Reporting employee illness and recovery
Do you have an employee who reports ill? If so, in the Netherlands, you must notify the company doctor or occupational health and safety service (Arbodienst). You also have to report when they recover. If your employee is ill for a longer period, you also have to file a report to the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV).
Your employee reports ill
If your employee is ill and therefore unable to work, the employee must report ill to you immediately. The rules for reporting ill can be found in the employment contract, collective labour agreement (CAO), or company regulations. If your employee is ill, you must continue to pay their wages.
You may not ask your employee specific details about their illness or its cause. However, you are allowed to ask your employee an expected 'return to work' date. This is because of your employee’s privacy rights. You are not allowed to ask and keep health data. Even if your employee tells you on their own what is the matter, you are not allowed to record or share this.
To whom do you report illness and recovery?
Within 1 week of the first day of illness, you must report to your company doctor or health and safety service that your employee is ill.
If your employee is still ill after 6 weeks, the company doctor or occupational health and safety service must have a conversation with the employee. The company doctor or occupational health and safety doctor prepares a problem analysis in which they state what is needed to get better and return to work (reintegration).
If your employee is ill for more than 42 weeks, you need to report this to UWV (42e-weeksmelding, in Dutch). You should notify UWV on the first working day after 42 weeks at the latest. This also applies if you are a self-insurer under the Return to Work Scheme for Partially Disabled Persons or Disability Insurance Act (WGA or WAO). You can report your employee's recovery online to UWV (in Dutch), but this is not mandatory. You can find more information on which steps to take on UWV’s website (in Dutch).
Sickness benefits
Sometimes a sick employee is entitled to sickness benefit. This applies to, for example:
- employees who are ill as a result of pregnancy or childbirth
- employees whose employment ends during their illness
If your employee is entitled to sickness benefits, you must report your employee’s illness to UWV. You can do this online by means of the absence feature (verzuimmelder) in UWV’s employer portal (in Dutch). When you have to report your employee’s illness depends on the situation (in Dutch).
Reporting the recovery of your employee
As soon as your employee has recovered, you have to notify the occupational health and safety service or company doctor.
Has your employee recovered after a 42nd-week report? Then you can report your employee’s recovery online (in Dutch) to UWV, but this is not mandatory.
Do you receive sickness benefit for your employee and does the employee return to work (partially)? You must notify UWV of this employee’s recovery within 2 days (in Dutch).
Please note: 2 days, not 2 working days. This can also mean you have to report on a Saturday. Has your employee recovered on a Friday? You are allowed to report the recovery on Monday instead of Sunday.
Dismissal during sick leave
Does your employee's contract end while they are on sick leave? And has your employee been ill for less than 2 years (104 weeks)? You must report the employee sick on termination of employment to UWV (in Dutch). You have to do so on the day their contract ends.
Do you already receive sickness benefit for your employee and does their employment end? You must notify UVW of the end of employment using their employer portal. You no longer have to pay their wages.