What should I do when I am too ill to work?
Report sick to your employer as soon as illness stops you working. Follow its verzuimprotocol (absence procedure). Your employer normally pays at least 70% of your wage for up to 104 weeks while your contract continues, subject to a legal wage cap. In the first year, pay must reach the minimum wage for your contracted hours. Give medical details to the bedrijfsarts (company doctor).
This guide covers employees in the Netherlands below AOW (state pension) age. Some household workers have a separate six-week rule, explained under sick pay.
A zzp’er (self-employed worker) arranges their own income during illness. Options include savings, private disability insurance and, for some starters, voluntary Ziektewet (statutory sickness benefit) insurance through UWV (employee insurance agency) (External site, opens in a new tab). See the ZZP guide for this separate route.
How do I report sick?
Your contract, CAO (collective labour agreement), staff handbook or verzuimprotocol sets the time, method and contact person for reporting sick. Follow these steps:
- Report sick to your employer as soon as illness prevents you from working, using the required channel. For agency work, contact the agency.
- If you work through an uitzendbureau (employment agency), report sick to the organisation where you work too.
- Record the date, time, contact person's name and method of your first report.
- Save any email, portal confirmation or screenshot that records your first sick day.
The Arboportaal (workplace health and safety portal) reporting rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain your report and your employer’s later notification.
Your huisarts (family doctor) treats you. The huisarts does not certify you as unfit for work for your employer. The bedrijfsarts assesses what work you can do.
Your employer must notify its arbodienst (occupational health service) or bedrijfsarts within one week.
You must attend reasonable appointments with the bedrijfsarts.
When you recover or can return partly, tell your employer promptly through the workplace procedure.
If you live in the Netherlands and become sick here while insured for sickness in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or a treaty country, also call UWV no later than your second sick day. Your country of insurance sets the sickness-benefit rules. Ask your employer or its benefit body how to claim.
What may my employer ask about my illness?
Your employer may ask only for information needed to manage absence, work and pay. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch data protection authority) policy rules (External site, opens in a new tab) set these limits.
Your employer may not ask which illness you have or what caused it. It may not ask which treatment or medicines you receive.
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| Role | What this person or organisation does | Medical information given to the employer |
|---|---|---|
| Employer or manager | Records the sick report, keeps contact, arranges work and pay, and leads reintegration with you. | Information needed to manage absence, work and pay, plus advice on what work you can do. The limited emergency-information exception is explained below. |
| Huisarts | Treats your health problem. | No work-capacity certificate. With your permission, the huisarts may give factual medical information to the bedrijfsarts. |
| Bedrijfsarts or arbodienst | Assesses what work you can do and advises on recovery and reintegration. | How long your absence is expected to last, limits on work tasks, what work you can do and advice for returning to work. It includes no diagnosis or treatment details. |
| UWV | Decides on benefits and work capacity and can give an expert opinion. | Medical documents go through protected channels. The employer does not receive the medical reasons for a benefit decision. |
Your employer may ask when you expect to return. It may ask how to reach you and where you are staying. It may also ask which urgent tasks or appointments need covering. Your employer may ask whether your sickness involves a work accident. For a traffic accident, it may ask whether another person may be liable for the costs.
Your employer may also ask whether a Ziektewet safety-net rule applies, but not which one. Pregnancy-related sickness has a privacy exception: you do not have to tell your employer that this rule applies. Ask the bedrijfsarts to handle medical questions.
Even if you volunteer a diagnosis, your employer normally may not record or share it. A narrow exception lets your employer record information you choose to provide when colleagues need it to help in an emergency, such as what to do during an epileptic seizure.
The bedrijfsarts works independently and keeps medical information confidential. Send a medical questionnaire from the arbodienst back to that service, rather than your manager. The bedrijfsarts needs your permission to request medical information from your treating doctor. You can also consult the bedrijfsarts before reporting sick if work is affecting your health.
How much sick pay will I receive?
Your employer normally pays at least 70% of your gross wage for up to 104 weeks while your contract continues. The legal rule caps the wage used in that calculation at the maximum wage for employee insurance. Your contract or CAO may give you more. Check the agreed percentage for each year. The Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government) sick-pay rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the first-year and second-year minimums.
The statutory sick-pay period is six weeks for employees at AOW age. Some employees hired directly by a private individual for that individual’s household also follow a six-week rule. It applies when they usually work there fewer than four days a week and provide only or almost only household services. Some care workers have a longer period, explained below. Check your contract or CAO for any additional rights.
