Sick at the end of your contract: sickness benefit and UWV

Leaving employment while sick (ziek uit dienst) means your employment contract ends while you are ill; the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) then assesses within 4 weeks whether you receive a sickness benefit (Ziektewet-uitkering), usually 70% of your daily wage. If you agree to your own dismissal while sick, for example in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst), UWV can refuse that benefit.

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What does leaving employment while sick mean?

You leave employment while sick if, on the last day of your employment, you are unfit for your work due to illness. From the next day, you fall under the safety net of the Sickness Benefits Act (Article 29 Ziektewet).

While you are employed, your employer continues to pay at least 70% of your wage during illness, for up to 104 weeks (Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). That obligation ends on the last day of the contract. After that, UWV takes over the benefit and the reintegration support, unless your employer is a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act.

The sickness benefit is usually 70% of the daily wage, up to a statutory maximum daily wage. It runs until you have been ill for a total of 104 weeks, counted from the first day of illness. If you are still ill then, you can apply for a WIA benefit (Work and Income according to Labour Capacity Act).

Leaving employment while sick is different from falling ill after your contract has ended. If you fall ill within 4 weeks of your last working day and you have no new job or unemployment benefit (WW), you report sick to UWV yourself, no later than the second day of illness. If you already receive WW, you report sick through My UWV (Mijn UWV).

When can a sick employee leave employment?

An employer may not give notice to a sick employee during the first 104 weeks of illness (Article 7:670 BW). Even so, employment can end during illness in a few situations.

A fixed-term contract expires. A fixed-term contract ends automatically on the agreed date, even if you are ill (Article 7:667 BW). For a contract of six months or longer, the employer must inform you in writing at least one month in advance whether it will be renewed (Article 7:668 BW). If it is not renewed, you are entitled to a transition payment (transitievergoeding, Article 7:673 BW).
Notice during the probationary period. During a valid probationary period, the employer may give notice even during illness (Article 7:676 BW). If the probationary period is void, for example because it is longer than the law allows (Article 7:652 BW), the prohibition on termination (opzegverbod) does apply.
Summary dismissal. If there is an urgent reason (dringende reden), illness does not prevent summary dismissal (ontslag op staande voet, Article 7:677 BW).
Dissolution by the subdistrict court. The subdistrict court (kantonrechter) can dissolve an employment contract during illness, but not if the request is related to the illness (Article 7:671b BW).
Termination by mutual consent. Employer and employee can conclude a settlement agreement together (Article 7:900 BW). That is allowed, but it can cost the sick employee their sickness benefit (Article 45 Ziektewet).
The employee resigns. That is also possible, with the same risks for your benefit as with a settlement agreement.

After 104 weeks of illness, the prohibition on termination lapses. The employer can then ask UWV for permission to give notice.

How do you receive a sickness benefit after your last working day?

You do not apply for the benefit yourself: your employer reports you sick to UWV on the last day of employment. If that day falls on a weekend or public holiday, UWV must receive the report on the next working day.

UWV assesses within 4 weeks of the sickness report whether you are entitled to a sickness benefit. From the date you leave employment, UWV is responsible for your reintegration. If you have been ill for 44 weeks or longer when your contract ends, UWV may invite you for an interview.

After 52 weeks of illness, the first-year sickness benefit assessment (Eerstejaars Ziektewet-beoordeling) follows. You only keep the benefit if you can earn no more than 65% of the wage you had before your illness (the maatmaninkomen) (Article 19aa Ziektewet). That is a stricter test than in the first year, when the only question was whether you could do your own work.

If your former employer bears the financial risk of the Sickness Benefits Act itself (self-insurer, eigenrisicodrager), things work differently. Your former employer then pays the benefit itself and remains jointly responsible with you for reintegration. If you later fall ill within 4 weeks of your contract ending, you report sick to your former employer in that case, not to UWV.

Do you move to a new employer while sick, and are you still ill on your first working day there? Then the new employer pays your wage until you have been ill for a total of 104 weeks, and is responsible for your reintegration.

Sickness benefit or unemployment benefit: what applies with a settlement agreement during illness?

You cannot choose between unemployment benefit (WW) and sickness benefit. If you are unfit for your work on the last day of your contract, you fall under the Sickness Benefits Act. For WW you must be available for work; someone who is fully ill does not meet that requirement.

If you agree to the end of your contract while ill, UWV may treat that as an act that harms the benefit fund (benadelingshandeling). UWV can then refuse the sickness benefit fully or partly, temporarily or permanently (Article 45 Ziektewet). According to UWV’s legal interpretation, you run the same risk if you resign yourself, or if you do not defend yourself against a dismissal without good reason.

The idea behind that rule is simple. Without your consent, the prohibition on termination would have obliged your employer to keep paying your wage for up to 104 weeks. With your signature, you shift those costs to UWV.

The Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep) applies that rule strictly. In a 2024 case, an employee signed a settlement agreement while already unfit for work. UWV refused the sickness benefit permanently and in full, and the Tribunal upheld that decision (ECLI:NL:CRVB:2024:1724).

UWV looks, among other things, at whether you knew you were ill when you signed (ECLI:NL:CRVB:2015:1823). An act harming the fund is less likely if the dismissal would have come anyway, for example because the company closed. There is no fixed rule for this; UWV assesses each case separately.

Are you offered a settlement agreement while you are ill or have complaints? Do not sign before you know your medical situation and how UWV will view it. The cooling-off period of 14 days (Article 7:670b BW) gives you room for that. If you let that period pass, the risk to your benefit remains.

What should you check as an employer?

As an employer, you report the sick employee to UWV on the last day of employment, through the employer portal (werkgeversportaal) or with the form “Ziektewet-uitkering aanvragen werkgever”. Which reintegration report (re-integratieverslag) goes with it depends on how long the employee has been ill when the contract ends.

Duration of illness at end of employment	What you submit
Less than 6 weeks	No reintegration report
6 to 10 weeks	Short reintegration report (form)
10 weeks or longer	Full reintegration report: problem analysis, action plan, any first-year evaluation, current opinion of the company doctor (bedrijfsarts)

If you are a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act, no reintegration report is needed. You do then pay the benefit yourself and remain responsible for your former employee’s reintegration.

Report the employee sick to UWV no later than the last day of employment.
Give the employee copies of all documents in the reintegration report.
Do not upload medical information; the employee sends that to UWV.
For a fixed-term contract of six months or longer, give written notice at least one month in advance of whether you will renew (Article 7:668 BW).
If you do not renew, expect to pay a transition payment (Article 7:673 BW).
Do not offer a sick employee with a permanent contract a settlement agreement without assessing whether the prohibition on termination and a possible wage sanction (loonsanctie) play a role.

What should you check as an employee?

Your employer makes the sickness report on the last day, not you. These checks help you avoid being left without income.

Ask your employer to confirm that they will report you sick to UWV on the last day.
Ask whether your employer is a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act; if so, they are your point of contact after you leave.
Do not sign a settlement agreement or resign during illness without advice (Article 45 Ziektewet).
Check that you have received copies of the reintegration report; you are responsible for UWV receiving it in full.
If you fall ill within 4 weeks of your contract ending, report to UWV no later than the second day of illness.
If your employer does not renew your fixed-term contract, check that your transition payment has been paid (Article 7:673 BW).

What can we do for you when you leave employment while sick?

Our employment lawyers assist employees and employers.

We assess a proposed settlement agreement for the risk of an act harming the benefit fund (Article 45 Ziektewet).
We check whether notice given during illness falls under the prohibition on termination (Article 7:670 BW).
We check whether the probationary period was valid and whether notice given during it stands.
We calculate and claim a transition payment if your fixed-term contract was not renewed.
We object to a refusal of sickness benefit, within the 6-week objection period (Article 6:7 of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb).
We advise employers on the UWV report, the reintegration report and the position as self-insurer.

Summary

Leaving employment while sick: your contract ends while you are ill, and UWV assesses your right to sickness benefit within 4 weeks.
The benefit is usually 70% of the daily wage and runs until you have been ill for a total of 104 weeks.
The employer reports you sick on the last day of employment and submits a reintegration report where required.
A fixed-term contract ends on its end date even during illness; notice on a permanent contract is not allowed in the first 104 weeks.
A settlement agreement or resignation during illness can cost you your sickness benefit.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if you leave employment while sick?

Your employer stops paying your wage on the last day of the contract and reports you sick to UWV. UWV assesses within 4 weeks whether you receive a sickness benefit and takes over your reintegration.

Which is better: leaving while sick or unemployment benefit?

You cannot choose. If you are unfit for your work on your last working day, you fall under the Sickness Benefits Act. For WW you must be available for work, and someone who is fully ill is not.

Why can you not simply leave employment while sick?

During the first 104 weeks of illness, your employer may not give you notice (Article 7:670 BW). If you agree to your dismissal yourself, UWV can refuse your sickness benefit (Article 45 Ziektewet).

How much do you receive if you leave employment while sick?

Usually 70% of your daily wage, up to a statutory maximum daily wage. UWV calculates the daily wage from your wage in the period before your illness, insofar as social security premiums were paid on it (sv-loon).

Do you leave employment while sick if your fixed-term contract expires?

Yes. A fixed-term contract ends automatically on the end date, even during illness (Article 7:667 BW). After that you usually receive a sickness benefit through UWV, or through your former employer if it is a self-insurer.