Parental leave introduced by the Collective Labour Agreement No. 64

Principle

Like the Royal Decree dated October 29th 1997, the Collective Labour Agreement No. 64 dated April 29th, 1997 provides a right to a parental leave in order to take care of a child for a period of three months.

The types of leave

In principle, the leave is taken as a total suspension of the employment contract for a period of three months maximum.

Provided you have the agreement of your employer, the right to leave may be split. This is to say, it can be taken several times as several short periods of complete suspension of employment contract until the period of three months is exhausted.

With the agreement of your employer, you can also reduce your working hours (part-time, one fourth or fifth of a full-time, etc).

Conditions towards the child

At the birth of a child

The parental leave must be taken not later than the child reaches his fourth anniversary.

When adopting a child

The leave may be taken for a period of four years that starts as from the subscription of the child as a family member in the population register or the register of foreigners and not later than the eighth birthday of the child.

When the child has a physical handicap of at least 66%

The right to parental leave is granted until the child reaches his eighth birthday.

Conditions towards the worker

To qualify for this type of parental leave, you must have been bound by an employment contract with your employer for 12 months during the 15 months preceding the written request.

Prior notice to your employer

You must notify your employer in writing of your wish to take your parental leave. This notification is to be sent three months in advance specifying the modalities of the leave, the start and the end date.

This notification is to be sent by registered mail or delivered to your employer, who signs a copy for acknowledgement.

You must also provide the evidence of the birth or the adoption of the child or, if applicable, the documents relating to the inability of the child. It is to be provided at the latest when the parental leave begins.

Refusal of the employer

Your employer can not refuse your request for parental leave.

Postponement of leave

Your employer may -within one month following the written notification- postpone your leave for reasons related to the company. It is possible to postpone the leave for 6 months maximum.

Financial compensation

The period of leave is subject to no financial compensation.

Protection against redundancy

You are protected against redundancy during the leave period. Your employer cannot break your employment contract during the leave period except for a serious or sufficient cause, which is unrelated to your leave request (e.g. for economic reasons or because of the quality of your work). This protection starts on the day of the written notification and ends three months after your career break.

Advantages of a parental leave as part of a career break (Royal Decree dated October 29th, 1997)

Parental leave under the Collective Labour Agreement No. 64 seems less advantageous than the one provided by the Royal Decree of October 29th, 1997. Nevertheless, it has the advantage of allowing you to reach an agreement which is less stringent with your employer than the one provided by the Royal Decree.

In this way, this parental leave:

- can be invoked if you work part-time and want to reduce your working hours without completely interrupting the execution of your employment contract, which is the only option provided for part-time workers by the Royal Decree of 10/29/1997

- can be invoked if you work full-time and want another type of parental leave as the one provided by the Royal Decree of 29/10/1997.

Important remark

If you are/were entitled to a parental leave under the Collective Labour Agreement No. 64, you can no longer later assert the same right to a parental leave under the Royal Decree of 29/10/1997 (and conversely). It is one or the other.