Sickness and disability benefits for first responders (emergency workers)

Does your organisation employ emergency workers (first responders)? If your employees become sick or disabled as a result of their work, they are entitled to benefits. If an emergency worker is missing or killed as a result of their work as first responder, their partner and children are entitled to benefits.

An emergency worker is someone who works as an employee or volunteer at:

• municipal or regional fire brigade
• primary healthcare service
• ambulance service
• municipal emergency services control room
• Netherlands Red Cross
• other recognised institutions in the emergency and healthcare sector

Conditions for benefits for first responders

Benefits in the case of illness or disability

Is your employee a first responder? If they become ill or disabled as a result of the work as an emergency worker, they can apply for sickness benefit. If the sickness benefit ends and your employee is still unable to work, they can apply for disability benefit.

Then main conditions for sickness benefit for first responders are:

• Your employee has become injured or ill during their work as an emergency worker, or
• your employee became injured or ill within 6 months after stopping their work as an emergency worker, and
• the illness or disability is a result of the work as an emergency worker.

Benefits in the case of death or disappearance

Was your employee a first responder and did they die as a result of their work as an emergency worker or within 2 years of performing this work? Or did they go missing as a result of their work? Then their partner and children may be entitled to benefits.

To receive widow’s benefits (widow's pension) for first responders, the partner must:

• be married to or bed in a registered as partnership with your employee, and
• have not reached state pension age (AOW-leeftijd)

To receive orphan’s benefits (orphan's pension) for first responders, the child or children must:

• be younger than 21 years of age, and
• be single and never have been married

How to apply?

Your employee has to apply for the sickness or disability benefits for first responders within 1 year of becoming ill or disabled. They can do so by contacting the Ministry Justice and Security (JenV).

The partner and/or children of your employee can apply for the widow's or orphan's benefits to the Ministry Justice and Security (JenV).