Guide to Taking Sick Leave and Reintegration in the Netherlands

Report sickness through the employer's published protocol as soon as you cannot perform the agreed work. State that you are sick, the date/time, how you can be reached, your expected duration if you can estimate it, current appointments or work that must be handed over, and whether a workplace accident or liable third party may be involved. Confirm by email or message and keep the response. If calling is medically impossible, ask someone to notify the employer and follow up yourself when able.

You do not have to give a diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, medication, doctor name or private cause to a manager or HR. A useful response is: “I am unable to perform my work because of illness. I will follow the absence protocol and cooperate with the occupational physician, but I will not share medical details with the employer.” The employer may record operational information and expected duration, not a medical file. Medical fitness information belongs with the occupational physician.

Identify the payer on day one. A permanent or active fixed-term employee reports to the employer; an agency worker reports under the agency protocol and to the agency that is the legal employer. An on-call worker's right depends on an active call, contract type and established average hours. A WW claimant reports through Mijn UWV/UWV app and also to an employer for hours still worked. Someone whose insured employment ended and who becomes sick within four weeks usually calls UWV by the second sick day, unless the former employer is a Ziektewet own-risk bearer. A self-employed person has no automatic employer sick pay and must use private insurance, savings or municipal routes.

Ask the employer for the arbodienst/bedrijfsarts contact and the absence protocol. The employer must notify occupational health within one week. You may use the preventive/open consultation before or during absence without manager permission. Verify the physician in the BIG register, request accessibility or an interpreter, and keep appointments unless medically impossible.

The occupational physician may tell the employer functional limits, work capacity, expected duration and adjustments - not diagnosis or treatment. You may inspect and request factual correction of your medical file. A treating clinician and occupational physician exchange health information only with informed consent; specify purpose, records and period rather than signing a blank release.

For a mental-health crisis or acute danger, healthcare comes first: call 112 for immediate danger or 113 for suicide-prevention support, and contact the GP. For harassment or unsafe work, document the hazard and contact the confidential adviser, occupational physician, union or Netherlands Labour Authority. Cooperating with reintegration does not require disclosing a diagnosis to the employer or entering an acutely unsafe situation.

First classify the contract and payer. A permanent or fixed-term employer normally continues wages until recovery, contract end or 104 weeks. If a fixed term ends sick, the employer reports this to UWV on the last employment day and Ziektewet may take over. For an agency or on-call worker, check whether a call was active, an agency clause ended the placement, fixed hours were agreed, or a legal average-hours presumption applies. A payroll employee reports to the payroll employer. Do not accept “no shifts, no pay” without checking the contract, CAO and actual work pattern.

The statutory floor is generally at least 70% of normal wage for up to 104 weeks. In year one it must be topped up to the applicable minimum wage; in year two that top-up does not apply. Contract or CAO often promises 100%, 90% or another enhancement. Regular overtime, shift pay, commissions and allowances that would normally have been earned must be included on a representative basis. Holiday allowance and pension treatment remain separate lines.

Example at the July 2026 adult minimum: 160 hours × €14.99 = €2,398.40 gross monthly. Seventy percent is €1,678.88, but in the first year the statutory minimum-wage top-up can bring a full-time worker back to the applicable €2,398.40 floor; in year two the statutory amount can remain €1,678.88, subject to CAO improvements. Example salary €4,000 plus average €200 shift allowance: 70% of €4,200 is €2,940; a CAO promising 100% in year one would instead produce €4,200. Check any statutory maximum-daily-wage cap and contractual top-up for higher salaries.

At most two unpaid waiting days may apply only if the contract or CAO lawfully says so. If sickness recurs within four weeks, new waiting days generally do not apply and the periods count together. On the payslip, separate waiting-day deduction from delayed payroll or an unlawful full-month stoppage.

Audit each statement: contracted/average hours, wage basis, percentage, day count, allowance average, holiday accrual, pension, tax, waiting days, partial-work wage and bank payment. Ask payroll for the formula and CAO clause. A partial return does not automatically reduce total pay below the applicable continuation promise; distinguish wages for worked hours and sickness continuation for the rest.

If no payment arrives, send a dated calculation and request corrected payslip and payment. Preserve contract, CAO, schedules, prior payslips, bank, sickness confirmation and occupational advice. The employer may suspend payment temporarily for missing control information or stop wages for unjustified refusal of suitable work, but must identify the legal reason; neither label makes an incorrect decision final.

Ziektewet is the safety net where ordinary employer wage continuation does not fully apply or a protected risk is reimbursed. Typical routes include a fixed-term employee whose contract ends sick, illness within four weeks after insured employment, certain agency/on-call or fictitious-employment cases, a WW claimant after the relevant sickness phase, voluntary ZW insurance, pregnancy/childbirth-related illness, organ donation and employees covered by a no-risk policy.

Report to the correct party. An employee still under contract reports to the employer; the employer files the route-specific UWV notification, including sickness on the final contract day. A person becoming sick within four weeks after employment and without an employer calls UWV no later than the second sick day. If the former employer is a ZW own-risk bearer, report there. A WW claimant reports online through Mijn UWV or the app; WW usually continues for the first 13 sickness weeks, then ZW may replace it, while pregnancy/organ-donation cases can switch immediately. Sickness abroad requires employer notification and sometimes UWV by day two.

