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Incapacity for work –
employer’s rights and obligations
What is expected of an employer?
Employees on sick leave constitute a cost item for any employer. An incapacitated employee will cost an employer about € 250 per day on average. Besides the direct costs, e.g. for salary continuation and the fee charged by the occupational health & safety service, the rehabilitation process can be time-consuming, particularly for small or medium-sized businesses that do not have their own HR department. Read on to find out more about your rights and obligations as an employer and how to make smart choices.
I have an employee on sick leave; what are my rights and obligations?
As an employer in the Netherlands, you are governed by the Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act, which comes with a large number of obligations on your part. If you do not comply with these obligations, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) may sanction you with a fine in the form of a salary continuation obligation.
The incapacity process is rather complex; to meet all your obligations as an employer, you have to have in-depth knowledge of all the ins and outs. You need to know, for instance, when to take which legal steps, you need to engage with the sick employee at regular intervals, you need to have documentation and you need to look for alternative suitable work for the employee. You also have to monitor that the sick employee is doing what is expected of them. If they are not, you need to take action, such as issuing a warning, calling in a mediator or suspending or discontinuing their pay. You need to do all this within the confines of the law. Frustrations can run high in incapacity cases, so it should come as no surprise that employers can find them challenging.
Benefits of our incapacity services
- You are certain to assert your rights and comply with your obligations, which will avoid fines.
- By taking the right steps at the right time, you will prevent things from escalating and incurring high costs.
- Your absenteeism rate will drop.
- You will save yourself time, worry and frustration during the incapacity process.
Want to make the right start with addressing incapacity for work?
We can help by:
- Advising on whether you comply with the provisions of the Dutch Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act.
- Drafting a robust absenteeism policy and protocol.
- Providing support in complex absenteeism cases that have gotten away from you.
- Reviewing whether your documentation meets the statutory requirements and, if it does not, advising on what you can do to remedy this.
- If your absenteeism rate is high, analysing the root cause and devising solutions to reduce this rate sustainably.
- Providing training and on-the-job coaching to managers to teach them about absenteeism and the procedures for dealing with sick employees.
Want to find out more about our incapacity services?
For more information about our incapacity services and how we can help, please leave your contact details here and we will reach out to you for a no-obligation consultation.