The sick pay obligation is the employer’s duty to continue paying the salary of an employee who is unfit for work. It lasts a maximum of 104 weeks and amounts by law to at least seventy per cent of salary.
Legal basis
Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code contains the rule. Paragraph 1 sets the 104 weeks and the seventy per cent; during the first 52 weeks the statutory minimum wage acts as a floor. Many collective agreements top this up to one hundred per cent in the first year. Paragraph 3 lists the situations in which entitlement lapses, including illness caused intentionally and refusal without proper grounds to perform suitable work or to cooperate in reintegration. Paragraph 6 allows the employer to suspend payment where control rules are not observed. Article 7:629a requires an expert opinion from the UWV before a claim for salary can be brought.
How it works in practice
The difference between suspension and stopping payment is crucial. Suspension is permitted where the employee’s own conduct prevents the employer from establishing entitlement, for instance by not attending an appointment; the salary is then paid later after all. Stopping payment is permitted only on one of the statutory grounds and is final. Both must be announced in writing beforehand, or the measure will not stand.
Where it goes wrong
The most common error is stopping salary without prior warning and without an expert opinion. A second is an unclear basis: employers mix up "not ill" and "not cooperating", which are subject to different rules. Third, employers forget that a second period of illness starts a fresh 104 weeks only if at least four weeks separate the two.
Related terms
The obligation connects to the Gatekeeper Improvement Act and the prohibition on dismissal during illness.
Unsure whether you may suspend salary? Our employment law specialists assess the ground and the notice.
