Fathers, partners to get 5 days paid childbirth leave from 2019

From next year the partner of a new mother will get five days' paid leave after the birth of their child, Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs and Employment announced on Wednesday. Currently partners only get two days of paid leave after the birth of their child, NOS reports.

The extended leave forms part of he Extra Birth Leave Law that Koolmees presented on Wednesday. In addition to the 5 days' paid birth leave, partners can also take 5 weeks of leave in the first six months of their child's life at 70 percent pay. The five days' paid leave can be taken in the first four weeks after delivery. It doesn't have to happen immediately after the child is born, but can also be taken, for example, after mother and child returns from the hospital.

"When you have a child, everything changes from one day to the next. You are immediately in the rush hour of life. And then it is of course good to have extra time with each other, to get used to life with a baby. That creates a better start for mother, partner and child", Koolmees said. "With that the tasks in and around the home and the work are immediately distributed better and more fairly, which will bear fruit later."

Adoption and foster care leave is also extended in the new law, from four weeks to six weeks.

This new law does not quite meet the advice of social and economic council SER, which advised giving both parents six weeks of paid leave.