Self-insurer for employee insurance

Becoming a self-insurer

You are obliged to insure your employees for sickness (Sickness Benefits Act) or incapacity for work (WGA). You pay the premium for these employee insurances to the Netherlands Tax Administration.

You can also choose to become self-insurer. Together with your company doctor or health and safety service, you then take care of the absenteeism policy and health and safety services yourself.

You can become a self-insurer for:

• the Sickness Benefits Act (Ziektewet)
• the Return to Work of Partially Disabled Persons Scheme (WGA, part of the WIA Capacity for Work Act)

As a self-insurer, you have other costs

You can determine if being a self-insurer is useful for you by comparing the extra costs (for instance for an absenteeism policy and extra health and safety services) with the premiums and risks of illness and disability in your sector. Also examine what the risks of illness and incapacity for work are in your sector.

Self-insurer in case of illness

If your employee falls ill, you have to pay the first 2 years of wages (this is called the continued payment of wages obligation). In some instances you can apply for benefit through the Sickness Benefit Act. Then UWV pays this benefit. If you are a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefit Act you pay these benefits yourself. You can become a self-insurer for employees who:

• do not have a 'regular' employment contract such as homeworkers and interns
• worked for you (and were insured) and became sick within 4 weeks after leaving employment
• were employed on a temporary contract that ends during their illness

If you are self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act, you must have knowledge of the Sickness Benefits Act and keep your own absence records. Read more about your responsibilities and obligations if you are self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act on the website of UWV.

Self-insurer for the Return to Work of Partially Disabled Persons Scheme (WGA)

Is your employee ill for more than 2 years? Then they can apply for a WIA-benefit under the Work and Income Act (Capacity for Work Act, Activiteitenbesluit Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen, WIA, in Dutch). If they are partially incapacitated for work, they are eligible for a WGA-benefit.

You can choose to become a self-insurer for the WGA for employees with a permanent contract who are partially disabled for work and are eligible for the WGA. You then pay the benefit yourself, instead of UWV. Read the information on becoming a self-insurer for the WGA on the UWV website to help you decide. You can read more on your duties and responsibilities there. Among others these imply that in addition to the benefit itself, you pay the costs of reintegration and you supply support for the reintegration process.

If you are a self-insurer for the Return to Work of Partially Disabled Persons Scheme (WGA) you pay a lower premium. You pay the basic premium plus the Work resumption account (Activiteitenbesluit Werkhervattingskas, Whk) without the WGA premium. You can calculate your premium (in Dutch) on the UWV website.

Lower premium and differentiated contribution Work resumption fund (Whk)

If you are a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act (ZW) you pay lower insurance premiums to the Tax Administration. You pay the basic premium plus the Return-to-Work fund (Activiteitenbesluit Werkhervattingskas, Whk) without the part for flexible workers (Activiteitenbesluit ZW-Flex). You can calculate your premium (in Dutch) on the UWV website.

Please note: continuing payment of a sick employee's wages for 2 years does not mean you are a self-insurer for ZW. This obligation applies to all employers.

How to apply to become a self-insurer?

You apply to the Netherlands Tax Administration if you want to become a self-insurer for the Sickness Benefits Act (in Dutch) or for the Return to Work of Partially Disabled Persons Scheme (WGA, in Dutch). If you want to become a self-insurer for both sickness benefit and the WGA, you have to apply for both separately. If you apply for one of these options, you are not automatically a self-insurer for the other.

You can have the self-insurer commitment start on 1 January or on 1 July. Your application must have been received 13 weeks before these dates at the latest (so, before 2 October or before 1 April).

If you are a starting entrepreneur you can become a self-insurer from the moment you become an employer.

Stopping as self-insurer

Your self-insured status can end in 2 ways:

• You deregister as self-insurer

You can deregister from the Tax Administration twice a year. This is possible on 1 January and 1 July. You must deregister 13 weeks before these dates. So no later than 31 March or 1 October.

• You are deregistered as self-insurer

In certain situations your self-insurance ends automatically: if you are declared bankrupt, if the Natural Persons Debt Rescheduling Act (Wsnp) applies to you, orif you are no longer an employer. You remain responsible for current benefi paymentss.

You remain responsible for current benefits

If you terminate the self-insurance, you remain responsible for current Sickness Act and WGA benefits. For the WGA, you remain responsible for reintegration of these employees if they remain ill.

Insurance

You can choose to bear the financial risk entirely on your own, or take out full or partial insurance with a private insurer. These insurers often also support in the reintegration process. The Dutch trade association of insurers offers an overview of insurers (in Dutch).