Holiday allowance continues to build up on the wage your employer must pay during sickness. If that wage is lower, your holiday allowance builds up on the lower amount.
This table covers ordinary employee sick pay while your contract continues, subject to the legal wage cap. Your contract or CAO may give you more. The six-week exceptions described above have a shorter period.
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| Period | Legal minimum while the contract continues | Minimum-wage rule and later income |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1–52 | At least 70% of gross wage, subject to the legal wage cap. | The payment must reach at least the statutory minimum wage for your contracted hours. |
| Weeks 53–104 | At least 70% of gross wage, subject to the legal wage cap. | There is no minimum-wage floor. A UWV toeslag (supplement) may apply if household income is below the social minimum. |
| After week 104 | The statutory wage duty can end if UWV has not extended it. | WIA (work-capacity benefit) needs a separate assessment. It does not start automatically or guarantee the same income. |
One or two unpaid wachtdagen (waiting days) apply only when your contract or CAO states them. The maximum is two. A new set does not apply when you become sick again less than four weeks later. Sickness periods less than four weeks apart also count as one period for the 104-week clock. For example, ten sick weeks, three recovered weeks and another sick report start again at week 11, not week 1.
What changes for care workers paid from a personal budget?
Since 1 January 2026, qualifying pgb-zorgverleners (personal budget care workers) (External site, opens in a new tab) below AOW age receive up to 104 weeks of sick pay under an employment contract. This also covers employees who work at most three days a week.
The change covers Wlz (long-term care law), Wmo (social support law) and Jeugdwet (Youth Act) budgets. For Zvw (health insurance law) budgets, it applies only when the SVB (Social Insurance Bank) (External site, opens in a new tab) handles payroll. It does not cover service contracts.
Under these SVB rules, sick pay is 100% in weeks 1–52 and 70% in weeks 53–104. The six-week AOW-age exception still applies.
What changes for pregnancy, childbirth or organ donation?
For illness caused by pregnancy or childbirth, the employer can claim a Ziektewet benefit equal to 100% of the UWV dagloon (daily wage). UWV normally pays the employer, which continues paying you. UWV can also pay you directly. Organ-donation illness also uses a 100% daily-wage Ziektewet benefit.
Before maternity leave starts, another cause of illness can also qualify during the flexibiliseringsperiode (period when you can choose to start maternity leave). This runs from 6 to 4 weeks before the day after your due date. For a multiple pregnancy, it runs from 10 to 8 weeks before that day. Sick days in this period reduce your leave after birth. For example, 5 sick days mean 5 fewer leave days after birth.
During pregnancy and maternity leave, your existing leave benefit continues. There is no separate Ziektewet payment. If you are ill because of pregnancy or childbirth when that benefit ends, the employer can claim again. Illness that starts later, or has another cause after leave, follows ordinary sick-pay rules.
What happens if I stay sick for months?
This timeline follows the employer-led route while your contract continues. If your contract ends while you are sick, check the contract and UWV reporting routes below.
You and your employer must work together on re-integratie (returning to work after illness). The Wet verbetering poortwachter (Gatekeeper Improvement Act) sets shared duties.
Count the times below from your first sick day. The UWV sickness timeline (External site, opens in a new tab) gives the normal sequence. The process rules allow a reasoned departure from some early deadlines.
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| Time | Required step | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Report sick under the workplace procedure. | Employee |
| Within 1 week | Notify the arbodienst or bedrijfsarts. | Employer |
| By week 6 | Write the probleemanalyse (problem analysis) if long absence is expected. | Bedrijfsarts |
| By week 8 | Agree the plan van aanpak (action plan) within 2 weeks of the analysis if returning to work is possible. Include a casemanager (person who coordinates your return-to-work plan) and concrete steps. | Employee and employer |
| At least every 6 weeks | Discuss progress and record any change to the plan. | Employee and employer |
| After 42 weeks | Report long-term sickness to UWV no later than the first working day after week 42. | Employer |
What happens in the second year of sickness?
Around the end of the first year, review your progress and the work options inside and outside your employer. The later documents prepare your WIA application.
