RESTART Programme

Researcher A has been granted 120 days parental leave, the exact number of days having elapsed on February 16, 2022. In this case, the researcher reaches 120 days on the first day of the 12-month eligibility window (February 16, 2022 to February 15, 2023) and is therefore eligible and can submit her application.

Researcher B has taken 120 days of parental leave as of February 15, 2023 (the reference date for eligibility) and continues 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 she reached 120 days of leave occurred between February 16, 2022 and February 15, 2023, and she can therefore submit her application.

Researcher C is currently on shared parental leave starting on 15 November 2022 which, with interspersed periods of leave, will end on 15 May 2023. If by February 15, 2023 the researcher has taken a total of at least 72 days of shared parental leave, the researcher will meet the requirement under point 2 iii of Notice of the Call and is therefore eligible to apply.

Researcher D is currently on shared parental leave starting December 9, 2021. After the initial 42 days of exclusive parental leave taken by the mother, the researcher has taken 78 consecutive days of shared parental leave, which ended on April 8, 2022. Is the researcher eligible? Yes, as he or she has taken at least 72 days (in this case, 78 consecutive days) of shared parental leave taken between February 16, 2022 and February 15, 2023.

In this example, the mother, also a researcher, started by taking 42 days of parental leave exclusively 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, 2022 and ending on May 9, 2022. This makes a total of 72 interpolated days of shared parental leave. Is the mother also eligible? Yes, as she has taken at least 72 days (in this case, 72 interspersed days) of shared parental leave taken between February 16, 2022 and February 15, 2023.

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).