For urgent, unforeseen personal situations: what calamity leave covers, how it's paid, and how to request it.
Calamity leave is a statutory right under the Wet arbeid en zorg (WAZO) in the Netherlands. It lets an employee take immediate, short-term paid leave to deal with urgent and unforeseen personal circumstances that need attention right away.
Calamity leave is for situations that are both urgent and unforeseen. It covers the time needed to address the immediate situation, not an extended period of care. If ongoing care is needed, care leave may apply instead.
What counts as calamity leave?
Examples of situations that qualify:
A death in the immediate family (time to make initial arrangements)
A partner going into labour
A child or housemate suddenly falling seriously ill and needing immediate action
An urgent situation at home (e.g. a burst pipe, fire)
Entitlement & pay
Duration : as long as strictly necessary to resolve the urgent situation. This can be a few hours (e.g. calling a plumber for a burst pipe) or stretch to a few days (e.g. arranging a funeral). There's no fixed cap, but it's not intended for prolonged absence.
Pay : the employer pays 100% of the employee's salary during calamity leave.
If calamity leave and short-term care leave overlap, in practice the calamity leave covers the first day, and short-term care leave (paid at 70%) takes over from there.
How calamity leave is processed
There's no UWV submission involved for calamity leave. Everything is handled internally: the employee notifies their team lead as soon as possible. The employee may be asked to provide proof of the situation afterwards.