Parents in Netherlands to get 9 weeks parental leave at 70% pay

From August 2, new parents in the Netherlands can get nine weeks of paid parental leave. They'll get 70 percent of their daily wage during those nine weeks, Minister Karien van Gennip of Social Affairs said in a letter to the Dutch Senate and parliament, RTL Nieuws reports.

Currently, parents can take 26 weeks of parental leave in the first eight years of their child's life. The government decided to reimburse parents 70 percent of their income for the first nine weeks, which must be taken in the first year of the child's life. The other 17 weeks will remain unpaid and can be taken up to the child's eighth birthday.

Paid parental leave should help young fathers and mothers to combine work and care, Van Gennip said to RTL Nieuws. "The breadwinner often takes little leave, and the person who works less takes a lot of leave. That is usually the mother. We want to balance that," she said. "This gives young mothers an equal opportunity on the labor market, and young fathers get the chance to build a good relationship with their child."

Parents who had a child before August 2 can also use the scheme until their little one's first birthday.