Your employment has ended and you are ill. Do you now get unemployment benefits (WW), Sickness Benefits (Ziektewet) or WIA? The answer depends on your situation on the end date — and mistakes are costly.
As long as you are employed, your employer continues to pay your salary during illness (art. 7:629 Dutch Civil Code). Once your employment ends — through dismissal, expiring contract or settlement agreement — responsibility shifts to UWV. Which benefit you receive depends on one key question: are you ill or recovered on the end date?
If you are ill on the end date, you fall under the safety-net Sickness Benefits Act (Ziektewet). If you are recovered and available for work, you can apply for unemployment benefits (WW). If you have already been ill for 104 weeks, WIA comes into play. In practice, things often go wrong at the transition: employers who do not report the illness, deadlines that expire, or confusion about which route to choose.
If you are incapacitated on the day your employment ends, you fall under the safety-net Sickness Benefits Act. The benefit is 70% of your daily wage and runs for a maximum of 104 weeks. Your employer must report you as ill to UWV before the end date.
If you are fit for work and available on the end date, you can apply for unemployment benefits (WW). You must meet the weeks requirement (26 of the last 36 weeks worked) and actively apply for jobs. Register with UWV within 1 week of your last working day.
If you have already received 104 weeks of Sickness Benefits, the WIA assessment follows. UWV assesses how much you can earn with work that fits your limitations. At less than 35% incapacity, you receive no WIA — that can be a significant setback.
If you are partially fit for work, your situation may be more complex. You may partly fall under Sickness Benefits and partly be available for work. The UWV assessment is then tailored to your case. Get proper advice about which route is correct.
Step 1 — Before the end date: check whether your employer has reported you as ill to UWV (via the Absence Reporter). If they have not, contact UWV yourself. Collect all relevant documents: employment contract, payslips, problem analysis, plan of action, company doctor reports.
Step 2 — On the end date: determine your status. Are you ill or recovered? This determines whether you apply for Sickness Benefits or WW. Have this confirmed by a doctor if there is any doubt. A fitness-for-work declaration from the company doctor shortly before the end date deserves extra attention.
Step 3 — Within 1 week after the end date: register with UWV for the correct benefit. With Sickness Benefits, you do not need to apply for jobs. With WW, you do. Late registration can cause delays or rejection.
Step 4 — Keep evidence of everything: save confirmation of your registration, all correspondence with UWV and your employer, and medical documents. In a dispute about your benefit, evidence is decisive.
Step 5 — Watch the deadlines: you can object to UWV decisions within 6 weeks. Do not miss this deadline — after it expires, the decision is final, even if it is substantively incorrect.
Settlement agreement and disadvantageous act: if you leave employment via a settlement agreement while ill, UWV may determine that you committed a disadvantageous act. That means you may not receive Sickness Benefits. This risk is real with every settlement agreement during illness — have it assessed in advance.
Ill again after recovery: if you become ill again within 4 weeks of your recovery declaration, your right to Sickness Benefits revives. This is called the aggregation rule. It is important to report this to UWV promptly.
Self-insured employer: if your (former) employer is self-insured for Sickness Benefits, they pay your benefit themselves (through UWV). This may mean your former employer remains involved in your reintegration, even after the end of your employment. This sometimes creates tensions, especially if the employment relationship was already strained.
Usually not. If you are ill on the end date of your employment, you fall under the safety-net Sickness Benefits Act — not under WW. WW requires you to be available for the labour market, and you are not if you are ill. Only when you recover can you switch to WW.
After 104 weeks of incapacity for work. It does not matter whether those 104 weeks were partly spent with your employer and partly under Sickness Benefits — they are aggregated. UWV sends you a call for the WIA application, but you must actively submit the application yourself, at least 11 weeks before the end of the waiting period.
Yes, significantly. The wording of the settlement agreement (who took the initiative?), the end date and your health on that date together determine whether you are entitled to WW or Sickness Benefits. With a settlement agreement during illness, there is the risk of a disadvantageous act — which can lead to your Sickness Benefits being refused.
You can object within 6 weeks to UWV. Always do this in writing and explain why the decision is incorrect. If your objection is rejected, you can appeal to the court within 6 weeks. Do not miss these deadlines — they are fatal.
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