An article about their study (in Dutch) has been published on the online economists platform ESB.

For their research, Deng and Van de Kraats linked administrative data from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV, the Dutch public body that administers employee insurance benefits) to data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). They focused on supplementary birth leave, a scheme that since July 2020 gives parents whose partner has given birth the right to 5 working weeks of paid leave in the first 6 months after the birth of a child.

The analysis shows that the use of supplementary birth leave is strongly related to income. Participation is particularly low among the lowest income groups. As income rises, the use of leave also increases. Among the highest income groups, take-up falls again.

According to the researchers, this pattern supports the idea that financial considerations play an important role in the decision to take leave. During supplementary birth leave, employees receive a UWV benefit of 70 percent of their daily wage, up to a maximum of 70 percent of the statutory maximum daily wage. For employees with a low income, this temporary loss of income can be a major barrier. For higher incomes, the cap on the benefit can lead to a relatively large income loss.

Policy goals not reached for all groups

Dutch leave policy aims to reduce the economic disadvantage that women face after the birth of children, to promote a more equal division of care tasks and to strengthen the involvement of fathers. Partner leave is an important instrument in this policy.

The findings by Deng and Van de Kraats show that the current design of supplementary birth leave does not benefit all groups equally. If access to paid leave depends in practice on whether families can afford the income loss, there is a risk that policy meant to reduce gender inequality instead creates new inequalities between income groups. Middle incomes are best able to use the scheme, while lower income families are more likely to miss out on the intended benefits of partner leave.

This suggests that the level and cap of the benefit are crucial for the effectiveness and fairness of leave policy. If policy makers want to reach lower income groups better, they may need to reconsider how income loss during leave is distributed and whether additional measures are needed.

Need for further research

Income is probably not the only factor behind differences in leave use. Social norms, preferences, company culture and the complexity of the leave system may also play a role. The researchers therefore call for more research into the causes of these differences and into the question of whether the expansion of leave schemes actually contributes to policy goals such as more gender equality, a more balanced division of tasks within families and greater involvement of fathers in childcare.