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| Time | Required step | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Around week 52 | Complete the eerstejaarsevaluatie (first-year evaluation) and review return-to-work options with your current employer and another employer. | Employee and employer |
| Week 88 | Send the WIA application letter and its exact deadline. | UWV |
| By week 91 | The bedrijfsarts or arbodienst completes the Actueel oordeel bedrijfsarts of arbodienst (current assessment from the company doctor or occupational health service). You and your employer complete the eindevaluatie (final evaluation). | Bedrijfsarts or arbodienst; employee and employer |
| By week 93 | Submit the WIA application and complete re-integratieverslag (reintegration report). | Employee; employer may upload non-medical parts if both agree |
| Week 104 | The wage or Ziektewet period normally ends unless it is extended. | Employer or UWV, depending on the route |
The re-integratieverslag includes the problem analysis and updates, action plan and updates, evaluations and the bedrijfsarts’s current opinion. Your employer gives you copies. You are responsible for UWV receiving a complete file. Your employer may upload general documents if you both agree. Send medical documents yourself through UWV’s protected route. If no work was possible and no action plan was made, UWV needs only the problem analysis and current opinion.
If your employer did too little to help you return to work, UWV can impose a loonsanctie (wage sanction). Your employer must then pay for up to one extra year. Dismissal protection continues. Once the employer fixes the shortfall, it can ask UWV to shorten the sanction.
You and your employer may request a voluntary extension if you are expected to return fully soon but need more time. This route is unavailable if your employer receives a Ziektewet benefit for you.
UWV’s WIA postponement guidance (External site, opens in a new tab) sets no fixed submission date. Aim to send the joint request before the standard 104-week period ends. If you agree an extension, apply for WIA 11 weeks before that extended period ends.
What work must I accept while I am sick?
Spoor 1 (returning to work with your current employer) covers your own job, adjusted work or another role there. Spoor 2 (returning to work with another employer) starts when there is no suitable job with your current employer. You and your employer must take reasonable steps. The bedrijfsarts advises on medical limits. Your employer offers suitable work and arranges measures to help you return. If your employer uses a re-integratiebedrijf (reintegration company) to help you return to work, your employer pays its costs.
Suitable work should fit your health and abilities and stay as close as possible to your previous work. UWV normally looks for the same number of hours and a commute of no more than two hours per day. Work at a lower level can also be suitable after six months of sickness.
Refusing suitable work without a good reason can stop your wage entitlement. In an extreme case, it can lead to dismissal with court approval. If you disagree, explain your reasons in writing and seek an expert opinion before refusing the work.
How can I challenge advice or a decision?
Use a second opinion for doubt about the bedrijfsarts’s advice. Use a deskundigenoordeel (expert opinion) from UWV for a dispute about work or reintegration. The table compares the two routes.
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| Route | Use it for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Second opinion | Doubt about the medical or work-health advice from the bedrijfsarts. | You ask the first bedrijfsarts. Another bedrijfsarts at a different service or company reviews the advice. The employer pays. The advice is non-binding, and current appointments and reintegration continue. |
| Deskundigenoordeel | Whether you can fully do your own work, offered work is suitable, or either side has done enough for reintegration. | You or your employer applies to UWV. Each question needs a separate request. In 2026, the standard fees are €100 for you and €400 for your employer. The opinion is non-binding and has no objection procedure. |
An employer’s deskundigenoordeel request is free when it concerns dismissal for insufficient cooperation with reintegration or frequent sickness. UWV’s deskundigenoordeel application page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains the fees and questions.
In 2026, UWV’s assessment priorities (External site, opens in a new tab) limit deskundigenoordelen to conflicts or cases where not giving one would cause serious financial problems. UWV calls the applicant first and gives an expected response time. Mark a wage-payment dispute on the form.
A court wage claim normally needs a UWV expert statement. Get legal advice before filing.
Every bedrijfsarts or arbodienst must have a complaints procedure. Use it for conduct or service problems.
A formal UWV benefit decision has a separate bezwaar (objection) route. UWV must usually receive your objection within six weeks of the date on the decision. Some Ziektewet decisions allow only two weeks. Follow the deadline in your letter. If you need more time to explain your reasons, submit a pro-formabezwaar (provisional objection) within that deadline. File it in time even if you also make a service complaint.
Who pays if I have a temporary or on-call contract?
Your sick-pay and benefit route depends on your contract. Check the exact contract and CAO before relying on a general label.
