Can you take a holiday while on sick leave in the Netherlands? The short answer is yes, you absolutely can. But it’s not as simple as just booking a flight. This process, known in Dutch as verlof tijdens ziekte, requires clear communication and formal approval to make sure your holiday helps, rather than hinders, your recovery.
Understanding Your Rights to Vacation During Sick Leave
Navigating Dutch employment law when you’re unwell can feel complicated, but the core principle here is quite straightforward. The entire point of sick leave is to get you back on your feet for good. So, any request for a holiday during this time is weighed against one critical question: will this time off get in the way of your healing process?
Think of your recovery as a planned journey back to full health. A well-timed holiday can be a hugely beneficial rest stop, helping to lower stress and boost your mental well-being. What it can’t be, however, is a detour that makes the whole journey longer.
The Key Players and Their Roles
Successfully managing a holiday request during sick leave involves a bit of teamwork between three parties. Each has a distinct role to play, and understanding who does what is the first step to a smooth process.
- The Employee: Your job is to formally ask your employer for the holiday and to cooperate fully with the company doctor’s assessment. Being upfront and honest about your plans and your health is essential.
- The Employer: Your employer is the one who gives the final green light. They have to handle your request reasonably and, in almost all cases, will follow the medical advice they receive.
- The Company Doctor (Bedrijfsarts): This is an independent medical professional who assesses whether your proposed holiday trip poses any risk to your recovery or reintegration efforts. Their opinion carries significant legal weight.
The company doctor’s assessment is purely medical. They aren’t there to approve your destination or check your itinerary; their only job is to decide if the act of taking a holiday is medically sound for you right now.
Ultimately, the entire framework is designed to balance your right to use your accrued holiday days with the shared goal of getting you back to work successfully. For a deeper look into the fundamentals of your rights when you’re ill, you can learn more about Dutch employee sickness rights in our detailed article.
To make things even clearer, the table below summarises the essential rules.
Quick Guide to Vacation During Sick Leave
This table breaks down the key rules and responsibilities for both employees and employers when a vacation request is made during sick leave.
| Aspect | Key Rule or Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Employee’s Right | You continue to build up your holiday days while on sick leave and can ask to use them. |
| Primary Condition | The holiday must not negatively impact your recovery or your reintegration process. |
| Approval Process | You need your employer’s permission, which is heavily based on the company doctor’s advice. |
| Medical Assessment | The company doctor (bedrijfsarts) provides a binding medical opinion on whether the holiday is feasible. |
| Day Deduction | If approved, the holiday days are deducted from your annual leave balance just like any normal vacation. |
| Salary Payment | For approved holiday days, you receive 100% of your normal salary, not the reduced sick pay rate (e.g., 70%). |
Remember, the goal is always to support your return to health, and a properly managed holiday can be a valuable part of that process.
The Approval Process for Taking Vacation While Sick
So, you’ve decided some time off could genuinely help your recovery. How do you go about getting your verlof tijdens ziekte officially signed off? This isn’t like a standard holiday request; it’s a more structured process designed to protect both you and your employer. Think of it as a collaborative effort with clear, legally defined steps.
Your first step is the same as always: a formal request to your employer. But this is where things take a different turn. Your employer can’t just say yes or no based on the team’s schedule or workload. Their decision rests almost entirely on the professional opinion of the company doctor, the bedrijfsarts.
This medical assessment is the crux of the whole process. It’s vital to understand what the doctor is—and isn’t—looking at. They aren’t there to judge your holiday plans. Whether you’re planning a quiet retreat to the countryside or a trip to see family abroad makes no difference to their evaluation.
The company doctor’s one and only job is to determine if your holiday would hinder your recovery or get in the way of your reintegration plan. Their medical opinion forms the legal basis for your employer’s final say.
This keeps the decision objective and focused squarely on your health. The doctor will consider your current condition, the nature of your illness, and any treatments you’re undergoing. If they see no risk to your recovery, they’ll give your employer the green light.
From Medical Advice to Final Approval
Once the bedrijfsarts gives their positive advice, the ball is back in your employer’s court. In nearly every case, an employer will follow the doctor’s recommendation. It’s incredibly difficult for them to legally refuse a medically approved holiday request without a compelling business reason, known as zwaarwegende bedrijfsbelangen.
