Your employer suspends your salary. No income while you are ill. But salary suspension is subject to strict conditions — and you can get your salary back.
On the day your salary is normally paid, there is nothing in your account. Or you receive a letter stating that your salary is being suspended. The reason: you are allegedly not cooperating with monitoring requirements.
Perhaps you missed an appointment with the company doctor. Or your employer feels you are not reachable. Or there is a form you did not complete. And now you are left without income.
The good news about salary suspension: unlike a salary stop, you get the suspended salary back once you comply with the requirements. The salary is delayed, not permanently withdrawn.
But the suspension must be lawful. And in practice, this frequently goes wrong. This relates to the broader situation of your salary being stopped.
Salary suspension is legally designed as a pressure tool to get the employee to cooperate with sick leave monitoring. If the employer cannot verify whether you are entitled to salary, they may withhold payment until you cooperate.
Employers sometimes use salary suspension when they actually mean a salary stop — or vice versa. They want you to reintegrate (salary stop ground) but apply suspension (monitoring ground). This confusion can invalidate the entire measure.
Sometimes the suspension is part of a wider conflict with your employer. Salary is used as leverage in a situation where the relationship is already strained. This does not automatically make the suspension unlawful, but the pattern is relevant.
Under salary suspension (art. 7:629 paragraph 6 of the Dutch Civil Code), salary is delayed. Once you comply with the monitoring requirements — for example, attending the company doctor — your employer must pay the full outstanding salary. Including the suspension period.
Your employer must warn you in writing beforehand that salary suspension will follow if you do not cooperate with monitoring. The warning must be specific: which obligation you are not meeting, what you need to do, and within what timeframe. Without a warning, the suspension is procedurally vulnerable.
Salary suspension may only be applied for non-compliance with monitoring requirements: not attending the company doctor, not being reachable, not providing information. It may not be used if you do cooperate with monitoring but not with reintegration — that is a different ground requiring a different measure.
If the suspension turns out to be unjust, you can claim outstanding salary plus the statutory increase of up to 50% (art. 7:625 Dutch Civil Code) and statutory interest. Two months of unjust suspension can amount to one and a half times the outstanding amount.
If the suspension is about a missed appointment: schedule a new one immediately. If it concerns reachability: confirm your availability in writing. The faster you act, the sooner your salary resumes.
Ask your employer by email which monitoring requirement you have not met, on what legal basis the suspension is applied, and what you must specifically do to have the suspension lifted.
Once you have met the requirement, send an email: "I attended the company doctor today / completed the form. I request that the outstanding salary be paid immediately."
Inform the company doctor about the suspension. If the company doctor can confirm that you had a valid reason for missing an appointment, this strengthens your position.
Check whether a written warning preceded the suspension, whether the correct measure was applied (suspension vs. salary stop), and whether the ground is correct. Procedural errors can invalidate the suspension.
If your employer does not pay after you have complied? Then you can claim outstanding salary with the statutory increase. A salary claim procedure at the subdistrict court is the next step.
"I could not attend the company doctor because I had a specialist appointment at the same time. I reported this, but my salary has been suspended."
A valid reason for absence makes the suspension vulnerable. If you reported in time that you could not attend and had a medical reason, the suspension is likely unjustified. Keep evidence of your hospital appointment and your notification to the employer.
"Three weeks ago my salary stopped. I received no letter and nobody tells me what to do to get it back."
Without a written warning and clear instructions, this suspension is procedurally inadequate. Request a written explanation by email: which obligation you have not met, what you need to do, and on what legal basis the salary has been suspended.
"After the suspension I immediately went to the company doctor. But my salary still has not been paid."
After remedying the shortcoming, salary must be resumed immediately. Send a written request for immediate payment of outstanding salary. Refer to art. 7:629 paragraph 6 and the statutory increase that accumulates as payment is delayed.
"The letter says 'salary suspension' but it is about me refusing suitable work. That is a different legal ground, isn't it?"
Correct — refusing suitable work is a salary stop ground, not a suspension ground. If the employer uses the wrong label, this can undermine the measure. Request written clarification and keep the letter as evidence of the incorrect basis.
Salary suspension hits you directly in the wallet. Bills continue, but your salary does not. The stress this causes can delay your recovery — the exact opposite of what reintegration should achieve.
MediRights assesses whether the salary suspension is lawful. We verify whether the correct measure was applied, whether a valid written warning preceded it, and whether the monitoring requirements are reasonable.
If the suspension is unjust, we help you claim your salary back with the statutory increase. If there is a shortcoming on your side, we advise how to remedy it as quickly as possible to have the suspension lifted.
Have the suspension assessed for lawfulness. If unjust, you can claim your salary back with the statutory increase of up to 50%.
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