Guide to Disability Support and WIA Applications in the Netherlands

Choose the route by asking five questions in order: Was the person an employee on the first sick day? Who must pay now? When did the condition and loss of work capacity start? Is the need income, work support, daily-life support or care? Is any private/occupational cover available?

For an employee, report sick immediately under the employer protocol. The employer normally pays at least 70% of gross wage for up to 104 weeks and leads reintegration. If a fixed contract ends while sick, the employer reports the person to UWV for Ziektewet; agency and no-employer cases differ. Someone becoming sick within four weeks after qualifying employment/WW may have post-insurance cover and should contact UWV. Self-employed people generally rely on private AOV, pension/sector cover or voluntary UWV insurance arranged when eligible; report under that policy, because retrospective cover is impossible.

After the waiting period, WIA compares the former maatmanloon with earnings the person can still make. More than 65% remaining earning capacity normally means no WIA. Remaining capacity of 20–65% corresponds to 35–80% occupational disability and possible WGA. At most 20% remaining means 80–100%; it is WGA if recovery is possible, IVA only where full incapacity is durable. A person can therefore be seriously ill yet fall below 35% because of theoretical earnings.

For young-onset disability, current Wajong requires sustainably no work capacity plus symptoms by 18, or before 30 with at least six months' education in the preceding year, and residence conditions. Apply through Beoordeling arbeidsvermogen; from 17 years 6 months is possible. If work is possible with support, examine Indicatie banenafspraak, beschut werk, job coaching and municipal Participation Act instead. Current Wajong is up to 75% of minimum wage when sustainably unable to work, subject to age, income and deductions.

Match non-income needs separately:

• portable work equipment, interpreter, job coach and work/education transport: employee applies to UWV;
• fixed workplace/building adaptation: employer generally applies and should obtain approval before buying; employment normally needs at least six months for that compensation;
• household help, guidance, mobility, local participation and home adaptation: request Wmo investigation from municipality and ask for free independent client support;
• long-term permanent intensive care: CIZ/Wlz; nursing/treatment may instead be health insurer or district nursing;
• occupational accident: preserve incident report and liability/private insurance claim in addition to sickness benefits.

Write a route sheet listing responsible body, form, legal basis, evidence, deadline, expected decision, contribution and appeal. Run compatible routes in parallel. A WIA refusal does not decide Wmo equipment, and municipal support does not replace wages. Ask each body for a written decision: informal verbal refusal cannot be properly challenged.

The first sick day starts a 104-week employment and evidence timeline. The statutory wage floor is at least 70% of gross wage in each year. In year one, if that falls below the applicable minimum wage, the employer tops it up to minimum wage; that floor no longer applies in year two. Contract or CAO often promises 100% in year one and/or a higher second-year percentage. Holiday allowance and employer pension contribution continue under applicable rules. Lawful waiting days may apply only where the contract/CAO allows. Check the payslip, CAO and pension rules rather than assuming 100%.

Example: on €3,000 gross monthly wage, statutory 70% is €2,100; a CAO paying 100% year one then 70% gives €3,000 then €2,100 before tax. On €2,000, 70% is €1,400, but the first-year minimum-wage floor may require a higher amount for the person's hours/age; in year two €1,400 can stand, possibly with UWV supplement if household income is below the social minimum. Model holiday allowance, tax credits, pension, allowances and household income separately.

Maintain the Gatekeeper schedule:

• day one: sickness report and safe contact; employer not manager receives only necessary absence information;
• by week six: occupational physician's Problem Analysis;
• within two weeks after that: employer and employee Plan of Approach with case manager;
• at least every six weeks: discuss progress and update agreements;
• around week 42: employer reports long-term sickness to UWV;
• week 52: First-Year Evaluation and explicit decision whether own-work route (spoor 1) is still enough or external work (spoor 2) is needed;
• week 88: UWV WIA application letter;
• around week 91: Final Evaluation/current occupational-medical assessment;
• week 93: employee WIA application deadline with reintegration report;
• week 104: normal wage continuation ends and WIA/Ziektewet outcome begins.

Participate reasonably in suitable-work and medical appointments, but request written tasks, functional restrictions, hours and review dates. The occupational physician - not the employer - assesses work-related capacity. Ask for a second opinion from another occupational physician about medical advice if needed. For a dispute about fitness for own work, suitable work or reintegration effort, an employee can request a UWV deskundigenoordeel, currently €100; it is an expert view, not itself a benefit decision, and UWV targets roughly four weeks while warning of delays.