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| Contract | Wage while the contract applies | What can change the payer |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent or fixed-term employment | The employer pays under the 104-week rules while the contract continues. | A fixed-term contract may expire on its agreed date. An employer insured through UWV reports you sick on the final contract day. The own-risk route has different deadlines, explained below. |
| On-call work with a pre-agreement | An accepted call creates a contract for that call. The employer pays at least 70% for the accepted period. | After the call ends, the temporary contract ends. If sickness continues, the employer reports to UWV. Outside a call, sickness within four weeks of the last contract may give a Ziektewet route. |
| Zero-hours contract | During an accepted call, at least 70% is paid for the agreed call period. | After the call, pay can stop while the contract continues. Ziektewet does not then start automatically. After at least three months, stopped calls may support a wage claim based on average hours. |
| Min-max contract | At least 70% is paid over the guaranteed minimum hours. Average hours may matter if the employer stops calling. | The contract terms and work pattern decide any wage above the guarantee. Ziektewet normally starts only when the contract ends. |
| Agency contract | If the employment continues, the agency pays and leads reintegration. Report sick to the workplace and the agency. | Your agency cannot end your contract because of sickness if it belongs to ABU (General Association of Temporary Employment Agencies) or NBBU (Dutch Association of Mediation and Temporary Employment Agencies). Elsewhere, an uitzendbeding (assignment-end clause) can allow this if the hiring organisation ends the assignment and invokes the clause. The agency can then apply for Ziektewet. |
Who reports to UWV when my contract ends?
When a contract ends while you are sick, your employer reports to UWV. During WW (unemployment benefit), you report yourself. If sickness starts within four weeks after employment ends without WW, the reporting route depends on whether your former employer carries its own Ziektewet risk.
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| Situation without continuing employer pay | Who must receive the sick report | Benefit route |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed-term contract ends while you are sick | An employer insured through UWV reports you on the last contract day. If that is a weekend or public holiday, UWV must receive the report on the next working day. The own-risk route has different deadlines, explained below. | UWV normally assesses Ziektewet and takes over reintegration after employment ends. Some former employers remain responsible, as explained below. |
| You become sick within four weeks after a job ends and do not yet receive WW | For the ordinary UWV-insured route, call UWV no later than the second sick day. If your former employer carries its own Ziektewet risk, contact that employer promptly. | UWV assesses the ordinary post-employment route. The own-risk employer route is explained below. |
| You receive WW when you become sick | Report through Mijn UWV (External site, opens in a new tab) or the UWV app (External site, opens in a new tab) by the second sick day. | WW normally continues for 13 sick weeks. Ziektewet follows afterwards. It can start earlier if WW ends, or for illness caused by pregnancy, childbirth or organ donation. |
Your former employer normally pays your Ziektewet benefit and manages reintegration after employment ends if it is an eigenrisicodrager (employer that carries its own Ziektewet risk). UWV pays some special Ziektewet benefits instead, including those for pregnancy-related illness or organ donation. Ask your employer which route applies to you.
For the ordinary own-risk reporting route (External site, opens in a new tab), your employer reports within six weeks after your final contract day if employment ends during the first 104 sick weeks. Different deadlines can apply when UWV pays a special benefit.
If you become sick within four weeks after employment ends without WW, check whether your former employer carries its own Ziektewet risk. If it does, contact that employer promptly. Under the ordinary own-risk route, the employer reports to UWV within six weeks after your first sick day. Different deadlines can apply when UWV pays a special benefit.
A Ziektewet benefit is usually 70% of the UWV daily wage, up to the statutory maximum. Qualifying pregnancy, childbirth and organ-donation routes pay 100%. The sickness period normally stays capped at 104 weeks from the original first sick day.
When a fixed-term contract ends after more than six sick weeks, you and your employer normally need a reintegration report. UWV accepts a shortened report for sickness lasting 6–10 weeks. A full report is normally needed from 10 weeks. A shortened report can also apply if full recovery was expected within three months and no reintegration took place. An employer that carries its own Ziektewet risk does not need this report for the Ziektewet application.
The employment-agency guide and WW guide explain those contract and benefit routes.
Can I take holiday or travel while sick?
To take holiday while already sick, ask your employer first. Check your reintegration appointment dates when planning your holiday. Approved holiday days receive 100% of your normal wage, even when sick pay is 70%.
Your statutory holiday hours continue to build up while you are fully or partly sick. Your CAO or contract can set different rules for extra holiday hours.
