certainly not enough in these times of inflation and high energy costs.”
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Winsemius is referring to the compensation of 70 percent. “Only the larger wallet can then afford to take leave, the small cannot.” That is why the foundation advocates a 100 percent compensation. “But of course that costs more money.”
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Research into another paid scheme, the supplementary birth leave, has shown that three quarters of the parents that incorporates. The people who don’t do this often give up for financial reasons. 70% is also paid for this leave, although a higher percentage has been agreed in various collective labor agreements.
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Winsemius also objects to the fact that leave can only be taken in the first year. “Everything revolves around the first year and after that you solve it yourself.” She argues that some parents may need the leave more after the first year of their children’s life, for example if they have an accident at a later age or need more attention as a teenager.
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Tight labor market
At the same time, the labor market is historically tight and the call to work more is getting louder. Is this the time for an extension of paid parental leave? “Leave can sometimes be difficult to arrange, especially in times of shortage,” agrees a spokesperson for the employers’ organization VNO-NCW. “But working parents are simply entitled to this and we assume that employer and employee will agree on this in mutual consultation.”
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Winsemius of the Stichting Werkende Ouders also acknowledges that the shortage on the labor market can increase if more parents take leave. “But this makes your employees better equipped and more satisfied. This way they do their work better and you can bind them better to you.”
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In 2019, this medical device company from Leiden was one of the leaders in parental leave:
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Eight weeks of paid paternity leave: ‘I wouldn’t have missed it for anything’
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