As an employer you cannot refuse full-time, half-time or one-fifth parental leave if the employee meets the conditions. You can postpone it by up to 6 months for a serious business reason. The flexible forms, such as one-tenth or full-time leave in weeks, you may refuse. Always in writing, with reasons, within 1 month of the request.
Can an employer refuse parental leave in Belgium?
It depends on the form requested. For each child, the employee is entitled to one of these forms, or a combination:
| Form | Duration | Minimum per request | Refuse? | Postpone? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 4 months | 1 month | No | Yes, with an alternative |
| Half-time | 8 months | 2 months | No | Yes |
| One-fifth | 20 months | 5 months | No | Yes |
| One-tenth | 40 months | 10 months | Yes | No |
| Full-time in weeks | 16 weeks | 1 week | Yes | No |
| Half-time per month | 8 months | 1 month | Yes | No |
Only a full-time employee can take half-time, one-fifth or one-tenth leave. There is one exception for the flexible forms: a remaining balance of full-time leave of less than 4 weeks, or a last month of half-time leave, can be taken once without your agreement. You cannot refuse that balance, but you can postpone it.
You may also refuse any request if the employee does not meet the conditions:
- Length of service. They must have worked for you for 12 months in the 15 months before the written request. Periods as an agency worker with you count.
- Age of the child. The leave must start before the child turns 12, or 21 for a child with a recognised disability.
- Balance. The right applies per child and per parent. Anyone who already took leave for the same child only has the remaining balance.
There is no exception for small businesses, unlike time credit for employers, where no right exists below a certain headcount.
Postponing parental leave: when and how
You may postpone the start of full-time, half-time or one-fifth parental leave if leave in the requested period would seriously disrupt the proper running of the business. You must:
- Do so in writing, within 1 month of the request.
- Give detailed reasons. A general reference to "busy times" is not enough. You explain why it is concretely impossible in this case: the only driver with an ADR certificate in peak season, a site manager in the middle of a handover.
- Limit it to 6 months.
- For full-time leave, offer an alternative. You offer in writing another form or period, wholly or partly within the requested start and end dates, and give the employee at least 1 week to reply.
After you postpone, the employee may withdraw the leave before it starts. A flexible form that depends on your agreement cannot be postponed: you say yes or no.
Requesting parental leave from the employer: the deadlines on a timeline
The employee notifies you at least 2 and at most 3 months in advance, by registered letter or by a letter of which you sign a copy as receipt. It states the start and end dates. You may accept a shorter notice period. Each request covers one continuous period. Anyone asking for full-time leave in weeks may request separate weeks, spread over at most 3 months.
Example. A white-collar employee at a wholesaler hands in a letter on Tuesday 10 March 2026 for one-fifth parental leave from Monday 1 June 2026, for five months.
- 10 March: dismissal protection starts.
- By 10 April at the latest: your written reply if you want to postpone.
- With postponement, the leave starts by 1 December 2026 at the latest, 6 months after the requested start.
- Without postponement, the leave runs from 1 June to 31 October 2026.
- By 1 June at the latest: the employee provides proof of birth.
- 31 January 2027: dismissal protection ends, 3 months after the leave.
The employee applies for the career break allowance from the National Employment Office (RVA) themselves, using its forms.
Parental leave and protection against dismissal
From the day of the written request until 3 months after the leave ends, you may not dismiss the employee, except for a reason unrelated to the parental leave. You must prove that reason yourself, and at the employee's request you state it in writing. If the leave does not start, the protection ends 1 month after the requested start date.
Worked example. A white-collar employee earns € 3,500 gross a month and takes one-fifth parental leave. You dismiss them during the leave with twelve weeks' payment in lieu of notice, without a provable reason unrelated to the leave.
- You calculate the payment in lieu of notice on the full-time salary, as if they had not reduced their hours: 12 weeks based on € 3,500 a month.
- On top of that comes the lump sum. The law does not say which salary to base it on. In a case on part-time time credit, the Court of Cassation held that using the reduced salary can amount to indirect discrimination against women. To be safe, use the full-time salary: 6 x € 3,500 = € 21,000, rather than 6 x € 2,800 = € 16,800 on the four-fifths salary.
If you dismiss with a notice period during full-time parental leave, the notice does not run during the leave. For a reduction such as one-fifth, it keeps running. How to calculate the notice period itself is explained in our guide on the employer's notice period.
Two model letters
Postponing one-fifth parental leave:
We received your request for one-fifth parental leave from 1 June 2026 on 10 March 2026. We are postponing the start to 1 September 2026. Reason: you are the only buyer for the building materials department, and June to August is the season with the highest volumes. The replacement we are hiring starts on 1 July and needs two months to learn the job. You may withdraw your request before your leave starts.
Refusing one-tenth parental leave:
We received your request for one-tenth parental leave on 10 March 2026. We do not agree, because half a day's absence a week in your team of three drivers means the fixed delivery rounds cannot be covered. Full-time, half-time or one-fifth parental leave remains your right. We are happy to discuss which form suits you.
Mistakes we often see
- Replying too late. After one month, postponement is no longer possible, and for one-tenth or a flexible form your silence counts as agreement.
- Postponing without a concrete reason. "Busy period" is not a justification.
- Not offering an alternative for full-time leave, which makes the postponement invalid.
- Forgetting the protection during a restructuring or when advertising for a permanent replacement.
- Counting parental leave towards the 5% time credit threshold. Thematic leave does not count there.
Statutory annual leave, unpaid leave and training leave follow their own rules. We compare them in can an employer refuse holiday.
What Business Centrum does for you
For every request we check length of service, the child's age and the balance, and prepare your reply within the month: agreement, postponement with reasons and an alternative, or refusal of a flexible form. We help with the RVA forms, adjust payroll and monitor the protection period, together with Acerta. Day-to-day management sits in our leave and absence service.