And what exactly counts as a “compelling reason”? The bar is set very high.
- A valid reason might be: A sudden, unforeseen operational crisis that absolutely requires your unique, specific skills.
- What isn’t a valid reason: Being generally busy, struggling to find a replacement, or the simple inconvenience of your absence will almost never be enough to override a doctor’s medical advice.
So, a positive nod from the company doctor usually means a straightforward approval from your employer. This is the final step, confirming your holiday is officially on the books.
How Your Vacation Days Are Deducted
It’s also crucial to understand how this leave is logged, as it affects both your holiday balance and your pay. Once your vacation is approved, the days you take off are treated just like any other holiday—they’re simply deducted from your accrued annual leave.
This is an important point. For those specific days, you are officially on “vacation,” not “sick leave.” This has a direct impact on your salary. For any approved holiday days taken during your illness, your employer must pay 100% of your salary. This is a key difference from the usual sick pay rate, which is often lower (typically 70%).
Let’s say you’re off sick for a month and take an approved one-week holiday right in the middle. Here’s the breakdown:
- Three weeks of that month are logged as sick leave, paid at your sick pay rate.
- One week (e.g., five working days) is logged as vacation. Those five days are taken from your holiday balance, and you are paid your full 100% salary for that week.
This system is designed for fairness. You get to use the holiday time you’ve earned and are paid fully for it, while the rest of your absence is correctly managed as sick leave. This clear distinction prevents any payroll confusion and ensures full compliance with Dutch labour law, letting you focus on the restorative benefits of your time away.
How Sick Leave Affects Different Types of Leave
Understanding the rules for verlof tijdens ziekte gets a bit more complex when different kinds of leave start to overlap. Not all time off is treated the same under Dutch law, and knowing how sick leave interacts with annual holidays versus special leave can prevent a world of confusion and administrative headaches.
The core distinction really comes down to the purpose of the leave. Standard annual leave (vakantiedagen) is for rest and relaxation. Other types of leave, however, are granted for specific, often urgent, life events. Your status as “on sick leave” fundamentally changes how these different requests are handled.
Annual Leave vs Other Leave Types
When you’re on sick leave, your annual leave (vakantiedagen) operates under the rules we’ve already covered. You can request it, but it needs a green light from both the company doctor and your employer. If approved, those days are then deducted from your balance with your full pay.
But other kinds of leave are a different story:
- Special Leave (
bijzonder verlof): This is for specific events like a wedding, a funeral, or moving house. If an event like this happens while you’re already sick, your sick leave status almost always takes priority. You generally can’t claim special leave on top of sick leave, since you’re already unable to work. - Care Leave (
zorgverlof): This is leave taken specifically to care for a sick partner, child, or parent. It’s impossible to take care leave when you yourself are officially on sick leave—your primary obligation at that point is your own recovery. - Pregnancy and Maternity Leave: This area has specific protections. If you become ill due to your pregnancy before your official maternity leave begins, this is treated as pregnancy-related sick leave. An employer cannot force you to use your maternity leave days to cover this time.
The rule of thumb is simple: sick leave is your primary status. Other types of leave generally cannot be activated while you’re officially registered as unfit for work. The situation is quite different for flexible work arrangements; you can learn more by reading about sickness during a zero-hours contract in our guide.
To make this clearer, here’s a quick breakdown of how sick leave interacts with these different leave types.
Interaction Between Sick Leave and Other Leave Types
| Leave Type | Interaction with Sick Leave | Key Action Required |
|---|---|---|
Annual Leave (vakantiedagen) |
Can be taken with approval, days are deducted. | Employee must request, employer and company doctor must approve. |
Special Leave (bijzonder verlof) |
Sick leave takes precedence. Special leave cannot be taken. | No action possible; employee remains on sick leave. |
Care Leave (zorgverlof) |
Cannot be taken while the employee is on sick leave. | Employee must recover before care leave can be considered. |
Maternity Leave (zwangerschapsverlof) |
Illness before leave starts is sick leave, not maternity leave. | Report illness as standard sick leave; maternity leave dates are protected. |
This table shows that once you’re on sick leave, that status dictates how any other request for time off is handled, protecting specific entitlements like maternity leave while overriding others.
