Examples of cases we have guided. Anonymized, but representative of the situations where MediRights makes a difference.
Every situation is unique, but patterns recur. The examples below illustrate how legal guidance in illness-related employment matters can make a difference. All examples are anonymized to protect the privacy of our clients.
Situation: An employee had been on sick leave for several months due to burnout symptoms. The employer suddenly stopped salary payments citing alleged reintegration failure. The employee was supposedly not cooperating sufficiently with recovery.
Approach: Case analysis showed the salary stop was legally untenable. The employee had followed all agreements with the company doctor and cooperated with the reintegration plan. A substantiated letter to the employer with demand for payment followed.
Result: The employer resumed salary payments within two weeks, including the back pay for the period of the unjustified salary stop.
Situation: An employee received a settlement agreement with standard terms during her sick leave. The employer pushed for quick signing and indicated this was the final offer.
Approach: Review of the settlement revealed multiple areas for improvement. The compensation was low, the notice period short and there was no consideration for the specific risks of signing during illness. Negotiation followed.
Result: A significantly higher compensation, extended notice period, positive reference and arrangements that protected unemployment benefit entitlement.
Situation: An employer pushed for quick return to work despite ongoing symptoms. The company doctor assessed the employee could reintegrate, but the employee experienced this as too fast and too demanding.
Approach: Request for UWV expert assessment of reintegration efforts. Additionally strategic communication with the employer about the risks of too rapid build-up and the employee's legal position.
Result: The expert assessment confirmed the pace was too high. An adjusted reintegration plan was established with a realistic build-up schedule matching the actual capacity.
Situation: An employee fundamentally disagreed with the company doctor's assessment. According to the company doctor, she was fully capable of work, while she experienced serious psychological symptoms that made return to work impossible.
Approach: Request for second opinion from another company doctor. Substantiation of the request with medical information from the treating psychologist and a clear description of symptoms and limitations.
Result: The second opinion confirmed the limitations the employee experienced. The original company doctor's advice was revised and the employee could reintegrate at her own pace.
Situation: An employer announced starting a dismissal procedure due to alleged seriously culpable conduct during illness. The employee was supposedly structurally not keeping agreements and not cooperating with reintegration.
Approach: Thorough analysis of the allegations and available documentation. Refutation of the accusations with factual substantiation. Then negotiation about an alternative solution acceptable to both parties.
Result: No summary dismissal or court procedure. Instead a settlement agreement with neutral termination and preserved benefit entitlements.
Situation: An employee had dropped out with burnout symptoms, but the employer denied any connection with working conditions. Pressure was applied for quick return without adjusting the work pressure.
Approach: Documentation collected of work pressure in the period before the dropout: overtime, emails outside working hours, signals the employee had given. Letter to employer with legal substantiation of the situation.
Result: The employer acknowledged the situation and their own role in it. An adjusted reintegration process was established with external coaching and structural adjustments to work pressure.
Situation: An employer wanted to proceed to track 2 reintegration (work with another employer) after just a few months of illness. The employee was still recovering and saw possibilities to return to their own position.
Approach: Analysis of the reintegration file and the substantiation for track 2. Communication to employer about legal requirements for track 2 and the risks of premature deployment.
Result: The employer abandoned the premature deployment of track 2. Focus remained on recovery and return to the employee's own position, which ultimately succeeded.
Situation: An employee had both health issues and a conflict with the supervisor. The employer only saw the conflict and wanted to focus on that. The medical component was ignored.
Approach: Clear separation made between the medical component and the employment law component. Careful communication about both aspects and the need to treat them separately.
Result: The employer acknowledged the medical component. A separate track for recovery was started, separate from the workplace conflict. Eventually termination followed with good conditions.
In many of these situations, employers had overestimated their position or taken legally untenable positions. Knowledge of relevant laws and regulations made it possible to push back effectively.
Early intervention prevents escalation. Many of these processes could have been longer and more expensive if intervention had come later. Acting quickly when something is happening pays off.
In almost all cases, good documentation was the key to success. Emails, reports, medical information - everything that substantiated the employee's position.
All examples are anonymized and simplified. Reality is often more complex, with more nuances and intermediate steps.
Every case is unique and past results provide no guarantee for the future. What is clear: legal guidance can make a difference when illness and work come together.
Whether that also applies to your situation, we're happy to discuss in an intake.
Unjustified salary stops are challenged and reversed. Back pay is paid after all.
Higher compensation, longer notice periods and protection of benefit entitlements in settlement agreements.
Adjusted reintegration plans that match the employee's actual capacity.
Second opinions and expert assessments leading to different, more accurate assessments of the situation.
Threatening dismissal procedures that are averted or converted into dignified terminations.
Complex situations with both illness and conflict that are disentangled and resolved.
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