The ordinary ZW benefit is 70% of the UWV daily wage. Calculate gross weekly as daily wage × 70% × 5 and an indicative gross month as daily wage × 70% × 21.75. From 1 July 2026 the maximum daily wage is €309.91 gross including holiday allowance. At the cap, ordinary ZW is €216.94 per day, about €1,084.69 weekly or €4,718.39 per indicative month before tax. Mijn UWV shows the net specification. Other earnings can reduce the result.

Pregnancy/childbirth-related sickness and organ-donation sickness can pay 100% of daily wage. A no-risk-policy payment can range 70%-100% in year one depending on continued wages, usually 70% in year two. ZW after WW is based on the WW daily wage and includes holiday allowance in the periodic amount. Waiting days and recurrence rules depend on the branch; do not reuse an employer payslip calculation blindly.

Check every decision for first sick day, insured employment, payer (UWV or own-risk employer), daily-wage reference period, percentage, holiday allowance, other income and end date. ZW can last at most 104 weeks, with reintegration and assessments. Report recovery and income promptly through the specified channel.

If the employer fails to report, contact payroll in writing and call UWV with contract-end date, payslips and sickness proof. Do not wait beyond a deadline. For pregnancy, donation, agency, fictional employment or sickness after work, use the dedicated UWV page because notification timing differs. A decision can be objected to within the period printed on it; a complaint about handling does not replace objection to the legal entitlement.

The occupational physician assesses work capacity and reintegration; the GP or specialist treats illness. Ask for direct confidential contact and bring job description, schedule, actual tasks, exposures, commute, medication effects relevant to safety, and what you can and cannot do. Describe function, duration and triggers rather than proving loyalty or sharing the entire medical history.

The physician may advise no work, reduced hours, task changes, breaks, remote work, equipment, gradual build-up or further assessment. Ask for concrete restrictions and review date: lifting weight, concentration duration, night shifts, travel, interpersonal exposure or recovery time. The employer receives functional advice, expected duration and adjustments, not diagnosis, medication or therapy. You receive and should read the advice too.

Use preventive consultation even before sickness without manager permission. Verify BIG registration, ask for an interpreter/accessibility, inspect the medical record and correct factual errors. The physician may request information from a treating clinician only with your informed consent. A treating doctor does not decide Dutch employment fitness; the occupational physician must independently translate health into function.

If you disagree, first identify the exact sentence and provide missing task or medical evidence. Use the arbodienst complaint procedure for conduct, access or process. For doubt about occupational-health advice, the employee may request a second opinion from another occupational physician through the first physician; the employer normally pays under the basic contract. The first process and reintegration continue, and the second opinion is advisory.

A UWV deskundigenoordeel answers a different, issue-specific question: full fitness, whether proposed work is suitable, or whether employee/employer efforts are sufficient. It costs €100 per employee request and €400 per employer request, with specified dismissal-related exemptions. It is advisory and cannot itself be appealed, but can matter in a wage case or later WIA file. Separate forms are needed for separate questions, and 2026 capacity constraints can cause delay.

For an occupational disease or unsafe exposure, ask the occupational physician about reporting to the Netherlands Centre for Occupational Diseases and advise the employer on prevention. For harassment, use the confidential adviser and safety routes; for acute medical/mental risk use GP, crisis care, 113 or 112. Never stop all contact without explanation. If proposed activity is acutely unsafe, state the concrete risk, remain available for safe alternatives, contact the physician urgently and request revised advice in writing.

Keep one calendar from the first sick day; an interruption under four weeks can make a recurrence part of the same period. Employer and employee remain jointly responsible even when an arbodienst performs tasks. Save every version of the reintegration record outside the employer portal.

By week 1 the employer should have notified occupational health. Around week 6 the occupational physician produces the Probleemanalyse, describing capacity, prognosis and route. By week 8 employer and employee make the Plan van aanpak: goal, suitable work, actions, owners and review dates. Discuss progress at least every six weeks and amend the plan when medical or workplace facts change.

No later than the first working day after week 42, the employer makes the 42e-weeksmelding to UWV. Around week 52 both complete the Eerstejaarsevaluatie, comparing actual recovery with the plan. If durable return with the employer is not reasonably expected, first-track adjustments and a timely second-track search with another employer must be considered; waiting until the final months can be inadequate.

Through year two, retain occupational updates, action-plan evaluations, job-search evidence, offered work, training and reasons for acceptance/refusal. The employer prepares the current assessment and final evaluation; the occupational physician provides medical material separately. UWV sends the WIA application letter around week 88, and the employee's WIA application plus complete reintegration report is due by week 93. Do not assume the employer submits the employee application.

At 104 weeks, UWV assesses WIA eligibility and the reintegration record. If loss of earning capacity is below 35%, WIA is normally unavailable although employment/wage questions remain. At 35% or more, UWV assesses WGA or IVA. If the employer's efforts were insufficient without sound reason, UWV can impose a wage-payment sanction extending the employer period up to another year. Employee non-cooperation can also affect wages or benefit.