If the employer or employee did insufficient reintegration, consequences differ. UWV can impose on the employer up to 52 extra weeks of wage continuation; an employee refusing reasonable cooperation can face wage measures. Document proposals, responses and accessibility needs. When a fixed contract ends, obtain the complete reintegration file and confirm Ziektewet reporting. If employer becomes insolvent, contact UWV insolvency wage route immediately. Do not sign settlement/termination during sickness without specialist advice because it can jeopardize wage, Ziektewet and reintegration rights.

When the UWV letter arrives around week 88, work backwards from the personal week-93 deadline. The employee - not employer - remains responsible for timely WIA application. Ask the employer for the complete reintegration report: Problem Analysis and updates, Plan of Approach, First-Year and Final Evaluations, current opinion of the occupational physician and reintegration activities. The employer may upload non-medical items shortly after the application, but confidential medical material goes directly from employee/physician to UWV, never through the manager.

Build a functional chronology rather than a diagnosis pile. For each period record contracted work, actual hours and wage, symptoms and treatment, limitations in sitting/standing/walking/concentration/social interaction, variability and recovery time, attempted adjustments, absences and why trials succeeded or stopped. Include job description, payslips, employer/occupational-physician correspondence, medication/side effects and relevant specialist facts. Explain inconsistencies such as a good appointment day versus sustainable weekly capacity.

Check the financial test with a worked estimate. If old comparable wage (maatmanloon) is €3,000 and UWV-selected work indicates €1,200 earning capacity, lost capacity is €1,800/€3,000 = 60%, within WGA. If remaining capacity exceeds 65%, loss is below 35% and there is normally no WIA. If remaining capacity is 20% or less, the result is 80–100%: WGA unless full incapacity is also durable, when IVA applies.

If WGA is awarded, the wage-related phase usually lasts three months to two years depending on work history. It pays 75% of capped WIA monthly wage for the first two months, then 70%, with work-income rules. Afterwards, earning at least 50% of UWV's assessed residual capacity can qualify for the much more protective wage-supplement benefit; earning less may lead to a follow-up benefit based on a percentage of minimum wage, causing a sharp drop. Example: if residual capacity is €1,200, the critical earnings target is €600. Ask UWV to show WIA monthly wage, residual capacity, phase end and both projected next-phase amounts. IVA is generally 75% of capped WIA monthly wage.

Submit before the deadline even if one document is pending; identify what will follow and ask UWV how to add it. Save form, upload receipt and exact medical/non-medical separation. If nearly recovered, voluntary extension of wage continuation is possible only as a considered joint route, not an informal delay.

Make a bridge budget for week 104: final wage, WIA start/payment date, holiday allowance, tax withholding, pension disability supplement, private policy, UWV Toeslagenwet and allowances. A decision amount is gross. Do not assume WIA covers the full former net wage or every disability expense.

UWV usually separates medical and labour assessment. Prepare to explain reliable capacity over a normal working week, not merely whether one task can be performed once. The insurance physician records functional limitations, often in a Functional Capacity List (FML). The labour expert then matches work and compares earning capacity with maatmanloon. Where no current suitable work proves earnings, UWV normally selects three theoretically suitable functions and uses the middle wage; these are calculation functions, not automatic vacancies or an order to apply.

Before the appointment, send a one-page chronology plus indexed evidence. Describe frequency, duration and recovery from flare-ups; medication side effects; need for breaks, help or predictable hours; travel tolerance; and why prior work trials ended. Separate what you can do occasionally from safely, repeatedly and at employable pace. Bring ID, invitation, medication list, aids and relevant records. A companion may attend where allowed, but the claimant answers. Request interpreter/accessibility arrangements in advance and confirm who supplies/pays. Ask UWV before travel if disability requires taxi/private transport: approved private-car travel can currently be €0.23/km, while ordinary travel and expert-opinion appointments have different rules.

During the medical discussion, correct factual dates and ask how each stated limit is recorded. Employers do not receive confidential diagnoses. Obtain the medical and labour reports/complete file after the decision. Compare FML against evidence and actual sustainable function. Then audit every selected occupation: task description, hours, pace, shifts, environmental/social demands, education/experience and any marked mismatch. Recalculate:

occupational-disability % = (maatman wage − remaining earning capacity) / maatman wage × 100.

The key thresholds are loss below 35% (normally no WIA), 35–80% (WGA), and 80–100% (WGA unless durable full incapacity supports IVA). “Can work 20%” is not automatically the legal percentage; it is an earnings comparison. Ask for the capped WIA monthly wage and reference date too.