If you become sick during booked holiday, report through the workplace procedure. Those days normally stay in your holiday balance. They can count as holiday if you agree. A written agreement can also allow the employer to deduct extra holiday days.
If you become sick abroad while employed, report to your employer as soon as possible. Give a reachable address and follow the workplace procedure and bedrijfsarts’s instructions. The evidence needed depends on your procedure and circumstances.
If you receive Ziektewet and plan foreign travel, tell UWV at least two weeks before departure (External site, opens in a new tab). Remain reachable. Arrange for someone to check your post, or give UWV your holiday address as your postal address. If you are reintegrating, discuss your holiday plans with your work or reintegration adviser first. You still have recovery and reintegration duties. You must attend medical appointments requested by UWV, including while abroad. You must cooperate with examinations requested by UWV.
If you become sick abroad without an employer, contact UWV by the second sick day to check whether you qualify.
Can my employer dismiss me while I am sick?
Your employer normally cannot dismiss you during the first 104 sick weeks or a loonsanctie extension. Exceptions include a valid probation period, sickness starting after UWV received a dismissal request and failure to cooperate with reintegration without good reason.
Frequent short sickness can be a separate reason for dismissal under strict court rules. It does not itself remove sickness dismissal protection.
A fixed-term contract can still expire on its agreed date.
After 104 weeks, dismissal is not automatic. Your employer must meet the legal conditions and use the correct route, normally UWV for long-term incapacity.
You normally have two weeks to withdraw a written settlement agreement. The period is three weeks if the agreement omits this right. Get advice before signing rather than relying on the cooling-off period.
Can I receive WIA after two years?
UWV compares what you could earn before sickness with what you can still earn. Your diagnosis alone does not decide entitlement. Your loss of earning capacity, and whether it is lasting, decide the route.
A loss of exactly 35% meets the WIA percentage threshold. The table shows the possible outcomes.
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| UWV outcome | Earning-capacity test | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| No WIA | You can still earn more than 65% of your former wage, so your loss is less than 35%. | Employer sick pay can still end at week 104 if there is no extension. |
| WGA (return-to-work benefit for partial incapacity) | Your loss is 35% to under 80%, or 80–100% if UWV expects you may earn more in future. | The benefit and duties depend on former income, remaining capacity and actual work. |
| IVA (benefit for full and lasting incapacity) | You can earn at most 20% of your former wage. UWV finds that you can hardly work or cannot work, now and in the future. | UWV decides whether your incapacity is both full and lasting. |
A WIA application does not guarantee a benefit or fixed amount. Apply by the exact deadline in your week-88 letter and check the status in Mijn UWV.
During a loonsanctie, your employer continues paying while it fixes the missing reintegration work.
If the WIA decision is delayed near the end of pay, contact UWV about the income gap and ask whether an advance is available.
What can I do about reporting, pay or UWV problems?
Keep written proof when reporting, pay or a decision causes a problem. Match your problem to its first action below.
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| Problem | First action |
|---|---|
| The employer says your report did not follow the protocol. | Repeat the report through the required channel as soon as possible. Ask for written confirmation of the first sick day and keep your original proof. |
| A manager asks for a diagnosis or treatment details. | Give only the return estimate, contact details and urgent-work information. Send medical questions to the bedrijfsarts. |
| Pay is suspended or stopped. | Ask in writing for the exact reason and whether this is temporary suspension for missing control information or a wage stop for alleged non-cooperation. Check the CAO and get legal advice before refusing work. |
| A contract ends and no UWV report appears. | Ask your employer to confirm the reporting deadline and whether it has sent the report. If your employer cannot or will not report, call UWV yourself as soon as you discover this. |
| You disagree with a UWV decision. | Read the decision letter when it arrives. Follow its deadline: usually six weeks, but sometimes two for Ziektewet. File a provisional objection in time if needed. |
If illness also stops you completing inburgering (civic integration) on time, check the conditions for extra time for your integration deadline. Sick leave from work does not automatically extend that deadline.
Which records should I keep during sick leave?
Keep all of these records and checks together during sick leave:
- Your verzuimprotocol, employment contract and CAO.
- Your first sick day and every agreement with your employer or bedrijfsarts.
- Your pay percentage, waiting days and contract end date.
- Weeks 6, 8, 42, 52, 88, 91 and 93 in your calendar if sickness continues.
- Every UWV letter and the deadline it gives.
