What is a reintegration plan and why does it matter?

A reintegration plan, formally the plan of action (plan van aanpak), is the written agreement between you and your sick employee on the steps both of you will take towards a return to work. Under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wet verbetering poortwachter), it must be drawn up no later than the eighth week of sickness, and if you fall short, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) can oblige you to continue paying wages for up to a further 52 weeks.

The plan is therefore both a practical tool and your main evidence. After almost two years of sickness, UWV assesses on the basis of your reintegration file whether you and your employee have done enough. Below we explain the statutory timeline, the duties of both parties, the two reintegration tracks and what happens if things go wrong.

Which rules apply when your employee is ill for a long time?

When an employee falls ill, you must continue to pay at least 70 percent of the salary for up to 104 weeks (Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, BW), and you must actively work on the employee’s return. Your duties are set out in Article 7:658a BW, the employee’s duties in Article 7:660a BW.

The Gatekeeper Improvement Act, in force since 2002, turned these duties into a fixed process with deadlines. The details are laid down in a ministerial regulation on the procedure in the first and second year of sickness (Regeling procesgang eerste en tweede ziektejaar). The aim is to prevent employees from ending up on long-term disability benefit under the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA) when a return to work was possible.

In the first year, the employer must pay at least the minimum wage; many collective labour agreements (cao’s) and contracts provide for 100 percent in the first year and a lower percentage in the second. More background on the general framework can be found in our overview of Dutch employment law.

What does the reintegration timeline look like?

The timeline starts on the first day of sickness and contains fixed moments. Missing one of them is not automatically fatal, but each gap must be explained later.

• Week 6: the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) or occupational health service draws up a problem analysis (probleemanalyse), describing what the employee can and cannot do and the prospects for recovery.
• Week 8: you and the employee draw up the plan of action together, based on the problem analysis. You also appoint a case manager, who supervises the process.
• At least every six weeks: you and the employee evaluate progress and adjust the plan where necessary.
• Week 42: you report the long-term sickness to UWV (ziekmelding).
• Week 52: you carry out the first-year evaluation (eerstejaarsevaluatie), in which you assess the results so far and determine the reintegration goal for the second year.
• Week 88: UWV sends you and the employee a letter about the application for WIA benefit. The employee must apply within six weeks of that letter.
• Week 93: the employee applies for WIA benefit, enclosing the reintegration report (re-integratieverslag) that you prepare together.

The company doctor also updates the problem analysis whenever the situation changes significantly. You must keep a reintegration file (re-integratiedossier) throughout, with all reports, plans, evaluations and correspondence.

What must the plan of action contain?

The plan sets out the goal of the reintegration, the concrete activities to reach that goal and who is responsible for each step. It must be drawn up jointly, is best signed by both parties, and is based on the advice of the company doctor.

In practice, a good plan contains at least:

• the reintegration goal, for example a return to the employee’s own work, adapted work or other work within or outside the company
• the activities and interventions agreed, such as a gradual build-up of hours, adjustments to the workplace, training or treatment
• the timeline and the moments of evaluation
• the name of the case manager and the agreements on contact between employer and employee

If you and the employee cannot agree on the plan, record both positions and ask UWV for an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel) if necessary. A plan that is never signed or never evaluated weakens your position later.

The plan of action must be drawn up within two weeks after the company doctor’s problem analysis (Article 4 of the Regeling procesgang eerste en tweede ziektejaar). If the company doctor gives new advice because the situation has changed, you adjust the plan in the same way, together with the employee.

Can your employee challenge the company doctor’s advice?

Yes. The employee can ask for a second opinion from another company doctor. The company doctor must honour that request unless there are compelling reasons against it (Article 14(2)(g) of the Working Conditions Act, Arbeidsomstandighedenwet).

Keep in mind the privacy rules. As an employer, you may not ask about or record the employee’s diagnosis or medical details; only the company doctor may process those. The plan and the file should describe limitations and possibilities, not the illness itself.

What are your duties as an employer?

