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Having a letter granting or denying parental leave drafted by an employment lawyer typically costs between 250 and 750 euros, depending on whether you grant the leave as requested or wish to modify the arrangement. A single confirmation letter falls at the lower end of that range, while a substantiated change due to a compelling business interest falls at the upper end. Expect a turnaround time of two to five working days. Below is an explanation of what you receive, how the process works, and when it is worthwhile to have someone review it.
The short answer
- Confirmation letter: 250 to 400 euros for a letter granting the leave and outlining the consequences.
- Modification of the calculation: 500 to 750 euros, because the substantial business interest must be substantiated with facts and figures.
- Review of your own concept: 150 to 350 euros, with concrete text proposals instead of a general assessment.
- Repeated use template: 400 to 800 euros, recouped from approximately the third notification.
- Lead time: two to five working days, shorter for urgent requests as the four-week limit for the start date approaches.
Have a letter drafting the approval or rejection of parental leave: what you receive
When requesting a quote, do not ask for the hourly rate, but for the delivery package. A complete project includes:
- A brief intake regarding the report, the schedule, the collective labor agreement, and the relationship with the employee.
- The letter itself, with the allocated hours, the period and the distribution, the breakdown between the paid and unpaid parts, and the remaining leave balance.
- A breakdown of the financial consequences: gross salary during leave, accrual of holiday entitlement, holiday allowance, and pension.
- In the event of a change: substantiation of the compelling business or service interest, with an alternative that grants the same number of leave hours.
- Instructions for payroll administration and for applying for the UWV benefit.
What is usually excluded: conducting the conversation with the employee, correspondence with the UWV, and any potential legal proceedings. These components are quoted separately, so ask about them in advance if you expect the conversation to be difficult.
The process step by step
- Intake. The key questions are: when was the notification made, what was reported, and when does the leave commence? These three determine whether you can still adjust the details, as that authority expires four weeks before the commencement date (Art. 6:5 Wazo). Therefore, submit the notification itself, not a summary of it.
- Assessment of the law. The number of hours according to Art. 6:2 Wazo, i.e. 26 times the weekly working hours per child, the age of the child, previously taken leave with this or a previous employer, and the question whether the paid portion still falls within the first year of life.
- Draft. You will receive a letter confirming the leave and detailing the consequences, or, in the event of a change, a letter regarding consultation, substantiation, an alternative, and a timeframe.
- Coordination with payroll administration. The new gross salary, accrual of holiday and holiday allowance, and pension contributions are verified before the letter is sent out. Otherwise, the first payslip will be incorrect, and the discussion will start again.
- Delivery. An editable file plus brief instructions, so that you can reuse the letter yourself for a subsequent notification.
What causes the price to go up
Four factors explain the difference between 250 and 750 euros:
- Change in staffing. By far the largest cost item. The compelling business or service interest must be substantiated with staffing figures, rosters, and the replaceability of the position. That is research work, not paperwork. The leave entitlement itself remains fully intact; only the staffing shifts.
- Agreement (CLA). Many CLAs have their own arrangements, such as continued payment above the 70 percent of the UWV (Dutch Social Security Agency) amount, accrual of holiday hours during unpaid leave, or a different notification period. These provisions must be reviewed and processed.
- Overlap of leave types. If parental leave overlaps with birth leave, supplementary birth leave, emergency leave, or long-term care leave, the balances and benefits must be aligned.
- Strained relationship. If there is already a dispute regarding performance, a request for adjustment of working hours, or an impending dismissal, the letter also becomes a file document. The wording must then withstand the accusation of disadvantage due to taking leave.
Practical example: a healthcare organization with fifteen employees received three notifications for the same service in one quarter. They had a single template drawn up for 650 euros, with a separate variant for changing the details and a calculation attachment for payroll administration. The third letter took another half hour internally.
DIY, template or custom work
A free sample letter from the internet is useful for the simple situation: the leave is granted as stated, there are no specific details regarding the collective labor agreement, and no other leave overlaps. However, do check three things that are missing from almost every free template. First, whether the paid portion of nine weeks is mentioned separately, including the condition that it must be taken within the first year of life. Second, whether the remaining leave balance is stated. Third, whether the consequences for holiday accrual, holiday allowance, and pension are specifically filled in, rather than simply dismissed with a reference to the regulations.
If you wish to modify the details, a template is rarely sufficient. The substantiation differs on a case-by-case basis, and the four-week period is strict. A change submitted too late or with insufficient substantiation results in a wage claim for the hours the employee ultimately stays at home, while the leave entitlement remains fully intact.
Honest recommendation
You don't always need a lawyer for this. If you grant the leave as stated, are not covered by a collective labour agreement with its own leave policy, and no other leave overlaps, then you can easily write a correct letter yourself with a good template and half an hour of attention. Have the payroll department provide the amounts, and you are done.
Do have it done as soon as you wish to change the requested arrangement, as soon as the collective labour agreement deviates from the law, in the event of a combination of multiple types of leave, or when the employment relationship is already under strain. In those cases, the letter is no longer an administrative act but a document in the file. The costs of a substantiated letter are far below those of a wage claim for half a year's leave hours.
Read more: what is a letter granting or rejecting parental leave and example of a letter granting or rejecting parental leave. You can arrange this immediately via the page draft or check a letter granting or rejecting parental leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
A confirmation letter granting the leave typically costs 250 to 400 euros. If you wish to modify the requested details, the cost rises to 500 to 750 euros, as the compelling business interest must be substantiated with occupancy figures. Having only your own draft reviewed costs 150 to 350 euros.
Two to five working days is normal. If the four-week limit for the start date is approaching, after which you can no longer change the assignment, expedited processing is possible. In that case, submit the original notification, the schedule, and the occupancy figures immediately.
Because a change consists not of paperwork but of substantiation. It must be demonstrated that the requested arrangement affects a significant business or service interest, that consultation has taken place, and that an alternative exists with the same number of leave hours. This requires schedules, occupancy figures, and an analysis of replaceability.
For a simple allocation, yes. In that case, check whether the paid portion of nine weeks is specified separately with the condition that it falls within the first year of life, whether the remaining leave balance is stated, and whether the consequences for holiday accrual, holiday allowance, and pension are concretely specified. Those three points are almost always missing.
The employee's written notification including the date, the employment contract, the schedule, the applicable collective labour agreement, the number of leave hours already taken, and the child's date of birth. This makes it immediately clear how much entitlement there is, how much of it has been paid, and whether you can still adjust the arrangement.
From about three notifications per year, yes. A template with a calculation attachment for payroll administration costs 400 to 800 euros and reduces internal processing per notification to about half an hour. Have a variant created immediately to allow for changes to the details.
If you change the arrangement without proper substantiation or after the four-week limit, the stated arrangement applies, and the employee may claim wages for the hours wrongfully worked or unable to take. Additionally, the course of events may be a factor in a dispute regarding disadvantage due to taking leave.
