RESTART Programme

Researcher A benefited from a 120-day parental leave, and this number of days elapsed exactly on February 16, 2023. In this case, the researcher reaches 120 days on the first day of the eligibility window (February 16, 2023 to April 9, 2024) and is therefore eligible to submit her application.

Researcher B took 120 days of parental leave on April 9, 2024 (the reference date for eligibility purposes) and will continue to take this leave for another 30 days. If she continues to take parental leave after the reference date, is she eligible? Yes, because the day on which she reached 120 days of leave occurred between February 16, 2023 and April 9, 2024, and she can therefore submit her application.

Researcher C is currently on shared parental leave starting on November 15, 2023 which, with interpolated periods of leave, will end on May 15, 2024. If, by April 9, 2024, the researcher has taken a total of at least 72 days of shared parental leave, she will meet the requirement set out in point 2(iii) of Notice of the Call and will therefore be eligible to submit her application.

Investigator D is currently on shared parental leave which began on December 9, 2022. After the initial period of 42 days of exclusive parental leave taken by the mother, the researcher took 78 consecutive days of shared parental leave, ending on April 8, 2023. Is the researcher eligible? Yes, because he took at least 72 days (in this case, 78 consecutive days) of shared parental leave between February 16, 2023 and April 9, 2024.

In this example, the mother, who is also a researcher, began by taking 42 days of exclusive parental leave from the mother and, after the 78 days of shared parental leave taken by the father, took a further 30 days of shared leave starting on April 9, 2023 and ending on May 9, 2023. This adds up to a total of 72 interpolated days of shared parental leave. Is the mother also eligible? Yes, because she took at least 72 days (in this case, 72 interpolated days) of shared parental leave between February 16, 2023 and April 9, 2024.

Thus, in this example, we have a scenario where both parents, researchers, having shared parental leave, are eligible for RESTART Programme.

This example is inspired by the second scenario presented in the Practical Guide - Social Security Parental Allowance (p. 27), which, among other examples, can be found here.

Please note that for the examples described above, in relation to the eligibility requirement under point iii of Notice of the Call, the eligibility requirements under point 2(i) and 2(ii) are considered as met.

For the purposes of proving, when applying, that the number of days of parental leave has been taken, it will be sufficient for applicants to submit the Declaration of Status of Parental Benefit from Social Security, obtained from the Social Security Direct site, in the section entitled Declaration of Status - Sickness and Parental Benefits (for more information, see the Practical Guide - Social Security Direct, p. 32).