The Critical Scenario: Getting Sick Before a Holiday
So, what happens if you fall ill right before or during a holiday you’ve had booked for months? This is a common and crucial scenario where your actions directly impact your rights. If you become sick, your holiday effectively stops, and your sick leave begins.
If you get sick before or during your planned vacation, those days are legally considered sick days, not vacation days—provided you report it correctly. You do not lose your vacation days for the period you were ill.
To make sure this happens, you must follow your company’s standard sick leave reporting procedure immediately. This usually means calling your manager on the very first day of your illness, even if you’re on a beach abroad. You also need to be ready to provide medical proof, like a note from a local doctor, if the company requests it.
Once you’ve reported your illness correctly, the days you are sick are no longer subtracted from your holiday balance. They are converted back into sick days, and you can reschedule that part of your holiday for a later time. If you fail to report your illness promptly, you risk those days being treated as regular holiday days, meaning you lose them for good.
It’s also interesting to see how sick leave varies by profession. For instance, the distribution of sick leave across industries in the Netherlands shows notable differences. Workers in healthcare and education report the highest rates, with healthcare staff averaging 12.5 sick days a year. In contrast, those in the information and communication sector take the fewest, with an average of just 6.2 days. You can find more details about these sick leave rates on Statista.com.
Payment and Reintegration Duties During Your Leave
When you take a holiday while on sick leave, two critical elements remain in focus: your paycheque and your long-term recovery plan. Getting a handle on how these are managed ensures there are no financial surprises and that your time off actually helps you get back to work. The rules are clear, guided by Dutch law to protect both you and your employer.
A common point of confusion is how your salary is handled. While on sick leave in the Netherlands, an employer is legally required to pay at least 70% of your salary for up to two years. But that changes the moment you take an approved holiday. For any official vacation days taken during your illness, your employer must pay 100% of your normal salary.
This distinction is important. It confirms that although you are unwell, your holiday days are a separate entitlement paid at your full rate. These days are simply deducted from your annual leave balance, and your payslip for that period will show both sick pay and full holiday pay, calculated correctly.
The Role of the Wet Verbetering Poortwachter
The framework governing your recovery is the Wet verbetering poortwachter (Gatekeeper Improvement Act). This law is designed to keep both you and your employer actively engaged in your reintegration from day one. Taking a holiday doesn’t pause these duties; it has to fit within them.
Think of your reintegration plan—the Plan van Aanpak—as a roadmap back to work. A holiday should be a scheduled stop that helps you recharge for the journey ahead, not an unexpected detour. That means any approved vacation must be compatible with the goals and activities outlined in this plan.
For example, if your plan includes weekly check-ins or specific therapeutic appointments, your holiday must be scheduled around them. The company doctor will assess this, making sure your break supports, rather than obstructs, your progress.
Your legal reintegration responsibilities don’t just disappear because you’re on an approved holiday. The holiday must be seen as a constructive part of your recovery, fully consistent with the steps laid out in your Plan van Aanpak.
This ensures that the time away is genuinely restorative and contributes positively to a sustainable return to work, which is the ultimate goal of the Gatekeeper Act.
Your Continued Obligations During Leave
Even while you’re away, the core responsibilities of being on sick leave still apply, though they relax during the specific days registered as vacation. Open communication with your employer about your recovery upon your return is vital; the focus remains on collaboration. To understand the full scope of your duties, our guide on employee obligations during illness offers further valuable insights.
For those working abroad, understanding your healthcare coverage is paramount. A comprehensive guide to health insurance for expats can clarify what’s covered during sick leave.
It also helps to have some context. Sickness absence rates in the Netherlands can fluctuate dramatically, often influenced by seasonal viruses. In one recent January, for instance, sick leave notifications surged to 85 per 1,000 workers—a peak matching pandemic levels and a sharp rise from just 52 per 1,000 the previous month, largely due to a flu epidemic.
Ultimately, managing payment and reintegration duties during your verlof tijdens ziekte is about balancing your need for rest with the legal requirements for recovery. Clear agreements and sticking to the plan ensure your holiday is a beneficial step forward.
