Dutch sickness rules are unusually important to understand because an employee can remain connected to the employer and a structured reintegration process for up to two years. Being ill is not simply a matter of using ordinary holiday days.

Who pays?

For most employees, the employer continues salary for up to two years. The legal minimum is normally at least 70% of pay. In the first sickness year this must normally reach at least the applicable minimum wage; in the second year that minimum-wage top-up no longer applies. A cao or contract frequently provides more generous pay.

Reintegration is a joint process

Employer and employee both have duties. The bedrijfsarts or occupational-health service assesses work possibilities; employer and employee use the problem analysis to make a Plan van aanpak and normally review progress at least every six weeks. The aim is first to return to suitable work with the employer and, where necessary, consider suitable work elsewhere.

Your manager is not your doctor

The Dutch system distinguishes employment administration from medical assessment. Follow your employer’s sickness-reporting procedure, but medical work-capacity questions belong with the bedrijfsarts/arbodienst. If reintegration becomes disputed, UWV can in relevant situations provide a deskundigenoordeel; a second opinion from another bedrijfsarts can also be available.

If a temporary contract expires while you are sick

The employer’s wage-payment obligation can end with the contract. The employer reports the sickness to UWV and the worker may then move to a Ziektewet benefit. Longer sickness before contract expiry can require a reintegration report.

What can go wrong?

  • Ignoring appointments or suitable-work obligations can affect pay.
  • An employer that does too little can face an extended wage-payment obligation.
  • Waiting days can exist if the contract or cao allows them.
  • Rules differ for some on-call and agency-worker situations.