Maternity leave in Belgium

Maternity leave is intended to give new mothers time to recover physically from birth, and to care for and bond with their new baby before returning to work. Belgium offers one of the shortest maternity leave periods in Europe, at 15 weeks for employees – one week above the EU minimum.

On this page, you can discover the basics about maternity leave for mothers who are:

You can also read about some special situations, such as:

DID YOU KNOW?

From the moment your employer becomes aware of your pregnancy:

– you are protected against being dismissed in relation to your pregnancy. This protection lasts until one month after your postnatal leave ends;

– your employer cannot ask you to do overtime while you are pregnant;

– you have the right to attend prenatal medical appointments during working hours, with no impact on your salary, provided these can’t take place outside work hours.


Maternity leave for employees in the Belgian system

If you are employed on a Belgian contract, and have been registered with a Belgian mutuelle for at least 6 months, you are entitled to paid maternity leave.

How long is maternity leave in Belgium?

After giving birth, you are entitled to 15 weeks maternity leave (17 weeks in the case of a multiple birth, though this may be extended to 19 weeks), which is divided into ‘prenatal’ and ‘postnatal’ leave:

  • Prenatal leave: One week of maternity leave is considered as ‘mandatory’ prenatal leave, and can only be taken before the birth. You can start your maternity leave a maximum of 6 weeks (8 weeks for multiples) before the expected due date.

    Be warned that if your baby is born early, before the planned start of your maternity leave, you essentially ‘lose’ the one mandatory week of leave.

    In the period from 6 weeks (8 weeks for multiples) before your due date to the start of your prenatal leave, sick days follow the normal rules and have no impact on your maternity leave.
  • Postnatal leave: Nine weeks of leave are considered as ‘mandatory’ postnatal leave. If you started your maternity leave before the birth, the nine weeks start on the day of the birth – if not, the mandatory leave starts the next day.

WORTH KNOWING: Office closures or bank holidays during the first 30 days of your absence (i.e. when you are off work through no fault of your own) should be remunerated separately and in full, as explain on the website of the SETCA union (French / Dutch).

Any remaining weeks (not counting the week of mandatory prenatal leave) can be taken after these nine weeks, meaning your postnatal leave will be a minimum of nine weeks and a maximum of 14 weeks (minimum of 11 and maximum of 16 weeks for a multiple birth).

Do you prefer to ease yourself back into work?

If you have at least two weeks of postnatal leave left after the mandatory nine weeks of postnatal leave, you can convert the last two weeks into ‘post-natal rest’ days off. These days off must be taken within the eight weeks before the end of the post-natal leave.

How do I request my maternity leave payment?

To make sure you receive payment for your maternity leave:

  • send a medical certificate to your health insurance fund (‘mutuelle’ / ‘ziekenfonds’) that states the expected due date of your baby and start date of your maternity leave.

    Check with your health insurance fund when they need to receive this certificate – they may ask you to send it only once you start your maternity leave.

    Once you have sent the certificate, they will then send you the relevant paperwork that you need to complete and return to them.
  • within one month of the birth, send a copy of the birth certificate (‘extrait d’acte de naissance’ / ‘geboorteaangifte’) to your health insurance fund so they can calculate the end date of your maternity leave (and to register your baby with your health insurance fund and to receive a birth bonus (‘prime de naissance’ / ‘premie’) or other welcome offers).
  • within eight days of going back to work, you need to send a completed ‘attestation de reprise de travail’ / ‘bewijs van werkhervatting of van werkloosheid’ (form signalling that you have resumed work, and the date on which you returned) to your health insurance fund. You will have been sent this form during your pregnancy.

    Note that you should only send this when you actually, go back to work – if you are taking additional leave such as parental leave do not send it yet.
  • if you are taking another kind of leave directly after your maternity leave, for example, parental leave or a career break, you need to provide you health insurance fund with the official document you have received from the ONEM / RVA (the national employment office) about that leave.

How much am I paid during maternity leave in Belgium, as an employee?

For the first 30 days of your maternity leave, you receive 82% of your gross salary (with no upper limit) from your health insurance fund (‘mutuelle’ / ‘ziekenfonds’).

As of the 31st day, this amount is fixed at 75% of your gross salary, with an upper limit of around €120 per day.


Maternity leave for self-employed mothers in the Belgian system

If you are self-employed in the Belgian system, have been registered with a health insurance fund for at least six months, and have paid social security contributions for at least two trimesters, you are entitled to paid maternity leave.

There are a few more conditions to be eligible for payment:

  • you need to take minimum three weeks of leave;
  • during the weeks in which you take ‘full-time’ maternity leave, you suspend all your professional activities;
  • during the weeks in which you take ‘part-time’ maternity leave, you:
    • carry out your regular self-employed activities maximum half-time; and
    • you do not carry out any other professional activities.

Note that you are allowed to have a third party carry on your professional activities during your maternity leave.

How long is maternity leave for self-employed mothers in Belgium?

You are entitled to up to 12 weeks paid maternity leave (maximum 13 weeks in the case of a multiple birth), with a minimum of three weeks. Maternity leave is divided into ‘mandatory prenatal leave’, ‘manatory postnatal leave’ and ‘optional leave’.

  • Mandatory prenatal leave: One week of maternity leave is considered as mandatory prenatal leave, and can only be taken before the birth. You can start your prenatal leave maximum three weeks before the due date.