For the contract rules, see Dutch employment contracts. For treatment and referrals, see the huisarts guide. If stress or another mental-health problem is part of your illness, see mental-health care in the Netherlands.
Official Sources
- wetten.overheid.nl (Dutch legislation database): Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code), Book 7 (External site, opens in a new tab) - statutory sick pay, waiting days, wage claims, holiday during sickness, suitable work and dismissal protection
- wetten.overheid.nl: Regeling procesgang eerste en tweede ziektejaar (first and second sickness-year process rules) (External site, opens in a new tab) - the problem analysis, action plan, progress reviews and first-year evaluation deadlines
- Arboportaal: guidance for employers and employees when reporting sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - the employee follows the absence procedure and the employer notifies the arbodienst or bedrijfsarts within one week
- Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens: policy rules for sick employees (External site, opens in a new tab) - which operational details an employer may process and which medical information remains private
- KNMG (Royal Dutch Medical Association): the treating doctor and absence from work (External site, opens in a new tab) - why a treating huisarts does not certify a patient as unfit for work and why the bedrijfsarts assesses work capacity
- Arboportaal: what the law says about the bedrijfsarts (External site, opens in a new tab) - access, independent advice, medical confidentiality, second opinions and the required complaints procedure
- Rijksoverheid: how much wage is paid during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - 70% pay, the first-year minimum-wage floor, the second-year rule, CAO top-ups and special safety-net situations
- Rijksoverheid: how long sick pay continues (External site, opens in a new tab) - 104 weeks, up to two agreed waiting days and the rule that sickness periods less than four weeks apart are combined
- Rijksoverheid: amount of the Ziektewet benefit (External site, opens in a new tab) - the usual 70% daily-wage benefit, the 100% pregnancy, childbirth and organ-donation routes, the statutory maximum and a possible supplement
- UWV: step-by-step guide to employee sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - the week 6, 8, 42, 52, 88, 91, 93 and 104 milestones
- UWV: reintegration report (External site, opens in a new tab) - the required documents, copies for the employee and separate handling of medical information
- UWV: applying for WIA (External site, opens in a new tab) - the week-88 letter, the six-week application window and the exact deadline in the letter
- UWV: assessment of the reintegration report (External site, opens in a new tab) - a loonsanctie of up to one extra year, continued dismissal protection and a request to shorten the sanction
- UWV: first-track and second-track reintegration (External site, opens in a new tab) - ways to return in another role, the features of suitable work and the consequences of refusing it
- Arboportaal: second opinion from another bedrijfsarts (External site, opens in a new tab) - who can request it, who pays, its non-binding status and that current reintegration arrangements continue
- Rijksoverheid: disagreement about sickness or reintegration (External site, opens in a new tab) - the deskundigenoordeel questions, current employee and employer fees and the route to court
- UWV: requesting a deskundigenoordeel (External site, opens in a new tab) - eligible questions, separate applications, evidence, fees and the fact that the opinion is non-binding and cannot be challenged
- UWV: waiting times for social-medical assessments in 2026 (External site, opens in a new tab) - the 2026 restriction of deskundigenoordelen to conflicts or serious financial problems
- Rijksoverheid: sickness on a fixed-term contract (External site, opens in a new tab) - wage payment until the contract ends, the Ziektewet handoff and the reintegration report
- Rijksoverheid: sick pay for on-call workers (External site, opens in a new tab) - different rules for a pre-agreement, zero-hours and min-max contract, including accepted, guaranteed and average hours
- UWV: sickness while working through an agency (External site, opens in a new tab) - reporting to the workplace, continued agency contracts, ABU and NBBU rules and a valid uitzendbeding
- UWV: leaving employment while sick (External site, opens in a new tab) - the employer report on the final contract day, the Ziektewet decision and the transfer of reintegration responsibility
- UWV: sickness during a WW benefit (External site, opens in a new tab) - how to report sick, the first 13 weeks and the later Ziektewet route
- UWV: sickness during pregnancy and after childbirth (External site, opens in a new tab) - when the employer can claim a 100% daily-wage Ziektewet benefit and how pregnancy and maternity leave affect the route
- Ondernemersplein (government business portal): statutory and extra holiday days (External site, opens in a new tab) - continued statutory holiday accrual during full or partial sickness, extra-hour agreements and sickness during booked holiday
- Rijksoverheid: full wage for holiday taken during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - employer permission and 100% wage for approved holiday days during sickness
- UWV: holiday while receiving a Ziektewet benefit (External site, opens in a new tab) - the two-week foreign-travel notification and the continuing recovery and reintegration duties
