Reporting sick and now what? Your first steps
When you call in sick, as an employee you immediately have a number of important rights. The most fundamental are the right to continued payment of your wages and the protection of your privacy about exactly what ails you. These rights are the foundation of your security during a period when you need to focus on recovery.
That sick call is actually the start of an official process, with clear ground rules for you and your employer. It is crucial to start this process well. That way, you can focus on what really counts: getting better. The way to report sick is often simply stated in your employment contract or company regulations. Stick to these, which will prevent a lot of hassle.
One of the most basic rights during illness as an employee is the protection of your privacy. Of course, your employer may ask how long you expect to be absent or whether your illness is due to an industrial accident.
But, and this is a very important one, you are never obliged to share medical details. The nature or cause of your illness is strictly confidential. You only share that information with the company doctor.
The role of the company doctor
Pretty soon after you report sick, you will usually get a call from a company doctor or occupational health doctor. Think of this doctor as an independent expert who assesses whether you are indeed unable to work. He or she will then give advice on your recovery and how you can return to work. The opinion of the company doctor is leading, both for you and for your employer.
What is expected of you at this stage?
- Go to appointment: You are obliged to respond to the company doctor’s invitation.
- Work on your recovery: Follow the doctor’s reasonable advice to speed up your recovery.
- Stay reachable: Make sure your employer can reach you for consultations about the course of your illness.
The first weeks after a sick report are often decisive for the further course of events. To make it clear, we have put the most important actions and responsibilities for you and your employer in a table.
Overview of rights and obligations in the first weeks
| Subject | Responsibility Employee | Responsibility Employer |
| Sick notice | Reporting sick on time and as directed. | Record sick call correctly and pass it on to the occupational health and safety service/company doctor. |
| Contact | Be available for contact and inform the employer of the expected duration. | Maintain regular and appropriate contact on the course of the disease. |
| Privacy | Share medical details only with the company doctor. | Do not ask for medical details; respect employee’s privacy. |
| Company doctor | Keep the appointment with the company doctor and cooperate in the examination. | Arrange (or have arranged) the call for consultation and follow the doctor’s advice. |
These first steps lay the foundation for a constructive journey. Clarity and good communication prevent misunderstandings and ensure that the focus remains on what matters most: a speedy and sustainable recovery.
Your immediate financial security
Once you have called in sick, legislation around continued payment of wages comes into effect. This is an absolute core of your rights. Legally, you are entitled to continued payment of at least 70% of your wages for the first 104 weeks (i.e. two years) that you are sick.
Fortunately, many collective agreements or employment contracts state that this percentage is higher. Often it is 100% in the first year of illness and 70% in the second. That financial peace of mind is essential, because getting better becomes a lot harder with money worries on your plate.
Moreover, the importance of this protection is more topical than ever. The number of sick days recently rose to 407,000, an increase of over 3%, and the forecast is for a further rise to 423,700. You can read more about these figures and trends in the UWV’s volume developments.
Your right to continued salary payment during illness
Getting sick is annoying enough. The last thing you want to worry about then is your income. Fortunately, this is well regulated in the Netherlands. The law provides a safety net that gives you financial security: the employer’s obligation to continue paying wages.
The basic rule is clear. Your employer is obliged to continue paying your wages for a maximum period of 104 weeks, or two years. This provides a stable foundation in an uncertain time, allowing you to focus fully on your recovery.
This does not automatically mean that you will receive your full salary for two years. The law sets a lower limit: you are entitled to at least 70% of your salary. Importantly, this amount may not fall below the legal minimum wage in the first year.
Exactly how much pay will I get?
In practice, it often works out more favourably. Many employers offer better conditions than the legal minimum. You will find these agreements in your collective bargaining agreement (CAO) or directly in your individual contract.
One arrangement you often come across is:
- First year of illness: 100% of your wages.
- Second year of illness: 70% of your salary.
So it is always smart to grab your collective agreement or employment contract. What it says is guiding and can give you a lot more financial breathing space than the basic statutory scheme.
Your right to salary continuation is a solid anchor. It is designed to protect you from loss of income, giving you the peace of mind and space to work on your return, without immediate financial pressure.
Continued wage payment after 104 weeks
After two years, the employer’s obligation to continue paying wages basically ends. However, there is an important exception: the wage sanction. If the UWV finds that your employer has made insufficient efforts to reintegrate you, it can oblige the employer to continue paying your wages for longer. This can amount to an extra year.
This can happen, for example, if a proper Plan of Action was not drawn up, or if efforts for track 2 (looking for work with another employer) were started too late or half-heartedly.
Holidays and holiday pay during illness
A question that often comes up is what about accruing holiday rights. The answer is simple: even when you are sick, you simply accrue rights. This applies to both your holidays and holiday pay.