Navigating Common Scenarios and Real-World Examples
Legal principles are one thing, but it’s the real-world situations where the rubber really meets the road. Applying the rules of verlof tijdens ziekte to common scenarios is the best way to see how they work in practice for both employees and employers. Let’s walk through a few examples.
You’ll notice each case requires a slightly different touch, but the core principles always stay the same: get a medical assessment, secure the employer’s approval, and make sure everything aligns with the reintegration plan. Seeing how these steps play out helps turn abstract legal duties into confident, practical action.
Scenario 1: The Restorative Trip During Burnout
Anna has been on sick leave for three months with burnout. Her company doctor agrees that a complete change of scenery could do wonders for her mental recovery. She wants to book a quiet, two-week holiday in Spain to disconnect completely.
Here’s the step-by-step process she and her employer should take:
- Formal Request: Anna sends a formal holiday request to her manager, outlining the dates and explaining its purpose as a restorative break.
- Consulting the Company Doctor: Her employer passes the request to the bedrijfsarts. The doctor evaluates Anna’s condition and concludes the trip won’t harm her recovery—in fact, it might even speed it up. They issue positive medical advice.
- Employer Approval: Armed with the doctor’s green light, Anna’s employer approves the request. They have no compelling business reason to stand in her way.
- Administration: The two weeks (10 working days) are deducted from her annual leave balance. Crucially, for this period, she’ll receive 100% of her salary, not her reduced sick pay.
In this instance, the holiday is correctly seen as a supportive part of her recovery, fitting perfectly within the goals of her reintegration.
Scenario 2: The Flu During a Pre-Approved Holiday
Mark has a three-week holiday to Italy, all pre-approved. A few days in, he catches a nasty flu and is stuck in bed for five full days. He wants to reclaim these lost holiday days.
This is a classic case of illness striking during vacation, and what Mark does next is critical.
A holiday is for rest and relaxation. If you become genuinely ill, you are no longer on holiday—you are on sick leave. Those days shouldn’t be taken from your annual leave, as long as you follow the proper procedure.
Here’s what Mark has to do:
- Immediate Notification: The very first day he’s sick, Mark must call his manager to report it, just like he would under the company’s normal sick leave protocol. A belated email won’t cut it.
- Seek Medical Proof: He needs to see a local doctor in Italy and get a medical certificate confirming his illness and the specific dates he was unfit to enjoy his holiday.
- Reclaiming Days: When he gets back, he gives the medical certificate to his employer. The five days he was ill are re-classified as sick days, and those holiday days are credited right back to his annual leave balance to use another time.
Scenario 3: A Family Visit After Surgery
Fatima is recovering at home after knee surgery and is signed off for six weeks. Four weeks into her recovery, she feels up to travelling by train to visit her parents in a nearby city for a long weekend (Friday to Monday).
The process here is similar, but it underscores the importance of getting medical clearance even for short, low-key trips.
- Employee Request: Fatima talks to her manager about her plan and requests to take Friday and Monday as official vacation days.
- Medical Check: Her manager checks in with the company doctor. The doctor confirms that as long as Fatima follows her post-op instructions (like no heavy lifting), the short train journey and a relaxing visit won’t get in the way of her physical recovery.
- Approval and Deduction: The employer gives the go-ahead. The two days (Friday and Monday) are deducted from her vacation balance, and she’s paid her full salary for those days.
These examples make it clear: while every situation has its own nuances, a structured and transparent process is the key. It ensures fairness, keeps everyone compliant, and allows employees to take necessary breaks without putting their recovery or their rights at risk.
How to Handle Disputes and When to Seek Advice
Even with the rules laid out, disagreements over verlof tijdens ziekte are not uncommon. Maybe your employer has turned down a holiday request even though the company doctor gave the green light, or perhaps you feel the reintegration efforts just aren’t cutting it. When conversations stall, it’s crucial to know the formal steps you can take to get things back on track.
The first port of call is always clear, documented communication. Put your concerns in writing to your employer, carefully explaining the situation and pointing to the medical advice you’ve been given. If a direct chat doesn’t clear the air, you have another powerful option.