- UWV: prohibition on dismissal (External site, opens in a new tab) - the first-two-years protection, its extension during a loonsanctie and the main exceptions
- UWV: ending employment during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - the benefit risk of resignation or a settlement agreement and the two-week cooling-off period
- UWV: WIA loss-of-earning-capacity percentage (External site, opens in a new tab) - the 35% threshold and the comparison between former and remaining earning capacity
- UWV: WGA and IVA benefits (External site, opens in a new tab) - the WGA and IVA categories and why benefit amounts depend on income and work capacity
- UWV: deadline for an objection (External site, opens in a new tab) - the usual six-week period, the two-week period for some Ziektewet decisions and a provisional objection
- Rijksoverheid: rules and duties during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - shared employer and employee duties and the separate income position of self-employed workers
- Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens: official publication of sick-employee policy rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - employer reporting questions, pregnancy privacy, limited medical disclosures and the emergency-information exception
- UWV: sickness reporting for different situations (External site, opens in a new tab) - second-sick-day reporting after employment, during WW or abroad, and reporting if an employer cannot or will not apply
- UWV: voluntary insurance for self-employed workers (External site, opens in a new tab) - voluntary Ziektewet insurance for eligible starters and workers who remain partly employed
- Rijksoverheid: holiday allowance (External site, opens in a new tab) - holiday allowance continues during sickness and uses the lower wage when sick pay is reduced
- Rijksoverheid: exchanging holiday days for sick days (External site, opens in a new tab) - written agreements or employee permission for deducting extra holiday days
- DUO (Dutch education service): extra integration time because of illness (External site, opens in a new tab) - a separate application and conditions for extra time when illness prevents timely civic integration
- UWV: action plan during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - progress discussions at least every six weeks and updating the action plan
- Arboportaal: requesting a second opinion (External site, opens in a new tab) - the second bedrijfsarts must work at a different company or occupational health service
- UWV: medical representatives for benefit decisions (External site, opens in a new tab) - the employer receives no medical information underlying benefit decisions
- UWV: postponing the WIA application (External site, opens in a new tab) - voluntary wage extension, no fixed submission date, the Ziektewet exclusion and WIA application 11 weeks before an extension ends
- wetten.overheid.nl: Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen (Work and Income according to Work Capacity Act) (External site, opens in a new tab) - article 24 permits a joint voluntary extension and applies the 13-week period to ending or changing an extension, rather than to the original application
- UWV: employees whose employer carries its own Ziektewet risk (External site, opens in a new tab) - the normal own-risk route for benefit payment and reintegration after employment ends; UWV pays some special benefits instead
- Rijksoverheid: household employment by a private individual (External site, opens in a new tab) - the private-employer and household-work conditions, fewer than four working days per household and six-week sick pay
- Rijksoverheid: working after AOW age (External site, opens in a new tab) - the six-week statutory sick-pay period for employees working after state pension age
- UWV: shared reintegration duties (External site, opens in a new tab) - the employer pays the costs of a reintegration company when one is engaged
- UWV: receiving Ziektewet abroad (External site, opens in a new tab) - continuing benefit duties abroad, medical-check arrangements and cooperation with examinations
- UWV: general benefit duties (External site, opens in a new tab) - attendance at medical appointments and cooperation with examinations, including while abroad
- Rijksoverheid: employee rights for personal budget care workers (External site, opens in a new tab) - the 2026 employment-contract change, 104-week sick pay and budget-specific payroll conditions
- SVB: sickness of a care worker (External site, opens in a new tab) - sick pay under a care employment contract, yearly percentages and the AOW-age exception
- UWV: own-risk employer sickness reporting (External site, opens in a new tab) - six-week post-employment reporting for the ordinary own-risk route and different deadlines for UWV-paid special benefits
- UWV: Mijn UWV (External site, opens in a new tab) - the official online account for sickness and recovery reports
- UWV: UWV app (External site, opens in a new tab) - sickness and recovery reports for WW and Ziektewet after WW
- UWV: Ziek worden tijdens werk in Nederland (External site, opens in a new tab) - If you live in the Netherlands and become sick here while insured for sickness in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or a treaty country, also call UWV no later than your second sick day. Your country of insurance sets the sickness-benefit rules. Ask your employer or its benefit body how to claim.