Requesting a WIA reassessment during track 2

Requesting a WIA reassessment means asking UWV to review your degree of work disability and remaining earning capacity again. This becomes relevant when your health or functional capacity has demonstrably changed, or when the earlier decision no longer matches day-to-day reality. In a Dutch track 2 process (reintegration with another employer), a reassessment can directly affect the reintegration plan, suitable job options and financial outcomes. This article explains when it makes sense and how to approach it in practice.

When does a WIA reassessment make sense in track 2?

Requesting a WIA reassessment is most useful when there is a clear and lasting change in what you can do. UWV bases WIA decisions on medical and labour-market assessments; when those inputs are outdated, the outcome can lag behind your current situation. In track 2, you often notice this when the job search direction does not fit your actual capacity.

Requesting a WIA reassessment can also be relevant if you can do more than previously assumed. That may be good news, but it can create friction: you want to move forward while your benefit and obligations are still based on an older assessment. The opposite also applies: if your condition has worsened and you structurally manage less, a reassessment may be needed to make reintegration goals realistic and medically defensible.

Common signals in track 2 that justify discussing this with the occupational physician and case manager include:

• Your capacity has changed due to treatment, surgery or therapy.
• Track 2 job options turn out to be medically unfeasible.
• You consistently work more hours or fewer hours than previously considered possible.
• New specialist information changes the picture of your limitations.
• You get stuck because the assumptions in the functional abilities list (FML) no longer match reality.

How do you request a WIA reassessment with UWV?

Requesting a WIA reassessment starts with substantiating the change. UWV does not reassess based on impressions, but on medical documents and a coherent explanation: what changed, since when, and what does that mean for functioning at work. If you already receive a WIA benefit, UWV may involve an insurance physician and a labour expert again.

Requesting a WIA reassessment is usually not advisable before you organise your file. Think of recent letters from treating physicians, a current picture of your work tolerance, and a clear description of what you can do (and under which conditions). In track 2, it helps to show which steps you have already taken towards other work and where exactly you run into limitations.

This sequence helps you stay in control:

• Discuss the reason with the occupational physician and document the change concretely.
• Check whether your capacity profile is up to date, for example via an updated FML.
• Collect medical substantiation (specialist reports, GP notes, treatment plan, evaluations).
• Record in the reintegration reports why track 2 goals must shift.
• Submit the request and prepare for questions from UWV’s medical and labour experts.

For background, it helps to understand how a WIA benefit works and what UWV looks at in a UWV WIA assessment.

What changes in track 2 after a reassessment?

Requesting a WIA reassessment can directly influence track 2 because reintegration starts from your functional capacity. If UWV adjusts your disability percentage, this can affect how strongly reintegration is expected, which roles are considered suitable, and how much wage value you can realistically deliver. For employers, it also matters because the reintegration file must remain consistent: goals, interventions and evaluations should align with the medical picture.

Requesting a WIA reassessment does not automatically mean track 2 stops or becomes heavier. In practice, three outcomes are common. With improvement, the focus often shifts to placement and gradual hour build-up. With deterioration, the plan may move towards sustainable work within limitations, with more emphasis on conditions (low-stimulus work, predictability, workplace adjustments). If UWV confirms the earlier assessment, that is also useful: it provides a solid basis to defend the track 2 direction.

After a reassessment, these track 2 elements are often refined:

• The profile: tasks, hours and conditions that are suitable.
• The search direction: sectors and roles matching limitations and labour market reality.
• The approach: job mediation, trial placement, training or a work experience placement.
• The substantiation: why a role is or is not suitable.
• The timeline: realistic milestones and evaluation moments.

In a well-structured track 2 reintegration programme, medical information, labour choices and practical execution remain aligned, even when UWV reassesses.

Practical example and common mistakes

Requesting a WIA reassessment becomes concrete when track 2 looks correct on paper but fails in practice. Example: an employee with long-term back pain starts track 2 aimed at light administrative work. After rehabilitation, prolonged sitting turns out to be the main trigger, while alternating short walking and standing works better. In that case, updating the capacity profile is logical and a reassessment may be appropriate, because the earlier assumptions push the search in the wrong direction.

Requesting a WIA reassessment often goes wrong when the substantiation is too thin or when stakeholders work past each other. A reassessment is not a reintegration tool by itself; it is a UWV procedure that must be supported by facts. If there is disagreement about functional capacity, a second opinion with an occupational physician can help to objectify the medical discussion before escalating to UWV.

These mistakes frequently cost time and energy in track 2 and are usually avoidable:

• Submitting without recent medical information or without a clear change since the last assessment.
• Repeating the same reintegration goals while limitations have demonstrably changed.
• Confusing “suitable work” with “available work”; suitable must be medically reasonable.
• Poor documentation, making it hard for UWV to follow decisions.
• Adjusting too late, causing track 2 to stall unnecessarily.

The takeaway: only request a reassessment when something has genuinely changed, and connect it to an updated track 2 plan with clear substantiation.