Paternity and birth leave 2026: the rules

Your employee walks into the office beaming. "I'm going to be a dad." Or a co-mother. Or a co-parent. Congratulations, of course. But while they're already dreaming of nappies and sleepless nights, something else is running through your mind as the employer. How many days of leave is that again? Who pays what? And what about that dismissal protection?

No panic. This article explains exactly how paternity leave works in Belgium in 2026, what your obligations are as an employer, and what to watch out for so you handle everything correctly.

Birth leave or paternity leave: what's the difference?

Honestly? Not much. The term "paternity leave" is still used every day, but the official name has been "birth leave" for a few years now. That's not a linguistic quirk. The name change reflects the fact that not only fathers, but also co-mothers and co-parents, are entitled to this leave.

In practice, you'll hear both terms used interchangeably. As an employer, it doesn't matter which name you use, as long as you apply the rules correctly. And that's what this article is about.

Who is entitled to birth leave in Belgium?

Not everyone can simply take birth leave. The law is fairly specific about who qualifies.

Your employee is entitled to birth leave if they:

• have an employment contract (full-time or part-time)
• are the legal father of the child (legal parentage)
• are the co-mother (legal parentage through recognition)

But there's more. Co-parents without legal parentage can also take birth leave. This is a point many employers overlook. The condition? The co-parent must be living with the mother at the time of the birth. In concrete terms, that means being legally cohabiting, or living together continuously and durably for at least three years.

An important detail: the child may only have legal parentage with the mother. As soon as a second parent is legally recognised, the co-parent's entitlement lapses.

The co-parent must also sign a sworn statement declaring that they are the only person who meets the conditions to take the birth leave.

How many days of paternity leave in 2026?

Here's the key point. Since 1 January 2023, birth leave in Belgium has been 20 days. That still applies in 2026.

Those 20 days are working days for full-time employees. Working part-time? Then the days are calculated proportionally, based on your work schedule.

A note on the family credit: The federal government has announced plans to introduce an extra week of birth leave through what is known as the "family credit". At the time of writing, the exact implementation date and terms have not yet been definitively set. Keep an eye on the official channels for updates.

Multiple births

Here's a frequently asked question: do you get extra days for twins or triplets? The answer is no. The 20 days of birth leave are granted per birth event, not per child. So for twins, you get the same 20 days as for a single child.

That may feel unfair. But that's what the law says.

When and how to take the leave?

Your employee doesn't have to take the 20 days all at once. That's one of the flexible aspects of the Belgian system.

The rules are as follows:

• The leave must be taken within 4 months of the birth
• The employee chooses when and how the days are taken
• It can be consecutive, but it can also be spread across those four months
• The first three days are usually taken right after the birth, but that's not mandatory

In practice, among the employers we support, we see that most fathers take the first three days immediately after the delivery and spread the remaining days over the following weeks. But some employees take everything in one block. Both options are perfectly legal.

Requesting paternity leave: the procedure

How should your employee request birth leave? It's actually fairly simple.

The employee must notify you as the employer in advance and in writing. There's no legally prescribed application form. An email is enough. What does matter: the employee must be able to provide a birth certificate or an extract from the birth register.

As an employer, you are obliged to grant the leave. You cannot refuse it. You can discuss the scheduling, but the final say lies with the employee. The law is clear on that.

The pay: who pays what?

This is where it gets legal. Not boring legal, but relevant for your wallet.

When it comes to pay, birth leave is split into two parts:

The first 3 days: guaranteed salary

During the first three days of birth leave, you as the employer continue to pay the full salary. This works the same way as guaranteed salary during illness. Your employee notices nothing financially.

Day 4 to day 20: benefit through the health insurance fund

From the fourth day, you as the employer no longer pay any salary. Your employee then receives a benefit from the health insurance fund. That benefit amounts to 82% of the capped gross salary. Note that word "capped": there's a salary ceiling. For employees on a higher salary, this means the benefit is not 82% of their full gross salary, but 82% of the capped amount.

In concrete terms: in most cases, your employee will notice a financial difference from day four. That's something you can communicate proactively as an employer, so there are no surprises.

Want to know exactly how guaranteed salary is calculated? We previously wrote an extensive guide on guaranteed salary during illness that explains the calculation method step by step.

Which formalities must you handle as an employer?

As an employer, you have a number of administrative obligations when an employee takes birth leave. And you shouldn't underestimate them.

Dimona declaration

You need to register the absence correctly. Birth leave has a specific code in the Dimona (immediate employment declaration) and the DmfA (the quarterly declaration to the NSSO). Filling in these declarations correctly is crucial, because the health insurance fund relies on them to calculate the benefit.

Want to know more about the social documents you must keep as an employer? We explain that in a separate article.

Certificate for the health insurance fund

Your employee needs a document to claim the benefit from the fund. As the employer, you provide a "certificate of incapacity for work" form (or the equivalent for birth leave) to your employee's health insurance fund. Some funds use their own forms. Do check this.

Adjusting payroll administration

The first three days you process as normal guaranteed salary. From day four, you stop the salary payment for the birth-leave days. From then on, the employee receives the benefit directly from the health insurance fund.

Sounds like a lot of paperwork? It is. You can keep track of this yourself, or you can have your entire payroll administration handled by a payroll partner like Recruit. On our platform, leave periods are automatically processed in the payroll calculation, and the correct codes are sent straight to the NSSO. That way, you can be sure everything is right without losing any sleep over it.