    If your baby is born early and you had not taken one week of maternity leave prior to the birth, you do not ‘lose’ this week of leave – any ‘unused’ days are added to your obligatory postnatal leave, to ensure that you have three uninterrupted weeks of leave.
  • Mandatory postnatal leave: Two weeks of maternity leave are considered as mandatory postnatal leave. If you started your maternity leave before the birth, the two weeks of mandatory postnatal leave start on the day of the birth – if not, the mandatory leave starts the next day.
  • Optional leave: The remaining nine weeks (10 in the case of a multiple birth) can be taken:
    • before the birth. Because there is one mandatory week of prenatal leave, and prenatal leave cannot start more than three weeks before the due date, you can take maximum two weeks of optional leave before the birth.
    • after the two weeks of obligatory postnatal leave. These weeks of leave can be taken in periods of seven days (i.e. they do not have to be taken consecutively) until at latest 38 weeks after the birth.

Any weeks of optional leave after the birth can be taken full-time or part time, with one full-time week being equivalent to two part-time weeks, e.g. you can take nine (10) full weeks, or 18 (20) part-time weeks at any time within the 38 weeks following the birth.

How do I apply for maternity leave as a self-employed mother in Belgium?

To receive payment for your maternity leave:

  • before the birth, provide your health insurance fund with:
    • a medical certificate that states the expected due date of your baby (and indicates if it is a multiple birth);
    • the intended start date of your maternity leave (which can be maximum 3 and minimum 1 week before the estimated due date); and
    • details of the mandatory and optional leave you plan to take. You can still change this, but always need to keep your health insurance fund informed.

When you restart your professional activities at the end of your maternity leave, you don’t need to inform your health insurance fund.

How much am I paid during maternity leave in Belgium, as a self-employed mother?

The weekly amount you receive for your maternity leave as a self-employed mother is not dependent on your income.

The amount you’ll receive for weeks taken:

  • full-time is around €830 gross for the first four weeks (and around €750 thereafter);
  • part-time is around €415 gross for the first four weeks (and around €380 thereafter).

GOOD TO KNOW: You do not have to pay social security for the trimester following the birth of your baby. This benefit is accorded automatically by your social insurance fund.


What happens if my baby has to stay in hospital?

If your baby has to stay in hospital beyond the first seven days after the birth, you should be able to extend your maternity leave.

What if I’m an employee and my baby needs to stay in hospital?

For each consecutive day your baby has to stay in hospital beyond the first seven days after the birth (provided the baby was not discharged from hospital during that time), you can extend your maternity leave by the same number of days, e.g. if your baby stays in hospital for 10 days in total, your maternity leave is extended by three days.

This extension of maternity leave cannot exceed 24 weeks.

The additional time is added at the end of your official maternity leave.

How do I claim this extension?

Before the end of your official maternity leave, give your health insurance fund a letter from the hospital stating the length of time your baby was hospitalised for.

Read more on the website of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (French and Dutch).

What if I’m self-employed and my baby needs to stay in hospital?

For each consecutive day your baby has to stay in hospital beyond the first seven days after the birth (provided the baby was not discharged from hospital during that time), you can extend your maternity leave by the same number of days, e.g. if your baby stays in hospital for 10 days in total, your maternity leave is extended by three days.

The additional time is added after the two weeks of mandatory postnatal leave. It is possible to take these extra days ‘part-time’.

How do I claim this extension?

Within two weeks of the birth, inform your health insurance fund of the number of additional days of maternity leave and provide a letter from the hospital stating the length of time your baby was hospitalised for.

If at this time, your baby is still in hospital, your maternity leave can be further extended and you will again need to ask the hospital for a letter stating the length of hospitalisation.

Read more on the website of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (French and Dutch).


What happens if a mother cannot look after her baby?

There are two situations in which the mother’s maternity leave can be ‘transferred’ to the father / co-parent if the mother cannot look after the baby:

  • if the mother is hospitalised after the birth; or
  • in the tragic situation where the mother dies.

NOTE: Sadly this transfer is only possible if both the mother and father / co-parent are employees.

What happens if the mother has to stay in hospital?

If the mother is hospitalised during her maternity leave, the remaining maternity leave can be converted to birth leave if both the mother and father / co-partent are employees.

This ‘converted’ leave can only begin:

  • if the baby has left hospital;
  • if the mother is hospitalised for more than seven days;
  • as of the eighth day after the baby’s birth.

The father / co-parent needs to inform their employer in writing before the leave begins, indicating when they will begin the leave and how long they are likely to be absent. As soon as possible, they should provide their employer with a medical certificate confirming that the mother will be hospitalised for longer than seven days.

The father / co-parent also needs to inform their health insurance fund of the situation, and provide them with a medical certificate from the hospital stating:

  • the date on which the mother was hospitalised;
  • that the mother’s hospitalisation is longer than seven days; and
  • that the baby has left hospital.

The health insurance fund will then send the father / co-parent the paperwork that needs to be completed. The leave will be paid by the health insurance fund and is fixed at 60% of the father’s / co-parent’s salary, with an upper limit of around €170 gross per day.

During this time, the mother continues to receive her maternity leave pay, and is still protected against being made redundant.

What happens if the mother dies?

If the mother dies during her maternity leave, the remaining maternity leave can be converted to birth leave if the mother was an employee and the father / co-parent is also an employee.

The father / co-parent needs to inform their employer in writing within seven days of the mother’s death, indicating when they will begin the birth leave and how long they are likely to be absent.

The father / co-parent needs to inform their mutuelle of the situation, and provide them with a death certificate and a statement from the hospital indicating that the baby has been discharged from hospital.


More info

Read more on the website of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance about maternity leave for: