Dan Minette schreef:
> --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >Too many companys are still throwing out pregnant women, or simply
> >don't hire them if they get half a chance to do so
> >without legal hassle.
> >
>
> That doesn't seem to happen as much in the US. I've got a quick question
> for you. Is there mandatory paid maternity leave, or is it an unpaid leave?
Mandatory and paid. In the Netherlands you get 100% of your pay but 50% of the
pay comes from your boss. It is very much treated as sick leave. Only problem is
that you _have to_ stay home for 16 weeks before you are allowed to return. In
the Belgian system you get 80% of your last paycheck and _can_ stay home 15
weeks if you want to. One week before birth is mandatory as are six after birth,
the rest is up to yourself. It is paid by the social security system not the
boss, although the boss can choose to fill in for the 20%. Your pay can be spent
on a replacement. Problem in Belgium is they cannot fire you for the whole of
your pregnancy and the three months after you have returned to work. So this
only works if the boss thinks he has work for you for at least the next year.
Sonja