Use a dashboard: first sick day; recurrence gap; each physician date; problem analysis; plan; six-week reviews; 42-week receipt; first-year evaluation; first/second-track decisions; current/final assessment; WIA letter, deadline and upload receipt. Where a fixed-term contract ends during sickness, an earlier reintegration report may be required for the transfer to ZW.

Ask in writing for missing documents before the deadline. If a record misstates your agreement, add a dated comment rather than refusing to sign silently. Signing can acknowledge receipt while noting disagreement. Contact UWV or a professional early if the employer disappears, refuses occupational health, or tries to postpone everything until WIA.

Suitable work is based on current functional capacity, not job title or a manager's guess. Compare each proposed task with the occupational physician's restrictions: hours, pace, lifting, concentration, social contact, travel, night work, breaks, location and recovery. Ask for written duties, schedule, start date, supervision, evaluation and what happens if symptoms worsen.

A safe trial can begin with fewer hours or modified tasks and build at agreed review points. Record hours actually worked, symptoms in functional terms, breaks, missed duties and the effect the next day. Share operational results with employer and medical detail with the occupational physician. Pay should distinguish worked wage and continued sick pay; a trial is not automatically full contractual recovery.

If work conflicts with advice, do not simply disappear or issue a blanket refusal. Write: identify the task and restriction, explain the concrete safety/function conflict, say you remain available for compliant work, and request urgent occupational review. Stop an activity immediately only for acute danger, then report and seek alternatives. Unjustified refusal of suitable work can risk a wage stop, but the employer cannot override medical functional advice by calling work suitable.

Partial recovery means accurately reporting the hours/capacity restored, not choosing a percentage for payroll convenience. Ask who records the change and verify it in the plan, payslip and absence system. Full recovery should be reported when you can sustainably perform the agreed job without sickness restrictions, not merely after one successful shift. If ZW is paid, recovery must be reported to UWV/own-risk payer through the required channel, often within one day.

Watch recurrence. If symptoms return within four weeks, tell employer and occupational health that it may be the same sickness period; this affects waiting days and the 104-week clock. Preserve the earlier recovery date and schedule. A phased return that fails is not automatically misconduct, but poor documentation makes the dispute harder.

Reasonable adjustments can include equipment, changed workstation, task redistribution, flexible start, home work, quieter space, transport support, training or another role. Disability-discrimination duties may overlap with reintegration. Ask for the employer's written assessment of feasibility and cost rather than accepting “we have nothing”. If internal work is not durable, cooperate with a properly scoped second track while continuing viable first-track options.

At every review, decide: continue, increase, hold, reduce, change task or seek new medical advice. State evidence and next date. Keep your availability visible. This protects health and demonstrates cooperation if UWV later evaluates both parties.

Define the dispute before escalating: diagnosis privacy, fitness, suitable work, reintegration effort, missing occupational care, wage percentage, waiting days, wage suspension/stop, contract end or proposed settlement. Build a dated file with contract/CAO, sickness report, schedules, payslips, bank, physician advice, plan versions, messages and your proposed solution.

Start with a precise written correction to manager/payroll and a reasonable deadline. For medical-process or conduct problems, use the arbodienst complaint route. For doubt about the occupational physician's advice, request the employer-funded second opinion through that physician. For full fitness, suitability or either party's effort, request the issue-specific UWV expert opinion (€100 employee; €400 employer, subject to exemptions). It is advice, not an appealable benefit decision.

Distinguish wage suspension (opschorting) from wage stop (loonstop). Suspension is temporary while necessary control information is missing and can require back-payment once supplied. A stop alleges a substantive failure such as unjustifiably refusing suitable work and may not be repaid. The employer must state the reason promptly and proportionately. Respond with evidence, remain available for safe work and get advice; do not assume either label is lawful.

For underpayment, send a gross calculation and demand corrected payslip, tax/pension correction and net payment. Wage claims may include statutory increase and interest, though a court can reduce the increase. A union, legal-expenses insurer, Juridisch Loket or employment lawyer can assess a demand and urgent kort geding. Keep limitation deadlines in view.

Do not resign or sign a settlement agreement while sick before benefit and legal review. A settlement is not automatically fatal to every benefit, but end date, initiative, sickness wording, notice period, release, recovery status and UWV risk matter. A fixed-term contract can expire during sickness; employer must report sick departure, and transition payment may still be due. A probation dismissal or agency end needs immediate ZW routing.

For workplace illness, harassment or danger, separate healthcare from proof: GP/crisis care treats, occupational physician assesses work and may report occupational disease, confidential adviser supports, Labour Authority addresses safety. Retaliation or discrimination may create separate remedies.

After resolution verify bank, corrected payslips, occupational record, plan, UWV notifications and tax/pension data. Put every agreement in writing, including hours, payer, back pay and next review. If litigation or dismissal is threatened, obtain tailored advice promptly; continuing to communicate and offer medically suitable cooperation is usually safer than silence.