For Wajong, the question is different: current entitlement generally requires sustainably no work capacity from qualifying young/study onset. Evidence can include school/internship records, special/practical education, job-coach and municipal reports, daily-function evidence, and medical sources. UWV's work-capacity form may take about an hour, and current stated decision target is 14 weeks after receipt confirmation. If work is possible only with help, a banenafspraak or sheltered-work assessment may fit better than Wajong refusal alone.

After any assessment, write a discrepancy table: report statement, source/date, why inaccurate, correction/evidence and effect on FML/function/earnings. Request correction of objective errors immediately. A disagreement with professional judgment belongs in formal objection; do not let a correction request consume its deadline.

Disability does not lead to one Dutch benefit. Start with the outcome needed - income during sickness, long-term earnings replacement, workplace equipment, help at home, transport, employment support or intensive care - and the person's employment/insurance history. A diagnosis or disability percentage alone does not create entitlement; each scheme tests its own insured status, timing, functional limits, income and residence rules.

Use this first map:

Keep duties scheme-specific. Report sickness to the employer under workplace rules; Ziektewet claimants follow UWV messages and availability duties. A WIA/Wajong recipient reports changes that the decision or Mijn UWV says affect benefit - work/income, address, detention, recovery or living abroad - not every volunteer hour indiscriminately. Ask UWV in writing when uncertain and keep its answer.

Create one evidence file with contract/CAO and payslips, sickness date, job description/hours, occupational-physician documents, reintegration plan/evaluations, treatment/function evidence, decisions, submissions and receipts. Medical details go to the occupational physician or UWV physician, not an ordinary manager; the employer receives functional possibilities, not diagnosis.

Budget gross and net separately. Wage/benefit is taxed; holiday allowance, pension accrual, allowances and household-tested supplements may change. Check UWV Toeslagenwet if household income falls below the social minimum, municipal minimaregelingen, tax credits and rent/healthcare allowances. For Wmo, most adult support in 2026 has a national subscription contribution of €21.80 per month, though municipalities may reduce it and exceptions exist. Never delay essential support while waiting for WIA: income, work, care and equipment applications can run on different tracks.

Read every decision as a calculation and deadline, not only “approved/refused”. Record decision date, effective date, insured wage, WIA monthly wage, maatmanloon, remaining earning capacity, disability class, WGA/IVA phase, payment/deductions, reporting duties and review date. Compare it with the medical and labour reports and obtain the complete file. For municipal/CIZ decisions, similarly capture awarded service, quantity, provider/personal budget, contribution, duration and conditions.

An UWV or municipal objection is normally due within six weeks of the decision date stated in the letter; use the letter's exact appeal instructions. File a timely protective objection if the file is incomplete, identifying the decision, grounds already known and request for the file/hearing, then supplement within the granted period. DigiD submission should produce a receipt. Ordinary objection usually does not suspend the decision, so ask about an advance/payment arrangement and obtain legal advice on an urgent provisional court measure where serious immediate harm exists.

Build grounds that change the result:

• objective factual errors in onset, work, hours, wage or treatment;
• missing functional limitation or unsustainable frequency/pace supported by evidence;
• selected job conflicting with FML, qualifications or actual task demand;
• wrong maatman or middle-wage calculation;
• full incapacity incorrectly treated as non-durable despite prognosis evidence;
• reintegration sanction or duty attributed to the wrong party;
• Wmo/Wlz investigation overlooking need, informal-care limits or cheaper option that is not genuinely adequate.

Ask treating professionals for facts, course, treatment and prognosis rather than a bare “cannot work” conclusion. A lawyer, union, legal-expenses insurer, Juridisch Loket, sociaal raadslieden or independent municipal client supporter can help. Check income-tested legal aid. Attend the hearing with an indexed bundle and short requested outcome. If objection fails, the letter gives the court-appeal route and deadline; do not assume another informal complaint preserves it.

Bridge income and support meanwhile. Check wage/benefit payment dates, UWV supplement to social minimum, municipal assistance, rent/healthcare allowance, tax-credit change, pension/private disability cover and creditor/payment arrangements. Apply to Wmo/UWV provisions independently; an appeal over WIA need not block equipment, job coach, transport or home help. For 2026 most adult Wmo ongoing support has the €21.80 monthly subscription contribution, subject to municipal reduction/exceptions.

After an award, report only relevant changes through the named channel and retain receipts. For WGA, track the end of wage-related benefit and the earnings target - at least 50% of residual earning capacity - to avoid an unexpected follow-up-benefit fall. Request reassessment when health/capacity materially changes, with dated evidence; do not rely on a phone promise. Close only when correct payments, arrears, tax, pension, allowances and support start dates reconcile in writing.