The Netherlands' Caregiving Legislation

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International Caregiving Legislation

Netherlands
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Paid Employment and Care
Type of legislation: Paid leave	For more information contact: Annelies Scheepens Policy Officer LOT (Dutch Carers Association) a.scheepens@mantelzorg-lot.nl Marja Pijl Board member LOT, pijl.ma@tref.nl
Description of legislation: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is increasingly interested in creating programs to support women who want to remain active in the labor market. These programs are primarily meant for women who combine a paid job with the care for children, but there is a growing recognition that similar programs are needed for employees who are caring for handicapped, chronically ill, critically ill or dependent family members or close relations. Since 1998 several new paid leave options have been created, and career interruption and palliative leave still apply, although each has been slightly modified. The following kinds of leave are now available: · Calamity leave: This leave is meant for very special personal circumstances that require immediate action. Its duration varies from a few hours to a few days—as long as is necessary to do what needs to be done. Generally speaking the employer will grant such leave and is obliged to do so to an extent that is fair considering the nature of the problem. In those cases where the employee is entitled to ten-day leave the calamity leave will only last one day and will then be replaced by the ten-day leave. · Ten-day care leave: An employee is entitled to a maximum of 10 days care leave per year to care for a sick child living at home, a sick partner or parent, in those cases where it is necessary that this particular person (and not someone else) is the carer. The employer must pay at least 70% of the wages (and 100% of the minimum wage), for which the employer receives compensation. · Leave to care for a dying person: This is not a legal right, and the employer must agree to grant this leave. It can be used to assist a close relation (not only family members) in the last phase of life. It can also be taken when the cared-for person is staying in an institution. The leave consists of at least one third of the normal working hours. It should last at least one month and at most six months. Under certain conditions it can be extended to a maximum of 18 months. During the leave the employee can receive a payment with a maximum of € 490.54 a month paid from public funds. The same rules as for the leave for a dying person can be applied when the employee cares for a child with a life-threatening illness. · Career interruption: In this case the leave will only be paid if the employer replaces the person on leave with someone who is unemployed or otherwise excluded from the labor market. The employer must agree to the leave, the employee must have worked for at least one year, s/he must take up at least one third of the normal weekly working hours and the period of the leave must be at least two months. There is a maximum of 6 months, but under certain circumstances it can be extended to 18 months. The maximum amount to be paid from public funding is € 490.54 a month. The leave must be used for caring or studying. · Saved-up leave: If the employer has agreed to offer this facility to his employees they can save up money or time to a maximum of 10% of the annual salary or 10% of the annual working hours. (The working week now counts 36 hours. Employees who keep working 40 hours a week can save up these extra hours.) There is a maximum of 12 months to the leave that can be saved up. When taken up the leave will be paid with the savings. If the employer does not offer this facility employees can save up free days that they have not taken up for a period of 5 years. · Long-term care leave: Amendments to the Paid Employment and Care Act have been sent to the Lower House in order to make a long-term care leave possible. It can be used in situations of terminal illness of a child, partner or parent or a life-threatening illness of a child. It has a maximum duration of six times the weekly working hours, in principle spread out over 12 weeks. The employee can ask the employer to grant six weeks full time leave. During the leave the employee will receive 70% of the minimum wage. It is at the discretion of the employer to grant this leave, but it can only be refused for good reasons. (http://verlofwijzer.szw.nl-- in Dutch) and Press Release 02/090 Ministerie SZW, 5 July 2002) · There is also a legal right to work part-time.
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International Caregiving Legislation