Your employer has suspended your salary. You have no income while you are ill. But is that allowed? And how do you get your salary back?
Salary suspension is regulated in art. 7:629 paragraph 6 Dutch Civil Code. It means your employer temporarily withholds your salary until you comply with monitoring rules or enable the employer to verify your right to salary. It concerns situations where the employer cannot sufficiently establish whether you are entitled to salary — not situations where you are not entitled.
The difference with a salary stop is crucial. With salary suspension, the employer withholds salary, but once you comply, you receive the back pay retroactively. With a salary stop (art. 7:629 paragraph 3 Dutch Civil Code), your right to salary permanently lapses for the period you did not cooperate. That money does not come back.
You are required to attend consultations. If you repeatedly fail to attend without valid reason, the employer may suspend salary until you do attend. But one missed appointment with an explainable reason is usually insufficient grounds.
Think of: not being reachable at agreed times, not filling in an absence form, not responding to the employer's calls. The rules must be reasonable — calling daily at 8am while you are being treated for psychological complaints may be unreasonable.
You must inform the employer about your expected recovery and what you can do. If you refuse all communication, the employer can suspend salary. But questions about your diagnosis or treatment are not allowed — that falls under the privacy of the company doctor.
Before the employer may suspend, they must warn you in writing. That warning must state: which obligation you are not meeting, what period you are given to comply, and what the consequence will be if you do not. Without this warning, the suspension is vulnerable.
Salary suspension (art. 7:629 paragraph 6 Dutch Civil Code): the employer temporarily withholds salary because you are not cooperating with monitoring. Once you do cooperate, you receive the full back pay — including the suspension period.
Salary stop (art. 7:629 paragraph 3 Dutch Civil Code): the employer permanently stops your salary because you refuse suitable work, obstruct your recovery, or do not cooperate with reintegration. That salary does not come back.
Why the difference matters: many employers use the wrong measure. An employer who writes "suspension" but actually stops salary because you will not work is applying the wrong legal ground. That can invalidate the measure.
If suspension is unjustified: you can claim back pay including the statutory increase of up to 50% (art. 7:625 Dutch Civil Code) and statutory interest. This adds up quickly — an unjustified suspension of three months can cost the employer one and a half times the salary.
Salary suspension is a temporary measure. If your employer suspends salary for months on end without periodic reassessment, the measure loses its legal basis. Request in writing every two weeks whether the suspension still applies and why.
In a persistent dispute about your cooperation, you can request a UWV expert opinion. It costs €100 and provides an independent assessment of whether you are cooperating sufficiently. The opinion is not binding, but carries significant weight with the subdistrict court.
If the employer still does not pay after your cooperation, you can start salary claim proceedings at the subdistrict court. You then claim back pay, the statutory increase (up to 50%) and statutory interest. In most cases, you can also request provisional relief (interim proceedings) for quick payment.
That is legally risky for the employer. In most cases, a prior written warning is required — stating which obligation you are not meeting, what period you are given and what the consequence will be. Without that warning, the suspension is procedurally vulnerable and you can claim back pay.
Yes. That is the essential difference from a salary stop. With salary suspension, salary is withheld, not taken away. Once you comply with the monitoring rules, the employer must pay the full back pay — including the suspension period.
Respond in writing and explain why you believe you have been cooperating. Ask the employer to specify the concrete ground. If you cannot resolve it, you can request a UWV expert opinion or file a salary claim directly.
Immediately. The longer you wait, the greater the risk that the employer concludes you do not want to cooperate. Respond the same day or the next working day by email. Ask specifically what is expected of you and confirm what you are willing to do.
MediRights helps employees who are stuck in an employment conflict due to illness. We guide cases with concrete legal steps.
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