You have not yet recovered, but your employer wants you to report yourself as fit for work. Perhaps subtly, perhaps with pressure. This is a common conflict moment with legal risks — for you and your employer.
"You could just report healthy and then gradually build up, right?" "The company doctor says you can work part-time, so you are not really sick anymore, are you?" "If you report healthy, we can figure out the rest together."
It sometimes sounds reasonable. But behind these suggestions there is often a different motive. Reporting healthy while you are still ill can have major consequences for your legal position. Your continued salary payment, your dismissal protection, and your disability benefits all depend on your sick leave status.
Important: working part-time does not mean you are recovered. Many employees work part-time during their reintegration. That is normal and desirable. But that is different from reporting healthy. The distinction is crucial.
By reporting healthy while you still have complaints, you lose protection. If you then fall ill again, a new sick leave period begins. This can have far-reaching consequences for your position. This is a form of employer pressure that may seem harmless but can have serious consequences.
As long as you are registered as sick, the absence counter runs. This affects the company's sick leave statistics, the occupational health service premium, and any insurance policies.
The employer fears a wage sanction from the UWV if absence lasts too long. By having you report healthy, the absence file looks more favourable — but this is deceptive and can actually work against the employer.
As long as you are ill, the employer has reintegration obligations. After recovery notification, these lapse. Some employers want to be rid of that obligation, even if you are not fully recovered.
Your employer cannot force you to report healthy. The company doctor assesses whether you have fully recovered. As long as the company doctor considers you (partially) unfit for work, you remain on sick leave — regardless of what your employer thinks.
If you work part-time as part of reintegration, you remain on sick leave. You are building up hours or tasks, but your sick leave continues. This protects your rights. Only when you can fully perform your own work does recovery notification follow.
If you report healthy while you still have complaints and then fall ill again, a new sick leave period may begin. The 104-week counter restarts. This can have consequences for your dismissal protection and WIA (disability benefits) application.
During sick leave, a dismissal prohibition applies: your employer cannot dismiss you. As soon as you report healthy, this prohibition lapses. If your employer wants to get rid of you, reporting healthy can strengthen their position. Be alert to this.
Reporting healthy is a factual statement: you have recovered. If that is not the case, do not report healthy. Regardless of what your employer says or suggests.
Ask the company doctor explicitly whether you have recovered. If the company doctor considers you still unfit for work, that is the opinion that counts. Not your employer's view.
If your employer repeatedly insists on reporting healthy, note this down. Save emails and messages. This is evidence of inappropriate pressure that may be valuable later.
Confirm by email that you have heard the suggestion to report healthy, but that you are still under treatment and await the company doctor's assessment.
Understand what is at stake: your continued salary, dismissal protection, and disability benefit rights. Reporting healthy under pressure can affect all these rights.
If the pressure continues or if you feel reporting healthy is being used as a tactic, legal guidance is wise. The stakes are too high to ignore.
"I am building up and now work 50% of my hours. My employer says I can report healthy and 'build up the rest gradually.' That sounds logical, but is it correct?"
No, part-time work is not recovery. As long as you cannot fully perform your own work, you remain on sick leave. Working part-time is part of your reintegration. Reporting healthy while you are not fully deployable carries risks for your rights and protection.
"HR tells me it 'looks better' if I report healthy. They say otherwise it looks like I am not cooperating."
This is incorrect. Your cooperation with reintegration is assessed based on your actual efforts, not on whether you are registered as recovered. In fact, reporting healthy while unrecovered can cause problems if you fall ill again. The file does not improve from an unjustified recovery notification — it gets worse.
"My employer pushed for recovery notification. I did it. Two weeks later I fell ill again. Now my employer says this is a new sick leave case."
This is one of the biggest risks of reporting healthy too early. If you report healthy and fall ill again within four weeks with the same complaints, it is generally considered the same sick leave case. After four weeks, a new sick leave period begins. This has major consequences for your 104-week timeline and disability benefit rights. Legal advice is urgently recommended here.
"I received an email from HR with forms to report healthy. I have not discussed this with the company doctor and do not feel recovered at all."
Do not sign anything without advice. A recovery notification is a formal action with legal consequences. Do not sign any forms without first discussing this with the company doctor and potentially a legal advisor. If the company doctor still considers you unfit for work, there is no basis for recovery notification.
Pressure to report healthy while you are still ill is one of the riskiest situations for your legal position. The consequences of reporting healthy too early can last for years.
MediRights helps you make the right decision. We assess your situation, explain the risks, and ensure you do not make a decision under pressure that you will regret later.
If your employer continues to insist, we can take over communication if desired. So you can focus on what matters: your recovery.
If your employer is pressuring you to report healthy as part of a broader conflict, we assess your file and protect your legal position.
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