Requesting an Expert Opinion from the UWV
When you and your employer find yourselves at an impasse, either of you can request an expert opinion, or deskundigenoordeel, from the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency). Think of it as an independent, impartial assessment designed to break a deadlock in a reintegration process. While it isn’t legally binding like a court ruling, its findings carry a lot of weight and are usually followed by both parties.
The UWV can weigh in on several key issues:
- Fitness for Work: Are you actually capable of doing your own job or other suitable work?
- Reintegration Efforts: Have both you and your employer done enough to help you get back to work?
- Suitable Work: Is a specific job your employer has suggested truly appropriate for your condition?
- Sickness-Related Cause: Is a conflict at work the real reason you’re on sick leave?
This process offers an objective view that can clarify everyone’s responsibilities and pave the way for a solution. It’s particularly useful if an employer denies a holiday request that the company doctor said would be good for your recovery.
An expert opinion from the UWV acts as a vital reality check. It gives both you and your employer an unbiased assessment, often stopping conflicts from spiralling into drawn-out legal battles.
Knowing When to Seek Legal Counsel
While a UWV opinion is a fantastic tool, some situations really do need professional legal advice. It’s a good idea to speak with a specialist if you’re facing complex issues, like a denied holiday request that could harm your recovery, or if you feel you’re being pushed to return to work before you’re ready. Always keep detailed records of all your communications, medical advice, and agreements. This paper trail will be invaluable if you need to take things further.
It’s also worth noting that sick leave duration in the Netherlands has been creeping up, especially due to mental health issues like burnout. The average length of a sick leave spell recently hit 28 days, which underscores how complex these cases are becoming. You can learn more about the trend of longer sick leave periods on iamexpat.nl. In these longer-term situations, getting timely legal advice is the best way to make sure your rights are fully protected.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leave During Sickness
Navigating the rules around taking leave while sick, or verlof tijdens ziekte, can throw up some tricky questions. Let’s tackle some of the most common queries we see from both employees and employers to clear up the key responsibilities.
Can My Employer Refuse My Holiday if the Company Doctor Approves It?
It’s very difficult for an employer to justify this. Once the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) gives a positive medical opinion, confirming the holiday won’t get in the way of your recovery, an employer needs a truly compelling business reason (zwaarwegende bedrijfsbelangen) to say no.
What qualifies as compelling? Think of something that would cause serious disruption, not just general busyness or minor staffing issues. If an employer denies a medically approved request without such a powerful reason, you have solid grounds to challenge their decision, perhaps by requesting an expert opinion from the UWV.
Do I Have to Be Available for Work Calls While on Holiday?
Absolutely not. When you’re on officially approved and registered vacation days, you are completely off the hook from all work and reintegration duties. This is the core difference between taking a formal holiday versus simply getting permission to travel while you remain on sick leave.
It’s vital to make sure the dates are formally logged as vacation. Doing so protects your time, meaning you have no obligation to answer calls, check emails, or join in on any reintegration meetings.
During approved vacation days, your only responsibility is to rest and recover. Your work obligations are paused, allowing for a genuine break, which is often the primary purpose of the time off in the first place.
What Happens to My Vacation Days During Long-Term Sick Leave?
You continue to build up vacation days as you normally would throughout your period of sick leave, just as if you were working. The rules around when these days expire, however, change to give you more protection.
Typically, statutory vacation days (the legal minimum) expire six months into the year after you earned them. But if you were genuinely unable to take them because of sickness, this expiration period is extended to five years. It’s always a good idea to chat with your employer and agree on a plan for using these accrued days to avoid any mix-ups down the line.
How Does a Vacation Abroad Affect My Sickness Benefits?
If you’re receiving sickness benefits directly from the UWV (Ziektewetuitkering), you have an extra reporting step to take. You must always inform the UWV of any plans to travel abroad and get their explicit permission before you leave the country.
This is a separate process from getting the green light from your employer and the company doctor. The UWV needs to assess whether the travel impacts your recovery or their ability to keep an eye on your situation. Forgetting to report international travel can lead to your benefits being suspended, reduced, or even stopped altogether.