Reporting employee illness and recovery

Do you have an employee who reports ill? In the Netherlands, you must notify the company doctor (in Dutch) or occupational health and safety service (Arbodienst) if one of your employees becomes ill. You also report when they recover. If your employee is ill for a short period, you need not report anything to the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV).

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 who can claim the no-risk policy (in Dutch)
• employees whose employment ends during their illness

Reporting illness and recovery to the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV)

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 (Dutch-language) Absenteeism Reporter for the Sickness Benefits Act/Work and Care Act (Verzuimmelder Ziektewet/WAZO). When you have to report your employee’s illness depends on the situation (in Dutch). You must notify UWV of this employee’s recovery within 2 days. 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.

Is an employee ill for less than 42 weeks and are they not eligible for sickness benefit? You do not have to report anything to UWV.

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.

Dismissal during sick leave

If your employee's contract ends while they are on sick leave, you must report this to UWV (in Dutch) on the day the contract ends. You no longer have to pay their wages.

Illness during unpaid (parental) leave

Does an employee fall ill during unpaid leave (in Dutch)? They are not entitled to sickness benefits. The employee may decide in consultation with you to end the unpaid leave because of illness. From the day the unpaid leave ends, they may be entitled to sickness benefits if they fulfil the criteria.

Taking sick leave and privacy

If your employee calls in sick, they do not have to give specific details about their illness or its cause. They do have to give an expected 'return to work' date, and tell you if there are tasks they can still perform during their illness. Please contact the Dutch Data Protection Authority for more information on staff privacy.