Dismissal protection during birth leave

This is perhaps the most underestimated aspect of birth leave. And the aspect you need to handle most carefully as an employer.

The rule is as follows: from the moment your employee notifies you in writing about the birth leave, dismissal protection applies. That protection runs until five months after the birth.

In concrete terms, this means you may not unilaterally terminate the employment contract during that period. Unless you can demonstrate that the dismissal has nothing to do with the birth leave. The burden of proof lies with you as the employer.

What if you do it anyway?

If you dismiss an employee during the protection period and you can't prove that the dismissal is unrelated to the birth leave, you owe a fixed indemnity. That indemnity amounts to six months' gross salary, on top of any severance pay.

Six months. That's not a small amount. So it's essential that you, as the employer, thoroughly document why you might proceed with a dismissal during that period. And honestly? Better to avoid it if you can.

Want to know more about the obligations when an employee is ill? Specific rules on dismissal protection apply there too.

Birth leave and its impact on your labour cost

Many employers wonder what birth leave costs. The honest truth? The direct cost is manageable.

You pay three days of guaranteed salary. The remaining 17 days are covered by the health insurance fund. But there are indirect costs to keep in mind:

• Replacement: if your employee holds a crucial role, you may need to bring in a temporary replacement
• Loss of productivity: 20 days of absence has an impact, especially in a small team
• Administration: processing it correctly takes time (or money, if you outsource it)

After more than 15 years in Belgian payroll, we know that for many SMEs the administrative burden is the biggest stumbling block. Not the labour cost itself, but processing all the documents and declarations correctly.

Curious how to calculate the total labour cost of an employee, including every type of leave? Check out our guide on calculating labour cost for a complete overview.

Birth leave for the self-employed

A quick side note. Self-employed fathers and co-mothers are also entitled to birth leave, but the arrangement is different. Self-employed people get a maximum of 20 half-days or 10 full days of birth leave, to be taken within four months of the birth. The benefit is paid by the social insurance fund.

This article focuses on employees on a payroll, but if you have self-employed people in your network, it's good to know they follow a different set of rules.

Practical tips for employers

After years of experience with thousands of employers who have to process birth leave, we've gathered a few practical insights.

Communicate proactively. As soon as an employee announces they're going to be a father (or co-mother, or co-parent), briefly explain how the leave works. Many employees don't know they can spread the days out. A short conversation prevents misunderstandings.

Document everything. Keep the written notification of the birth leave. Note when the protection period starts and ends. This protects you as the employer in case of any disputes.

Plan ahead. Twenty days is almost a full month. Discuss with your employee how they want to take the leave, so you can redistribute the workload. You can't refuse it, but you can work out a schedule together that works for everyone.

Don't forget the Dimona. A late or incorrect declaration can lead to problems with the health insurance fund's benefit. Our HR experts handle questions on this topic every day, and they see that filling in the Dimona code for birth leave correctly is a common stumbling block.

Check your Joint Committee. Some sectors provide extra benefits on top of the statutory birth leave. In certain Joint Committees there are additional allowances or extra days of leave. Consult the sector-level collective labour agreements for your JC number.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employee refuse the birth leave? Yes, birth leave is a right, not an obligation. If your employee doesn't want to take it, they don't have to. But in practice, most employees take the full leave.

Does birth leave count towards the calculation of holiday pay? Yes. The days of birth leave are treated as equivalent for the calculation of holiday pay and the end-of-year bonus. So your employee is not financially disadvantaged in the longer term.

What if the birth takes place during a holiday period? The four-month leave period starts running from the day of the delivery, regardless of whether that day falls within a holiday period. If your employee is on holiday when the child is born, they can take the birth-leave days at a later point within the four-month window.

My employee works part-time. How many days do they get? A part-time employee is entitled to the same 20 days of birth leave. But the "day" is calculated based on the contractual work schedule. Does your employee work three days a week? Then only the working days count as leave days.

Can I bring in a temp worker as a replacement? Absolutely. Replacement due to birth leave is a valid reason for temporary agency work. Just make sure the contract is drawn up correctly, stating the replacement reason.

In short

Birth leave in 2026 means 20 days for fathers, co-mothers and co-parents. The first three days are on your account as the employer; after that, the health insurance fund takes over with a benefit of 82% of the capped gross salary. Your employee can spread the days across four months after the birth. And don't forget the dismissal protection: it runs until five months after the birth.

At its core, the arrangement isn't that complicated. It's the administration around it that causes the headaches. Correct Dimona codes, certificates for the health insurance fund, adjustments to payroll administration. That's where the real challenge lies for most employers.

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How Recruit helps you with this

Calculating guaranteed salary correctly and keeping track of leave days? On our platform, it happens automatically.

With Recruit:

• Contracts in under 60 seconds: create trial and temp contracts without the hassle
• Automatic payroll calculation: correct pay in line with current legislation and your Joint Committee
• Dimona and social documents: we handle all the declarations, you focus on your business
• 24/7 personal support: always a dedicated contact who knows your company
• No fixed monthly costs: pay only for what you use

Try Recruit or get in touch with our HR experts for tailored advice.

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The information in this article is purely informative and does not replace professional legal or accounting advice. Labour legislation changes regularly. Always consult the current legislation or get in touch with an HR expert for advice tailored to your situation. Please note: the rules may differ per Joint Committee and sector. Amounts and percentages in this article are based on the regulations in force in 2026.