Maternity pay if you are self-employed

To qualify for maternity pay, 1 of the following must be true for you on the day before your paid maternity leave starts:

You are a self-employed individual with a profitable business.
You earn an income as a self-employed professional, for example as a freelancer, an artist or a family doctor (‘huisarts’).
You are a director/majority shareholder (‘directeur-grootaandeelhouder’).
You work for your spouse or civil partner’s business (‘meewerkend partner’).
You are an employee or joint shareholder who owns at least 5% of a company’s voting rights and shares (‘met aanmerkelijk belang in een bedrijf’).
You provide housekeeping services for the elderly or people with disabilities (‘alfahulp’) or you provide home help.

You will be entitled to paid maternity leave for at least 16 weeks. Keep in mind that 4 to 6 weeks of this leave must be taken in one go right before your expected due date. To work out the start date of your maternity leave, count back from the day after your due date.

Starting the day after you have given birth, you will be entitled to a minimum of 10 weeks’ paid leave.

Please note: If you are going to have a multiple birth, you will be entitled to at least 20 weeks’ maternity leave. You must take 8 to 10 weeks of this leave in one go right before your expected due date.

If your baby arrives early, you can add any unused maternity leave from before the birth to your leave after the birth. If your baby comes late, you will still be entitled to a minimum of 10 weeks’ leave after giving birth.

If your newborn has to be hospitalised for more than 7 days after the birth, you might be entitled to up to 9 weeks of extended maternity leave. To apply, you will need to complete the Extension of a ZEZ benefit due to the hospitalisation of your newborn child form (‘Aanvraag verlenging ZEZ-uitkering bij ziekenhuisopname van uw pasgeboren kind’) .

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

You will receive your maternity pay on a weekly basis. How we calculate your maternity pay depends on your situation. Your maternity pay will not be more than the gross national minimum wage (‘wettelijk minimum loon’).

To qualify for this amount, you must have worked at least 1,225 hours as a self-employed individual in the calendar year before your maternity leave.

If you have worked fewer than 1,225 hours in the calendar year before your maternity leave, your maternity pay will be based on your income from the previous years (going back 5 years at most). If you have only recently become self-employed, your maternity pay will be based on the earnings from your business so far.

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

Please note: If you have voluntary income protection coverage (‘vrijwillige verzekering’) with us, you will be entitled to maternity pay if you become pregnant.

If you are self-employed but also work for an employer, you will likely be entitled to 2 types of maternity pay. You will receive maternity pay for the hours you spent running your own business. But, you will also be entitled to maternity pay from your job as an employee. Your employer will apply for this other type of pay on your behalf.

Please note: You may also be entitled to 2 types of maternity pay if you receive a benefit while being self-employed. In this case, you need to apply for maternity pay yourself.

As you are self-employed, you are free to choose when you want to stop working before giving birth and when you want to start again afterwards. If you start working before your paid maternity leave ends, your maternity pay will continue as usual. Any income you are earning from running your business will not be deducted from your maternity pay.

If you become ill while on maternity leave, your maternity pay will continue as usual. If you have voluntary income protection coverage with us and you become ill before or after the start of your maternity leave, you may qualify for a sickness benefit.

If you give birth prematurely or experience a stillbirth after the 24th week of pregnancy but before your maternity leave starts, you will be entitled to paid maternity leave for 16 weeks. To arrange this, please send us the birth certificate by post to the following address:

UWV, afdeling ZW
Postbus 57015
1040 CT AMSTERDAM

If you give birth before the 24^th week of pregnancy, you are entitled to a sickness benefit.

If you experience a stillbirth but are still pregnant because you are having a multiple pregnancy, you will continue to be entitled to paid maternity leave for 8 to 10 weeks before your due date.

You must ensure the information you give us is accurate (for example, your contact details, your living situation).
You must inform us of a change in your circumstances as soon as possible (for example, if your contact details change, your living situation changes or you move abroad).
You must let us know if you give birth before your maternity leave starts.
You must let us know if you would like to change the start date of your maternity leave and/or pay.
You must respond to our letters and messages on time.

Please note: If your circumstances change while you are on maternity leave as a self-employed individual, please let us know by post to the following address:

UWV, afdeling ZW
Postbus 57015
1040 CT AMSTERDAM