Returning to work after birth: make a practical plan

Plan the week around the first working day

Going back to work involves more than a date in an employer’s calendar. You need arrangements for the journey, childcare opening hours, handovers and the ordinary household jobs around them. Start by drawing one typical week and one week when something does not go to plan.

This guide focuses on employees in the Netherlands. Self-employed parents can use the household worksheet, but employer obligations do not automatically apply to their own business. See the self-employment guide for that preparation.

Make three dates visible

Record the confirmed end of your current leave, your childcare start and your first working day. If other leave follows maternity or birth leave, give it a separate line. Ask the provider how any introductory visits are arranged and when they expect an adult to remain available.

Check that you have actual confirmations. “We asked for Monday” and “Monday is contracted” are different entries. Likewise, a proposed leave pattern is not the same as the pattern recorded by your employer.

If the dates do not connect, write down the gap before solving it. Who will be available, for which hours, and what still needs agreement? Use the leave guide to prepare the relevant employer questions.

Draw a week that includes travel

Day	Work and travel	Childcare	Drop-off and collection	Uncovered time
Monday	Fill in start, finish and journeys	Confirmed hours	Named adult for each	Record the gap
Tuesday	Include meetings outside usual hours	Confirmed hours	Named adult for each	Record the gap
Wednesday	Mark leave separately	Confirmed hours	Named adult for each	Record the gap

Repeat for your actual working days. Home working still needs a childcare arrangement for the time you are working. Include a realistic handover rather than treating the provider’s closing time as your office departure time.

Add who can respond if childcare calls during the day. Ask any backup person directly; being nearby does not mean being available. Review permissions and contact details with the provider.

Distinguish leave from changing your contract

Rijksoverheid explains that parental leave leaves your employment contract, own role and contracted hours intact. A temporary leave pattern and a reduction in contracted hours are different arrangements.

For a formal hours-change request, the current government conditions include 26 weeks’ service and a written request at least two months ahead. The employer responds no later than one month before the intended start and may refuse for compelling business reasons. The usual ten-employee threshold does not apply to requests to care for a child under eight. Changing hours affects salary and pension accrual.

Read the full conditions and your contract or CAO before deciding. Ask payroll for an estimate of the financial effect and your pension provider about pension consequences. Record whether any agreed change is temporary and when it ends.

Prepare a focused conversation with your manager

Take a one-page proposal with your return date, leave pattern, availability and decisions needed. You can use these prompts:

• Which work has changed while I was away?
• Which responsibilities need a handover back to me?
• What should the first few weeks prioritise?
• Which meetings conflict with the agreed hours?
• When will we review how the arrangement works?

Summarise agreements in writing and identify unanswered questions. A gradual practical handover is something to discuss, not an automatic entitlement to a particular reduced workload.

Arrange feeding facilities before you need them

For employees who breastfeed or express milk, Arboportaal explains the right to paid interruptions during the child’s first nine months, up to one quarter of working time per shift. Agree timing with the employer. The employer must provide a suitable lockable space.

Government guidance lists the room requirements, including privacy and a functioning refrigerator. Ask where it is, how access works and whom to contact if it is unavailable. For questions about feeding itself, use your own qualified care professional.

Have a route for concerns and a review date

If you have questions about health in relation to work, employees can consult the bedrijfsarts without employer permission, including before sickness absence. Ask how to contact the service. A timetable cannot determine whether you are medically ready to work.

Choose a practical review date after returning. Check actual travel, childcare handovers, workload and the household division. Change the arrangement that causes the difficulty rather than assuming everybody simply needs to organise themselves better.