Sick leave and sick pay in the Netherlands: how much, how long, and the rules for employer and employee

Sick pay in the Netherlands (loondoorbetaling bij ziekte) is paid by the employer, not by the state: during up to 104 weeks (two years) of sickness, the employee keeps at least 70% of the wage, and in the first 52 weeks at least the statutory minimum wage (Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code). There is no fixed number of sick days: the right runs as long as the employee is unfit for work, up to two years. The contract may provide for no more than two unpaid waiting days. Employment contracts and collective agreements often top this up, for example to 100% in the first year. During sickness the employee cannot be given notice, and both parties must work on the return to work.

Sick leave in the Netherlands at a glance

• Who pays: the employer, for up to 104 weeks (Article 7:629(1)).
• How much: at least 70% of the wage, capped at the maximum daily wage; in the first 52 weeks at least the minimum wage.
• Waiting days: at most two, and only if agreed in writing (Article 7:629(9)).
• Sick days: no annual maximum; separate periods of sickness count together if less than four weeks apart (Article 7:629(10)).
• Company doctor: assesses fitness for work; the employer must obtain that assessment within six weeks if long-term absence threatens.
• Dismissal: no notice during sickness until it has lasted two years (Article 7:670(1)).
• Wage sanction: if reintegration efforts fall short, UWV can extend the pay period by up to 52 weeks.

On this page

How Much Sick Pay Does an Employee Get in the Netherlands?

At least 70% of the wage for up to 104 weeks, and in the first 52 weeks at least the statutory minimum wage that applies to the employee: Article 7:629(1) of the Dutch Civil Code. The 70% is calculated on the wage up to the maximum daily wage for social insurance.

The employment contract or collective labour agreement can give more, and often does, sometimes on condition that the employee cooperates with reintegration. It can never give less than the statutory minimum. Holiday entitlement and holiday allowance continue to build up over the sick pay. For the current minimum wage, see the minimum wage in the Netherlands.

How Long Is Sick Leave, and How Many Sick Days Are There?

There is no fixed number of paid sick days in the Netherlands. The right to sick pay continues as long as the employee is unfit for work because of illness, up to 104 weeks. Periods of sickness that follow each other with less than four weeks in between are added together (Article 7:629(10)).

So an employee who is sick for three months, returns for two weeks and falls ill again from the same or a different cause continues on the same 104-week clock. For employees who have reached state pension age, the period is six weeks, and the same applies to certain domestic workers (Article 7:629(2)). The two-year period is explained in more detail on the two-year sick leave rule.

Are There Waiting Days in the Netherlands?

Only if agreed. The statutory sick pay rules can be deviated from to the employee's detriment only in one respect: it can be agreed that the employee has no right to pay for the first two days of sickness (Article 7:629(9)).

Waiting days must therefore be in the employment contract or collective agreement, and there can be at most two per period of sickness.

How Does an Employee Report Sick, and What Does the Company Doctor Do?

The employee reports sick according to the employer's written reporting rules, usually on the first day before the start of work. The employer involves the company doctor (bedrijfsarts), who assesses what the employee can and cannot do.

If long-term absence threatens, the employer must obtain the company doctor's assessment within six weeks of the first day of sickness, and employer and employee then draw up a plan of action within two weeks. At week 42 the employer reports the employee to UWV as long-term sick. The company doctor passes on the limitations and possibilities, not the medical details. More: reporting sick in the Netherlands and UWV's step-by-step guide to employee sickness.

What Are the Reintegration Obligations?

The employer must promote the employee's return to work: first in the own job or other suitable work within the company, and if that is not possible, suitable work with another employer (Article 7:658a). The employee must cooperate (Article 7:660a).

The work on reintegration is recorded in the plan of action, which is evaluated regularly. When the employee does suitable work, the employment contract remains in force unchanged (Article 7:629(12)). See reintegration obligations.

When Does an Employee Lose the Right to Sick Pay?

In the cases listed in Article 7:629(3), for example when the employee caused the sickness intentionally, delays recovery, refuses suitable work without good reason, or refuses without good reason to follow reasonable instructions or cooperate with the plan of action.

• The employer can also suspend payment while the employee does not follow reasonable written instructions for providing the information needed to assess the right to pay (Article 7:629(6)).
• The employer must inform the employee of such a sanction without delay, or can no longer rely on it (Article 7:629(7)).
• If the employer and employee disagree about whether the employee is fit for work, either can ask UWV for an expert opinion; a wage claim in court in principle requires one (Article 7:629a). See the UWV expert opinion.

What Happens if an Employee Is Sick During Holiday?

Days of sickness count as holiday only if the employee agrees in that specific case (Article 7:637(1)). Otherwise the holiday days are not used up and can be taken later.

A written agreement can provide that sick days count as holiday, but only for the extra holiday days above the statutory minimum (Article 7:637(2)). See annual leave in the Netherlands.

Can an Employer Dismiss a Sick Employee?

Not by giving notice while the employee is sick, unless the sickness has lasted at least two years (Article 7:670(1)). The prohibition does not apply if the sickness started after UWV received a request for dismissal permission.

Termination by mutual consent is possible, but for a sick employee it can affect benefits, so it should be approached with care. More: dismissal of a sick employee.

What Happens After Two Years of Sickness?

The employer's duty to pay ends after 104 weeks, and the employee can apply to UWV for a WIA benefit (occupational disability). UWV checks whether the employer and employee did enough to achieve a return to work. If the employer did not, UWV can extend the pay period by up to 52 weeks (a wage sanction, loonsanctie; Article 25(9) WIA).

The 104-week period is also extended if the WIA application is filed late (Article 7:629(11)). After two years, the prohibition of dismissal no longer applies, and the employer can ask UWV for permission to end the contract because of long-term incapacity; the employee is then entitled to a transition payment.

What if the Contract Ends During Sickness?

A fixed-term contract ends on its end date even if the employee is sick; the prohibition of dismissal concerns notice, not the expiry of a contract. The employer's sick pay then stops, and UWV pays sickness benefit under the Sickness Benefits Act (Ziektewet) from the first day after the employment ended (Article 29(2)(c) Ziektewet).

While the employee has a right to sick pay from the employer, no sickness benefit is paid (Article 29(1)); the two do not overlap.

What About Sickness Related to Pregnancy?

If an employee becomes unfit for work because of the pregnancy before the maternity leave starts, she is entitled to sickness benefit equal to her daily wage, paid through UWV (Article 29a Ziektewet).

See maternity leave in the Netherlands.

Key Legal Sources

• Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, continued payment of wages during sickness
• Article 7:629a, the UWV expert statement in a wage claim
• Articles 7:658a and 7:660a, reintegration duties of employer and employee
• Article 7:637, sickness and holiday
• Article 7:670, prohibition of dismissal during sickness
• Article 25 WIA, the wage sanction
• Articles 29 and 29a Ziektewet, sickness benefit
• UWV: a step-by-step guide to employee sickness