You are responsible for managing the reintegration process. Under Article 7:658a BW, you must take all reasonable steps to enable the employee to return to his or her own work or, if that is not possible, to other suitable work.

In practice this means that you:

• engage a company doctor or occupational health service and follow the doctor’s advice, or document why you depart from it
• draw up the plan of action with the employee and evaluate it regularly
• offer adjustments to the workplace, working hours or tasks where reasonably possible
• look for other suitable work within your organisation if the employee’s own job is no longer an option
• start looking for work with another employer in good time if an internal return is not realistic
• keep a complete reintegration file

You bear the costs of the reintegration activities, including those of a reintegration agency, training and job application coaching. Failing to invest properly in reintegration is one of the most common reasons for a wage sanction.

What are the employee’s obligations?

The employee must cooperate actively with the reintegration. Under Article 7:660a BW, the employee must follow reasonable instructions from the employer and the company doctor, cooperate in drawing up, evaluating and adjusting the plan of action, and perform suitable work that is offered.

Suitable work (passende arbeid) is work that fits the employee’s strength and skills and that can reasonably be required, taking into account factors such as training, earlier work, travel time and the salary level. It need not be the employee’s old job, and in the course of the two years, the circle of what counts as suitable becomes wider.

If the employee refuses without good reason, you may stop paying wages or suspend payment, depending on the obligation breached (Article 7:629(3) and (6) BW). You must first warn the employee in writing and clearly state what is expected. Wage measures must be taken promptly and be proportionate; a court will look critically at them. Read more about the rights and obligations of sick employees.

What is the difference between track 1 and track 2?

Track 1 (spoor 1) is reintegration within your own organisation. Track 2 (spoor 2) is reintegration with another employer, which you must start as soon as it is clear that a return within your company is not realistic.

Track 1 is always the starting point. You first look at whether the employee can return to his or her own job, possibly with adjustments to tasks, hours or the workplace. If that is not possible, you look for other suitable work within the organisation.

Track 2 must start when the company doctor concludes that the employee will probably not return to work within your organisation. UWV expects this decision at the latest at the first-year evaluation, but it can and should come earlier if the medical outlook is clear from the start. Starting track 2 does not end track 1: as long as there is a chance of internal reintegration, you continue both.

Starting track 2 too late is one of the most frequent reasons for a wage sanction. Track 2 usually means engaging a reintegration agency that helps the employee with a job search, applications and training. Your own active involvement remains required.

How does UWV assess your reintegration efforts?

When the employee applies for WIA benefit around week 93, UWV assesses the reintegration report. In this gatekeeper assessment (poortwachtertoets), UWV checks whether you and the employee have done enough to achieve a return to work.

UWV looks at whether the deadlines were met, whether the company doctor’s advice was followed, whether track 2 started on time, and whether the activities were actually aimed at a return to work. The file is decisive. What you cannot show on paper, UWV will generally treat as not done.

If UWV concludes that the employee did not cooperate sufficiently, it can refuse or reduce the WIA benefit. If it concludes that you as the employer fell short without a good reason, it imposes a wage sanction.

What does a wage sanction mean?

With a wage sanction (loonsanctie), UWV extends the period in which you must continue to pay wages by up to 52 weeks (Article 25(9) WIA). During that period, you pay the wages at the level that applied in the second year of sickness, and the employee is not assessed for WIA benefit yet.

You are expected to use the extra period to make up for what was missed. If you have repaired the shortcoming earlier, you can ask UWV to shorten the sanction. UWV then checks whether the missed steps have indeed been taken.

Typical reasons for a wage sanction are:

• missing the deadlines for the problem analysis or the plan of action without a reason
• not following the company doctor’s advice without a documented explanation
• starting track 2 too late or carrying it out half-heartedly
• insufficient exploration of adapted or other work within the company
• an incomplete or inconsistent reintegration file

You can lodge an objection against a wage sanction with UWV within six weeks, and then appeal to the administrative court. A strong file is by far the best defence.

When can you ask UWV for an expert opinion?

