Foster parent leave: important clarifications!

Two royal decrees containing clarifications about foster parent leave have recently been published in the Belgian Official Gazette.

Remember: on 1 January 2019, the regulation on foster parent leave for an employee who is appointed as a foster parent in the context of long-term foster care came into force.

However, clarification was needed, in particular as regards the arrangements for sharing the additional weeks of leave between the two persons in the foster family and the pay of the employee during the foster parent leave.

Distribution of the extra weeks

Reminder: an employee who is appointed as a foster parent and who accommodates a minor child in his or her family as part of long-term care is entitled to an uninterrupted period of foster parent leave of up to 6 weeks to care for the child.

In addition, a gradual extension of the duration is scheduled, according to the below "agenda":

• 1 week from 01 January 2019;
• 2 weeks from 01 January 2021;
• 3 weeks from 01 January 2023;
• 4 weeks from 01 January 2025;
• 5 weeks from 01 January 2027;

If the foster family consists of 2 persons, both of whom are appointed as a foster parent of the child, the additional weeks are divided between them.

New! It is now stipulated that, in that case, the employee who makes use of the right to the extra weeks, at the latest at the time when the foster parent leave commences, shall provide his employer with a declaration of honour which, as the case may be, establishes the division of these weeks between the two foster parents or the allocation of this week or weeks to the sole foster parent who makes use of this right. This clarification came into effect on 18 March 2019.

Employee’s pay

The pay of the employee during foster parent leave is now determined.

During the first 3 days of the foster parent leave, the employee is entitled to retain his normal wage payable by the employer.

For the following days, the employee will receive a benefit from his health insurance fund, the amount of which is equal to 82% of the capped wage loss.

Sources: Act of 21 December 2018 containing various provisions on social matters, Belgian Official Gazette of 17 January 2019; Royal Decree of 1 March 2019 implementing certain provisions of article 30sexies of the Employment Contract Act of 3 July 1978 relating to foster parent leave, Belgian Official Gazette of 18 March 2019. Royal Decree of 23 March 2019 amending, as regards the strengthening of adoption leave and the introduction of foster parent leave, the Royal Decree of 3 July 1996 implementing the Act on compulsory insurance for medical care and benefits, coordinated on 14 July 1994, Belgian State Gazette of 4 April 2019.