This checklist compiles the legal obligations, but also additional actions you can take (see “tips”) to make your organisation more family-friendly. Obviously, you start by reviewing what is necessary and possible at your company. This checklist is not exhaustive but a first tool to get started.
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Congratulate your employee! |
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Find out about the legal obligations regarding paternity or birth leave. Who is eligible for birth leave?
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 SUGGESTION
Give the father/co-parent free time for prenatal examinations. The father or co-parent cannot invoke a medical reason to be present at these examinations. Nonetheless, these moments are crucial for their emotional attachment (e.g. ultrasound scans showing the baby and its health). You can grant separate leave in this regard (such as circumstantial leave). In addition, you can give your employee permission to work at home on the day of the prenatal examination. That way he/she loses less time travelling (to your advantage) and it is easier for him/her to combine work and private life. |
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Ask your employee to inform you in writing of the birth leave. This is important in connection with the protection against dismissal (see below). |
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Talk to the employee and plan the birth leave. Discuss his/her possible replacement (especially when birth leave is supplemented by parental leave (consult checklist Parental Leave in this regard) or, if an adoption procedure has been started, by adoption leave (consult the special situations in this regard)). Inform your employee about his/her right to birth leave. Many co-parents and fathers do not know about this, or not enough. As a father or co-parent, the employee is entitled to 20 days of leave, the first 3 of which are paid for by you as the employer, and the remaining 17 by the employee's health insurance fund. Your employee can take these days at once or spread them out for the 4 months after the birth. More information on this can be found on the website of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance. |
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SUGGESTION
20 days of birth leave is not much, certainly not for such a major event. As such, consider extending the birth leave. However, the extra days of leave are paid for by you as the employer. |
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Add important dates to the agenda, relating to settling administrative matters.
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SUGGESTION
Provide a wage supplement for the 17 days that your employee receives a benefit from the health insurance fund. When taking the birth leave, the employee loses part of his/her pay (the benefit for the 17 days paid by the health insurance fund amounts to 82% of the capped gross wage). For many families, this means a considerable reduction in their family budget, precisely when a new family member arrives. Therefore, a wage supplement for these 12 days will definitely be appreciated. |
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Make agreements with the employee regarding communication during the birth leave. It is important to limit contact during birth leave. This is a special period in which the family needs to adapt to the new situation in peace and quiet and fully enjoy the new family member. |
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Do not dismiss your employee on account of their taking birth leave! The right to dismiss an employee is restricted as soon as you, as the employer, have been informed (in writing) that they will take birth leave (no later than the first day of leave for the birth of a child) up to 5 months from the date of the birth (see Labour Law). During this protected period, you can only dismiss your employee for reasons that are unrelated to their taking birth leave. You must provide written proof of the reasons you invoke to justify the dismissal. The same protection applies when you decide not to renew the employment contract. In this case too, you must provide written proof that this decision is independent of the right to leave for the birth of a child. |
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Do not discriminate on account of paternity or co-parenthood. Fatherhood and joint parenthood constitute the protected criteria of "family responsibilities" under the Gender Act of 10 May 2007.This means that employees cannot be treated unfavourably on account of their being fathers or co-parents. Discrimination in the workplace can take various forms, including difference in treatment, harassment, ineligibility for a promotion, not hiring someone because they are a father, firing someone because they take birth leave, etc. You can inform your employees preventively and also learn to recognise prejudice and discrimination. |
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How can you prepare the company for a pregnant employee? This checklist covers things you can do before you are confronted with an actual pregnancy. A well-prepared employer is worth their weight in gold.
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Undergoing treatment for medically assisted reproduction can be very stressful for an employee, as well as for her/his partner. Take a look at what you as an employer can do when there is extra pressure at home.
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An employee has told you she is pregnant. What now? What things need to happen and what other things can you do to make it as comfortable as possible for yourself, the colleagues and the pregnant employee?
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Your employee is back at work and is still breastfeeding her child. There are a few legal obligations and bits of administration that you need to take account of here as an employer. There are some extra measures you can take to make things as comfortable as possible for the employee.
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There are several different ways to become a parent. You can also adopt a child or become a foster parent. This is just as radical an event as a pregnancy and also has a tangible impact on one's private life. Adoptive or foster parents are equally entitled to leave and protection against dismissal.
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Unexpected events or new phases of the child's life can once again disrupt the balance between one's work and private life. Parental leave for both parents can provide an answer to this.
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When children get ill or other family members need care, it is sometimes difficult to combine one's private life with work smoothly. This is why there are various forms of care leave, namely palliative leave, medical support leave and informal care leave.
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Does your employee need more time to take up a caring role for family members or the children? Then time credit may be a solution. This checklist discusses the motives for which time credit can be requested, along with the periods and administrative details important for this.
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What should you do in a specific situation (e.g. multiple pregnancy) or if things do not go as planned (e.g. miscarriage or death of the mother during childbirth)? This page will provide you with information about these specific situations and the relevant regulations.
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