Both you and the employee can ask UWV for an expert opinion at any time during the two years, for example on whether the work offered is suitable, whether the employee is fit for his or her own work, or whether your reintegration efforts are sufficient. The opinion is not binding, but it carries weight with the courts and often helps to break a deadlock.

A fee applies to the request. If you and the employee go to court about wages during sickness, the employee must in principle include an expert opinion with the claim.

Can you dismiss an employee during sickness?

In principle no. During the first 104 weeks of sickness, you may not give notice of termination on account of the sickness (Article 7:670 BW), and UWV will not grant a dismissal permit for long-term incapacity before the two years have passed.

There are exceptions. The prohibition does not apply if the employee fell ill after UWV had received a dismissal request, or during a valid trial period. A summary dismissal for an urgent reason unrelated to the illness, such as theft, remains possible. The court may dissolve the contract on a ground other than sickness, but only if the request has nothing to do with the illness.

A fixed-term contract ends by operation of law on the agreed date, even during sickness. An employment contract can also end by mutual consent in a settlement agreement, but during sickness this carries risks for the employee’s benefits, and UWV looks critically at such agreements.

After 104 weeks, you may ask UWV for permission to dismiss the employee for long-term incapacity for work, provided reintegration within 26 weeks is not expected and there is no suitable work available. You then owe the transition payment (transitievergoeding), but you can ask UWV to compensate it under the compensation scheme for long-term incapacity. More on ending employment in our guide on how to terminate employment in the Netherlands.

What does long-term sickness cost your business?

The main costs are the continued wages for up to two years, the reintegration activities and the costs of replacing the employee. A wage sanction adds up to a year of wages.

After the two years, poorly managed sickness can also increase your premiums. The contribution for the Return to Work (Partially Disabled) Regulation (WGA) is partly differentiated per employer, and employers who have chosen to bear this risk themselves (eigenrisicodrager) pay the WGA benefit of former employees for up to ten years. Many employers insure the risk of continued wages through sickness absence insurance (verzuimverzekering). Check what your policy covers and whether it requires certain reintegration steps.

How do you build a reintegration file that stands up?

Think from the end: every step should be visible to a UWV assessor who reads the file two years later without knowing you or your employee. Record what was done, when, by whom and why.

In practice, the following habits make the difference:

• Put agreements from each evaluation in writing and send them to the employee, with a request to respond if the summary is incorrect.
• If you deviate from the company doctor’s advice, record the reason at the time, not afterwards.
• When you look for internal suitable work, document which positions you considered and why they were or were not suitable.
• Start track 2 on the basis of a clear written conclusion from the company doctor and record the start date.
• If the employee does not cooperate, warn in writing before taking wage measures, and keep a record of the reaction.

A case manager, often from the HR department or the occupational health service, keeps the process on schedule. Choose someone with enough time and authority, because a case manager who is not involved is a common cause of gaps in the file.

Can the period of wage payment be extended by agreement?

Yes. You and the employee can jointly ask UWV to postpone the WIA assessment, for example because the employee is close to a full return to work. You then continue paying wages for the agreed extra period. This is a voluntary extension (vrijwillige verlenging) and must be requested in good time before the employee applies for WIA benefit.

Such an extension can make sense if the employee is gradually returning and a WIA assessment at that moment would interrupt the process. Record the reason and the agreements on reintegration during the extension in the file.

In summary

• The plan of action must be drawn up with the employee by week 8, based on the company doctor’s problem analysis, and evaluated regularly.
• You must take all reasonable steps towards a return to work, first within your organisation and, if that is not realistic, with another employer.
• The employee must cooperate and perform suitable work; if not, you may stop or suspend wages after a written warning.
• UWV assesses your file around week 93 and can impose a wage sanction of up to 52 weeks if you did not do enough.
• You cannot dismiss an employee because of sickness in the first two years; afterwards, you need UWV permission.

The legal basis can be found in Book 7 of the Civil Code on wetten.overheid.nl.

Frequently asked questions

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