You are ill and your employer is not paying. No salary stop, no suspension — simply no salary in your account. Your employer is legally obligated to continue paying your salary during the first 104 weeks of illness.
It is payday. You check your account — nothing. No payslip, no email, no explanation. Or perhaps you did receive a payslip, but the amount is lower than expected. Or the salary is consistently paid late.
You have reported sick, you are cooperating with reintegration, you attend the company doctor. Everything that is asked of you, you do. And yet the salary does not come. The uncertainty gnaws at you. Can you pay the rent? What if it does not come next month either?
In the Netherlands, your employer is legally required to continue paying at least 70% of your salary during the first 104 weeks of illness — with minimum wage as the floor in the first year. Many collective labour agreements prescribe 100% in the first year.
If your employer does not pay without valid reason, this is a serious breach that you can take action against. This relates to the broader situation of your salary being stopped.
Some employers — particularly smaller companies — do not pay not out of ill will but due to administrative chaos. Payroll does not know you are sick, or the employer thinks salary automatically stops. That is no excuse, but it is reality.
Your employer does not believe you are ill and simply decides not to pay. This is not permitted — the employer may not unilaterally dismiss your sick report. Only the company doctor assesses whether you are unfit for work.
In a workplace conflict, withholding salary is sometimes used as leverage — without a formal salary stop or suspension being imposed. This is always unlawful. Your employer may not simply withhold salary, even when there is a conflict.
Under art. 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code, your employer must continue paying at least 70% of your salary during the first 104 weeks of illness. In the first year, minimum wage is the floor. Many collective labour agreements supplement this to 100% in the first year and 70% in the second year.
Your employer may only stop or suspend salary on specific legal grounds and with a prior written warning. Without those grounds and warning, simply not paying salary is a breach. Read more about the difference between salary stop and salary suspension.
Your employer is required to provide a payslip every payment period (art. 7:626 Dutch Civil Code). The payslip must show how much salary you receive, what deductions have been made, and for what period. No payslip received? Request one in writing.
If your employer pays late, you can claim the statutory increase: up to 50% of the late amount (art. 7:625 Dutch Civil Code). On top of that comes statutory interest. The longer it takes, the higher the claim.
Send your employer an email or letter in which you note that salary has not been paid, refer to your right to continued payment (art. 7:629), and request payment within a reasonable deadline (e.g. 7 days).
Have you not received a payslip? Request one in writing. The payslip clarifies whether the employer has calculated but not paid, or whether there is another reason for the missing salary.
Many collective agreements prescribe higher continued payment than the statutory 70%. Check your collective agreement or employment contract for the arrangements regarding sick pay. This determines what you are entitled to.
Make sure you have a recent assessment from the company doctor confirming you are unfit for work. This is your proof that you are entitled to continued salary payment. No company doctor visit yet? Request one immediately.
Refer in your demand to the statutory increase (art. 7:625). After the third working day following the usual payday, the increase starts accumulating: 5% per day for the first eight days, then 1% per day, up to a maximum of 50%.
If your employer still does not pay after the demand? You can start a salary claim procedure at the subdistrict court. This can also be done through summary proceedings for quick payment.
"I have been ill for three months. The first month I received normal salary. After that, nothing. No letter, no explanation. When I call, I get no clear answer."
Two months without salary and no formal grounds is a serious breach. Send a written demand referencing art. 7:629 and the statutory increase. Give a deadline of 7 days. If the employer does not pay, start a salary claim procedure.
"My employer pays 70% of my salary. But my collective labour agreement states I am entitled to 100% in the first year of illness. They say 70% is 'the law'."
The law is the minimum; the collective agreement takes precedence. If your CLA prescribes 100% in the first year, you are entitled to that. Refer your employer in writing to the relevant CLA provision and request back payment of the difference.
"I reported sick but my employer does not accept it. They no longer pay salary and say I should simply come to work."
Your employer may not assess your illness themselves. Only the company doctor determines whether you are unfit for work. Request a company doctor appointment immediately. As long as the company doctor considers you ill, you are entitled to salary. If the employer does not pay, that is an unjust withholding.
"First it was a few days late. Now it is the 15th and I still have not received last month's salary. Every month it gets worse."
Structurally late payment entitles you to the statutory increase. The increase starts accumulating after the third working day following the usual payday. Send a demand and state that you will claim the statutory increase for every late payment period if late payment continues.
Being without salary while ill is one of the most stressful situations you can face. Financial pressure impedes your recovery and makes you vulnerable to poor decisions under pressure.
MediRights assesses why your salary is not being paid and determines the most effective steps. We draft a demand letter, calculate the statutory increase, and guide a salary claim procedure if the employer does not pay.
The goal: getting your salary back including the statutory increase and interest. So you can focus on what truly matters — your recovery.
Your employer is legally required to continue paying your salary. Have your situation assessed to determine the steps you can take to recover your salary.
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