Home / Practical Guides / Can you get parental leave as a self-employed worker? Your rights after birth or adoption

Can you get parental leave as a self-employed worker? Your rights after birth or adoption

Full-time self-employed

Updated on: February 17, 2023

Reading time: 3 minutes

As an entrepreneur, your social contributions typically provide less compared to the social benefits you would have as an employee. But what about your social rights if you have a baby or you adopt? Are you also entitled to paid maternity or parental leave? The future is bright, because even as a self-employed person you receive a financial boost.

Am I entitled to maternity leave as a freelancer?

As a businesswoman, you are also entitled to maternity leave: 12 weeks in total, 13 if you give birth to multiple children. 3 of your 12 weeks of maternity leave are part of your compulsory maternity leave. You are obliged to take them:

7 days before the estimated date of birth
2 weeks after the birth

You may take the remaining 9 (or 10) weeks as you choose, as long as you do so in blocks of 7 calendar days. After the birth you get a period of 36 weeks in which you can take the postnatal leave.

Adoption leave and self-employment benefits

Planning to adopt? Even as a self-employed person you are entitled to adoption leave: up to 6 weeks. You can extend this period in some situations. You will also receive an allowance.

What benefit will I receive during my maternity leave?

During the first 4 weeks, for each week of maternity leave, you will receive maternity benefits of €767.4 in 2022 - half if you take half-time maternity leave.
From the 5th week, you will receive an allowance of €701.92.
If you adopt a child, your adoption allowance will be €535.4 per week.

Please note: to be entitled to the benefits mentioned above, you must have paid your social contributions in the second and third trimester of your pregnancy. For adoption, these are the social contributions in the quarter preceding the adoption.

Maternity leave: full-time or half-time?

As a self-employed person, you can take your maternity leave full time or half time. In the first case, you must completely stop your self-employed activity during your leave. Are you going to work half-time during your maternity leave? Then you get 18 half-time weeks of leave.

Extending maternity leave

Does your baby have to stay in the hospital for more than 7 days immediately after birth? Then you can extend your maternity leave by the number of full weeks your baby stayed in the hospital - you don't need to count the first 7 days. You can extend your maternity leave by up to 24 weeks, or by 48 if you take your maternity leave half-time.

Your benefits if you have a child as a self-employed person

Exemption from social security contributions: during your maternity leave, you do not have to pay social security contributions in the first quarter after giving birth, while retaining your social rights. The catch? Your possible supplementary pension contribution for that quarter is not deductible.
Free service cheques: are you picking up your business after your maternity leave and are you paying the social contributions of a self-employed person in a main occupation? Then you get 105 free service cheques for domestic help.
Start amount or maternity money: just like everyone else, you get a nice little extra for every child that is born or adopted: For Flanders, this is called the Start Amount (adoption): in 2022, it will be €1,167.32.
In Wallonia and Brussels, it is the Maternity Fee or the Adoption Fee: €1,167.32 for each child. In Brussels, that amount only applies to your first child, and you receive €530.60 per subsequent child.

What about birth and paternity leave?

Will you become a father or co-parent and are you self-employed as a main occupation or a working spouse? Then you are entitled to 15 days of paternity or birth leave with benefits. If you take a maximum of 8 days of that leave, you can apply for free service cheques as compensation. Certain conditions apply: ask your social security office if you are eligible for this leave.

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?

Did you find what you were looking for?

Tax brackets Belgium 2025

As a self-employed individual with a sole proprietorship, your income is taxed under the personal in...

Peppol e-invoicing: is it free of charge?

Starting from 2026, all self-employed individuals will need to send their invoices electronically in...

The VAT reverse charge: what you need to know as a self-employed professional

The VAT reverse charge is a complicated word for a simple concept. It helps you purchase and sell sm...

Hear it straight from our users

Depuis 3 ans, j'ai le soutien de Accountable pour relancer mon activité d'indépendante en personne physique : c'est un soutien précieux; à chaque questionnement, je trouve des réponses, un appui, des conseils. Et cela me permet d'avancer sereinement, de continuer même dans les périodes de flou. Car je ne me sens pas seule et je peux me projeter dans les mois et les années qui viennent. Merci à eux!

Odile Vandermeeren

I appreciated the quick response to my question and the help I received. It gives me peace of mind as I learn how to be freelance in Belgium.

Anonymous

Beste, Ik kreeg eerst een heel duidelijke uitleg. Begrijpelijk want jullie kunnen niet weten dat ik de term intracommunatair wel ken. Ondanks het feit dat ik fout zat vermits ik dacht dat het over een verkoop ging bleven jullie zelfs aan de hand van mijn aankoopfactuur alles duidelijk weerleggen. Uiteindelijk werd het me dankzij jullie duidelijk dat ik de stap 'betaald´ zetten vergeten was en dat het daarom bleef staan als onbetaald op jullie scherm.

Evelyne Bombaerts

I love you guys! Altijd professioneel advies en praktische tips. Dit helpt mij als start-up enorm om verder te groeien. Dankjewel!

Leen Vandenbosch

Super responsive and knowledge team.

Gauthier Muguerza Bengoechea

Ik ben heel blij dat ik mijn boekhouding zelf kan beheren. Zit ik toch eens vast? Dan krijg altijd een snel en duidelijk antwoord op mijn vragen via de belastingscoaches.

Jorien Raeymaekers

Duidelijke uitleg van de vriendelijke belastingcoaches met een zeer duidelijke opmaak. Zo raak je niet verloren in de soms lange uitleg bij complexe vragen. Op het einde van het gesprek ben je effectief geholpen en een stukje slimmer!

Tijl Tytgat

Très présente, a l’écoute, réactivité formidable. Les améliorations à faire pour part, sont dans les mise en page des devis et des factures. Augmenter le chois des ventes dans les prix ex prix de l’heure, mais aussi prix du mètre, m2. Possibilité de souligner mettre en gras etc...

Guy Mert

Rapide et efficace pour répondre à ma question dans un domaine bien précis avec un vocabulaire bien vulgarisé

Vincent De Jonghe

I have recently started a self-employed activity and Accountable has provided me with excellent service and support along the way. I have collaborated mainly with Louise and Agata, and their assistance and service-mindedness have been exemplary. I'm looking forward to using the Accountable services while performing my self-employed activity.

Ljupce Stojkovski