To qualify for a ZEZ benefit, 1 of the following criteria must be true for you on the day before your benefit starts:

• You earn an income as a self-employed professional, for example as a family doctor (‘huisarts’), a dentist, a freelancer, or an artist.
• You are a self-employed individual with a profitable business.
• You are a director and majority shareholder (‘directeur-grootaandeelhouder, dga’).
• You work for your spouse or civil partner’s business (‘meewerkend partner’).
• You work for a company in which you have a substantial interest ('aanmerkelijk belang'), for example through shares or voting rights.
• You are a care provider (‘zorgverlener’) and have a care contract (‘zorgovereenkomst’) with someone who receives a personal budget (‘persoonsgebonden budget, pbg’). For example, you have a care contract with your partner or family member (‘zorgovereenkomst met een partner of familielid’), or a care contract as a self-employed care provider (‘zorgovereenkomst van opdracht met een ondernemer’). You can find more information about the different care contracts on the SVB (‘Sociale Verzekeringsbank’) website (in Dutch). 
• You provide housekeeping services for the elderly or people with disabilities (‘alfahulp’) or home help (‘dienstverlener aan huis’) for less than 4 days a week, and your earnings are not paid from someone’s personal budget.

You can apply for a ZEZ benefit between 2 and 4 weeks before your start date. 

To work out the start date of your ZEZ benefit, count back from the day after your due date. Choose a start date between 4 and 6 weeks before that day. If you are going to have a multiple birth, choose a start date between 8 and 10 weeks before that day.

Applying after your start date

You can also apply for a ZEZ benefit after your preferred start date. Make sure to apply within 1 year, or you might miss out on part of the benefit you were entitled to.

You will need the following information to fill out your ZEZ benefit application:

• your citizen service number (‘BSN’)
• your income as specified on your income tax return (‘Aangifte inkomstenbelasting’)
• your working hours and whether you will be hiring a maternity leave replacement
• your expected due date

If you have voluntary income protection coverage with us for illness, you will be entitled to maternity pay if you become pregnant. In this case, please call us to arrange your benefit.

You will receive 100% of the average daily income (‘dagloon’) you are covered for. If this amount is lower than the national minimum wage (‘wettelijk minimumloon’), you might also be entitled to a ZEZ benefit, which could top up your income to the level of the national minimum wage.

If you prefer to hire a maternity leave replacement through an employment agency (‘uitzendbureau’) or an intermediary for self-employed individuals (‘bemiddelingsbureau’), please let us know in your application. We will then pay the gross ZEZ benefit (‘bruto ZEZ-uitkering’) directly to the agency. If the ZEZ benefit does not fully cover the hiring costs of your replacement, you need to pay the difference yourself.

You can choose to continue working while you are receiving a ZEZ benefit. This will not affect the level or duration of your benefit.

If you are working for an employer while self-employed, or if you are receiving a benefit while self-employed, you will be entitled to another type of maternity pay in addition to your ZEZ benefit: 

• If you work for an employer while self-employed, you will also receive maternity pay from your job as an employee. Your employer will apply for this type of maternity pay on your behalf.
• If you are receiving a benefit while self-employed, such as an unemployment benefit ('WW-uitkering'), a sickness benefit (‘Ziektewet-uitkering’) or a salary-linked WGA benefit (‘loongerelateerde uitkering’), you will temporarily receive maternity pay instead of your usual benefit. In this case, you will have to apply for maternity pay yourself. 

If the total amount of these benefits is higher than the total income you were receiving before your ZEZ benefit start date, we might lower your ZEZ benefit. If this applies to you, we will let you know in our decision about your application.

We will confirm that we have received your application within 2 weeks of us receiving your application. 

You will usually receive our decision within 2 weeks of your preferred start date. We will send our decision digitally via Mijn UWV.

If you apply for a ZEZ benefit after your preferred start date, we will send our decision within 8 weeks of receiving your application.

The duration of your ZEZ benefit is calculated in the same way as maternity pay for individuals with an employment contract. You will receive the ZEZ benefit for at least 16 weeks. If you are going to have a multiple birth, you will receive the ZEZ benefit for at least 20 weeks. 

How much ZEZ benefit you will receive, and how this amount is calculated, depends on your situation. Your ZEZ benefit will not be more than the national minimum wage (in Dutch, ‘wettelijk minimumloon’). 

If you have worked 1,225 hours or more 

If you have worked at least 1,225 hours in the calendar year before your ZEZ benefit start date, you will receive the full national minimum wage.

If you have worked fewer than 1,225 hours 

If you have worked fewer than 1,225 hours in the calendar year before your ZEZ benefit start date, your ZEZ benefit will be based on your income or profit instead.

To calculate your benefit, we will use your income or profit in the calendar year before your ZEZ benefit. Or the average income or profit of the 5 calendar years before your ZEZ benefit starts, if this amount is higher. If you became self-employed less than 5 years ago, we will take this into account when we calculate your benefit.

If you work for your spouse or civil partner’s business and do not have a personal income, we will look at your share of the business profits.

If you provide housekeeping services for the elderly or people with disabilities, or if you provide home help

If you provide housekeeping services for the elderly or people with disabilities, or if you provide home help, your ZEZ benefit will be based on your income or profit instead.

To calculate your benefit, we will use your income or profit in the calendar year before your ZEZ benefit. Or the average income or profit of the 5 calendar years before your ZEZ benefit starts, if this amount is higher. If you became self-employed less than 5 years ago, we will take this into account when we calculate your benefit.

Your ZEZ benefit will be paid on a weekly basis. The first payment will be made after the start date of your benefit.

You can find the amount and duration of your benefit in our decision letter on Mijn UWV.

Make sure to keep copies of certain documents, as we might need to review them in the future:

• Your maternity certificate (‘zwangerschapsverklaring’) – make sure to keep this document for at least 1 year after your benefit has ended. 
• Any contracts for services (‘opdrachtovereenkomsten’) or contracts that show you work for your spouse or civil partner’s business (‘meewerkcontracten’) – make sure to keep these documents for at least 2 years after your benefit has ended.

If you become ill before your ZEZ benefit starts, or after it has ended, you might be entitled to a sickness benefit if you have voluntary income protection coverage for illness.

If your newborn has to be hospitalised for more than 7 days after birth, you can apply for an extension of your ZEZ benefit by completing the Extension of a ZEZ benefit due to the hospitalisation of your newborn child request form (‘Aanvraag verlenging ZEZ-uitkering bij ziekenhuisopname van uw pasgeboren kind’). You will need to log in to Mijn UWV to do this. 

You will also need a medical statement issued by a hospital doctor (‘verklaring van het ziekenhuis’), for which you can use the Admission and discharge dates of your newborn child form (‘Begin- en einddatum ziekenhuisverblijf van uw pasgeboren kind’).