Maternity allowance for self-employed professionals

If you are a female freelancer/self-employed professional based in the Netherlands, you are entitled to an allowance during pregnancy or after childbirth under the Maternity Benefit Scheme for the Self-Employed (Zelfstandig en Zwangerregeling, ZEZ, in Dutch).

You can apply for this allowance by sending a ZEZ application form (in Dutch) to the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV).

Maximum allowance

The maximum amount of the prenatal or childbirth allowance is 100% of the statutory gross minimum wage. You receive a benefit to this amount if you have worked for at least 1,225 hours in the preceding year. If you have worked fewer than 1,225 hours, the benefit depends on profit/income in the years before the benefit is paid. The minimum term of the benefit is 16 weeks.