- Statutory holidays: This accrues in full. You are entitled to at least four times the number of hours you work per week.
- Holiday pay: The accrual of your holiday pay (usually 8% of your gross pay) also continues unabated.
This continuous accrual ensures that you are not doubly disadvantaged. Your illness does not negatively affect your holiday entitlement and the perk that comes with it. This contributes to your well-being, even in the long run.
The reintegration process in practice
Being sick is unpleasant enough, and the reintegration process that follows can sometimes seem quite complicated. However, don’t think of it as an obstacle course, but as a joint journey that you undertake together with your employer. It is a structured process with clear steps and ground rules for everyone, designed to make your return to work as smooth and sustainable as possible. Your active role in this is crucial.
This process officially starts immediately after you report sick and follows a set timeline. Your employer needs to report you sick within one day at the occupational health service. Within six weeks the company doctor must issue his advice about the reintegration.
At the heart of reintegration is the Plan of Action (PoA). You and your employer draft this document together no later than the eighth week of your illness, usually based on the company doctor’s advice. You can think of it as the roadmap for your recovery and return.
The Plan of Action is much more than a formality; it is a binding agreement. It states in very concrete terms what you and your employer will do to make your return possible. This plan is regularly evaluated and, if necessary, adjusted.
What do Track 1 and Track 2 mean?
The reintegration process has two stages, also known as ‘tracks’. The law requires your employer to make an effort for both tracks.
- Track 1: Return within your own organisation
Initially, the focus is always on returning to your current employer. This may be in your own job, possibly with adjustments, or in other suitable work within the company. Suitable work is work that suits what you can still do, taking into account your medical situation. - Track 2: Looking for work with another employer
If it turns out that returning to work within your own company is really not possible, even in the long term, the second track has to be started. This usually happens towards the end of the first year of illness. Your employer is then obliged to actively help you find suitable work with a new employer.
This twin-track approach is designed to maximise your chances of finding work. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on partial work resumption. This is also reflected in the increase in the number of people receiving WGA benefits (Work resumption for the partially disabled). This underlines your right to proper guidance to get back to work (partly). You can read more about these figures and trends at the UWV.
The UWV’s role as a touchstone
The UWV acts as an independent referee. They keep a finger on the pulse to check whether both you and your employer are doing enough to make reintegration a success. This happens at set times, such as at the First Year Evaluation.
Around week 88 of your illness, the UWV reviews the complete reintegration file. Do they conclude that your employer did too little? Then this may lead to a wage sanction. This means the employer will be obliged to continue paying your wages for up to one year longer. This big stick ensures that your rights as an employee are taken seriously and that reintegration is not an optional exercise. Of course, your active cooperation is always a prerequisite.
What happens after two years of illness?
The two-year sickness limit, or 104 weeks, is a crucial moment in the journey. At this point, your employer’s legal obligation to continue paying your wages stops. Fortunately, this does not mean that you suddenly find yourself without income or support. It is mainly the beginning of a new phase, when the UWV takes over.
You will usually receive a letter from the UWV around the 88th week of reporting sick. This is the starting signal to apply for WIA benefit. WIA stands for the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act and is the social safety net for employees who still cannot, or cannot fully, return to work after two years.
The WIA application and the examination
Applying for WIA benefit is a formal procedure. To do this, you submit the reintegration report, a document you have built up together with your employer. It contains everything that has happened over the past two years to help you get back to work, such as the Plan of Action and evaluations.
After your application follows the WIA examination. This is perhaps the most exciting part. It is not a medical examination like at the GP’s, but an assessment of what you can still do on the labour market. You have interviews with an insurance doctor and an employment expert from the UWV. Together, they determine what kind of work you could still do despite your illness or disability and what you could earn.
The outcome of the WIA examination is all-important. It decides whether you are entitled to benefits and, if so, what type. This is a far-reaching decision that has a major impact on your financial future.
WGA or IVA: the two types of WIA benefits
Depending on what the doctor and labour expert determine, there are two possible outcomes. It is important to clearly understand the difference between the two.
- WGA (Work resumption for the partially disabled): This benefit is for you if you are partially (between 35% and 80%) or fully but not permanently disabled. The idea behind the WGA is that, with the right guidance, you will eventually be able to work (more) again.
- IVA (Inkomensvoorziening Volledig Arbeidsongeschiktten): You get this benefit if you are completely (at least 80%) and permanently disabled. This means that the chance of recovery is very small or even impossible.
Allocation to one of these schemes thus depends entirely on the assessment by the UWV. The importance of this social security system is clear from the figures. The impact of disability is significant, and the number of people claiming this long-term protection underlines its importance. This is partly influenced by factors such as the rising state pension age. You can discover more about these figures at CBS.
Going to the UWV after two years of illness is one of the most important moments within your rights when ill as an employee. Good preparation and understanding of this process will help you face this phase with more confidence.
