Illness and recovery reporting

If you own a company in the Netherlands and an employee reports ill, you must notify your occupational health and safety service or occupational health and safety doctor. When your employee has been ill for more than 42 weeks, you must report this to the Institute for Employee Benefit Schemes (UWV). This also applies if you are a self-insurer for the purpose of the Invalidity Insurance Act (WAO) or the Return to Work (Partially Disabled) Regulations (WGA). You are not required to report your employees’ recovery. These rules do not apply if a sick employee is entitled to sickness benefits.

Sickness benefits

Sometimes a sick employee is entitled to sickness benefits. This applies to, for example:

• Employees who are ill as a result of pregnancy or childbirth
• Employees with structural functional limitations and occupationally disabled persons who are ill
• Employees whose employment ends during their illness

If your employee is entitled to sickness benefits, you must report your employee’s illness to the UWV by no later than the fourth working day. 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). You must notify the UWV of this employee’s recovery within two days.