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Maternity leave rights giving birth out of belgium
I have the intention to give birth in my home country which is out of Europe and stay on for my maternity leave. I am a full time employee of a financial institution and had been working with the same company for the past five years.
Today, I have receive a call from my mutual (CM) and had been told that I don't have the rights to maternity leave if I give birth out of Belgium hence no salary is coming in to my account as long as I stay in my home country. I am confused. I thought I am entitled to my maternity leave rights wherever I may be. It is my right and what makes the difference if I am in Belgium or not. I have known people that gave birth and left for holidays to Australia just two weeks after giving birth in Belgium.
I am even willing to bear the labour and hospitalization fee myself knowing that it might not be reimbursed by mutual. But not giving me my maternity leave rights seems absurd to me.
Can anyone here with similar experience and know of any cases like mine please advice? I am currently very sad that I won't be able to stay in my home country.
Talk to HR - Not your mutuelle.
Your mutuelle is telling you that you have no rights to maternity pay. That is different from maternity leave (which from memory is 3 or 4 months)
How are you going to travel that far being so heavily pregnant? I thought airlines didn't like people to fly when they were past 6 months gone?
Maternity leave is your statutory right to have time off when you become a mother. Hence see HR.
Maternity pay is the money you get when you're off. That can include both what you get as statutory maternity pay from your mutuelle and any top-ups from your employer.
You sound confused, but somebody, where you work, gets paid to know this shit and sort it out. That's where you need to focus.
I am utterly confused as to why you don't want to bring a child into the world supported by the amazing healthcare infrastructure and professionals here in Belgium, but I'm sure you have the child's best interests at the forefront of your mind in making that decision?
And good work not losing your temper in the face of completely judgmental personal questions while receiving the advice. You are a better woman than I.
Typical J.
With quick search on conditions on maternity leave on the official websites I couldn't find any requirement linking the place of birth with the right for the maternity allowance, but this might be such a rare case that it simply isn't mentioned. However on administrative side it is true that mutuelle requires a specific birth certificate addressed by the commune before the maternity allowance can be paid. If the baby is born outside Belgium and not registered here within the set time limit (a week) you can't get the document in question, which would indicate that indeed baby has to be born in Belgium for the mother to be entitled to the maternity pay. Maternity leave is not accrued right (like f. ex. holidays) so in this respect your employment history is not relevant, but the level of the allowance is defined based on your salary and employment status (independent, employee, civil servant or unemployed).
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It's probably a good idea to get back to your mutuelle to clarify that your residency will remain in Belgium and your employment will continue during your maternity leave and see if they have really understood your situation correctly. Talk also to your HR/Payroll, they should be able to find a contact who could better answer questions on this, the mutuelle desk officers don't always have full information/understanding on more complex cases.
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Maternity allowance is paid by the mutuelle, not your employer, so if they decide you are not entitled for the allowance you will not receive anything. You are in any case entitled to the leave itself and actually are not allowed to work during the compulsory 'repos maternite' (1 week before and 9 weeks after the birth).
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I'm sorry I can't be any help, but would be really interested to hear how your case turns out. Good luck!
Regardless of your rights, you're going to be flying towards the end of your pregnancy. You don't have a big window to do this in, and depending on how the pregnancy goes, you may not be able to travel at all, so you should make sure you consider where you might want to give birth in Belgium when choosing a gynaecologist. There is a significant chance that you'll not be able to carry out plan A, especially if you don't already have a history of uncomplicated births, so have a plan B ready.
Hi LG99,
I hope, you are still reading this thread ....
Would like to draw your attention also to J's last entry: it's important.
All airlines do not allow pregnant women to fly being later than end of 7th month / beginning 8th month. Asked a friend, being a flight attendant: the final decision is taken by the pilot, having the full reponsability for this flight. They have the full right to expell you from your airplane even 5 minutes before heading off - end of story, no flight & no refund of your ticket/s. The laws are on their side as the danger of giving birth 'in the air' is too big - so have plan B ready as J suggests.
Good luck for you, your baby and the papa.