Pitfalls and special situations in illness
The standard sickness trajectory seems clear on paper, but practice is often a lot more unruly. By no means every illness trajectory goes by the book. There are plenty of special situations and pitfalls that can make your sickness rights as an employee a lot more complex. It is precisely crucial to understand these exceptions so that you stand strong.
Suppose you fall ill while on a temporary contract that is about to expire. Your employer then only has to continue paying your wages until the end of your contract. After that, you rely on sickness benefit from the UWV. It is your employer’s duty to report you ‘sick out’ so that this transition goes smoothly.
A zero-hours contract also has its own ground rules. Are you called up for work and then report sick? Then you are entitled to continued wage payment for the hours already agreed. Have you been working structurally for the same employer for more than three months? Then there may be a fixed work pattern, which gives you more rights.
Conflicts and the expert judgement
What now if communication with your employer is completely deadlocked? An industrial dispute, whether or not it has arisen due to sick leave, makes the situation extra precarious. It can lead to a stalemate in reintegration, with both parties continuing to point at each other.
In such a case, an expert opinion from the UWV can help. This is an independent opinion on the deadlocked situation. You can request it if, for example, you disagree with:
- Whether or not you are able to work.
- Whether the work you are offered is really appropriate.
- The reintegration efforts your employer makes (or fails to make).
Although the UWV’s opinion is not legally binding, it does carry weight and can often force a breakthrough in the dispute. An application will cost you €100 as an employee, but it can remove a lot of wrangling and uncertainty.
A persistent myth is that you can be fired just like that if you are sick. This is not true. During the first two years of your illness, a ban on dismissal applies. So your employer cannot dismiss you because of your illness.
Pregnancy and other special circumstances
Illness combined with pregnancy is also a special category. Do you fall ill due to symptoms directly resulting from your pregnancy or childbirth? Then your employer can apply for sickness benefit for you from the UWV to pay (part of) your wages. This protects you from being disadvantaged and ensures that your sick leave does not place an additional financial burden on the employer.
Another common pitfall is refusing suitable work. You should not do this lightly. If the company doctor judges that you can do certain adapted work, you are expected to try. Do you refuse without a sound reason? Then, as a sanction, your employer can stop salary continuation. Knowing these complex scenarios protects your rights, especially when the situation gets complicated.
Frequently asked questions on sickness rights
The rules around illness and work can sometimes feel like a maze. That is why we have listed the most frequently asked questions for you. That way, you will immediately know where you stand and exactly what your rights as an employee during illness mean.
Can my employer fire me if I am sick?
No, in principle this is not allowed. During the first 104 weeks (i.e. two years) of your illness, you are protected by a legal prohibition on dismissal. This is one of the main pillars of Dutch dismissal protection and means that illness in itself is not a valid reason for dismissal.
Yet this prohibition is not absolute. There are a few exceptions where dismissal is indeed possible:
- Instant dismissal: If you seriously misbehave, e.g. by theft, the employer can dismiss you immediately. Your illness is separate from this.
- Business dismissal: In a reorganisation that eliminates your entire position, the ban on giving notice can sometimes lapse. However, there are strict conditions attached to this.
- End of a temporary contract: A fixed-term contract ends automatically on the agreed date, even if you are ill at that time.
What if I disagree with the company doctor?
You may feel that the company doctor misjudges your situation. Perhaps you disagree with the assessment of what you can still do, or with the reintegration plan that is proposed. In such a case, you do not have to simply resign yourself to it.
You can request an expert opinion from the UWV. An independent UWV insurance doctor or employment expert will then take another look at your situation. Although this opinion is not legally binding, it carries a lot of weight in practice. Both you and your employer should take it seriously and it often helps to refloat a stalled situation.
Do I accrue holidays during my illness?
Yes. The fact that you are sick does not mean that the accrual of your holidays stops. The accrual of your statutory holidays continues in full as if you were at work. You have this right no matter how long the period of illness lasts.
Different rules may apply to excess holidays – the extra days you get on top of the legal minimum. Check your collective agreement or employment contract for this, but in most cases the accrual of these days also continues as usual.
Good to know: your employer may never force you to take holidays during your illness. You only take holidays if you really want to be free of reintegration obligations, and this is always done in consultation.
What are my rights with a temporary contract?
Even if you have a temporary contract, you are well protected in case of illness. Your employer is obliged to continue paying your wages as long as your contract runs. However, this duty stops on the day your contract ends by operation of law.
Are you still ill on the end date of your contract? If so, your employer will report you ‘sick leave’ to the UWV. From then on, you can receive sickness benefit from the UWV. So you will not simply be left without income. Responsibility for your benefit and supervision will then shift from the employer to the UWV, ensuring a smooth transition.