Yes, second-track (spoor 2) reintegration is mandatory. As soon as it is established that your sick employee cannot return to their own job or other suitable work within your organisation (the first track), the Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wet verbetering poortwachter) requires you to start guidance towards work with a different employer. Yet the idea persists that second-track reintegration would no longer be mandatory. That is not correct: the obligation still exists and UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) assesses it strictly at the WIA application. In this article you will read exactly when the obligation kicks in, which exceptions apply and how you, as an employer, avoid a wage sanction.
When is second-track reintegration mandatory?
Second-track reintegration is mandatory the moment a return in the first track is insufficiently likely to succeed. In practice this often comes into view around the first-year evaluation, when you take stock of the first year of illness together with your employee. If the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) advises that a structural return to the employee’s own job is not realistic, and there is no suitable internal work available or achievable within a foreseeable period, then you must start track 2. UWV expects you not to wait until the second year of illness is almost over, but to scale up in good time when the facts call for it. If you want to be sure when the starting point arrives, read how to start second-track reintegration on time. The full timeline with all the benchmark moments is set out in the step-by-step plan under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act for employers.
Is second-track reintegration always mandatory?
No, second-track reintegration is not always mandatory. The obligation lapses when there is a realistic and concrete prospect of a return in the first track within a foreseeable period. If your employee can, for example, resume their own or other internal work with reasonable adjustments or a build-up schedule, then you do not need to deploy a second track. Likewise, when a full and durable recovery is well substantiated medically, or when the capacity for work is so minimal that working is temporarily out of the question, track 2 may not (yet) be relevant.
Important: these exceptions must be firmly substantiated with up-to-date information from the company doctor. A loose assumption is not enough. This is precisely where the misconception arises that second-track reintegration would be “no longer mandatory”. That argument does not hold up. Only with a well-substantiated exception do you not have to start track 2; in all other cases the obligation simply remains in force. A complete overview of your employer obligations in track 2 helps you not to overlook anything.
What if you do not start track 2? The wage sanction
If you do not start track 2, or start it too late, you run a concrete financial risk. At the WIA application, UWV assesses whether you have made sufficient reintegration efforts. If UWV judges that you have done too little, a wage sanction follows: you then have to continue paying wages for up to 52 extra weeks, on top of the regular 104 weeks of continued wage payment during illness. You use that extra period to catch up on the missed reintegration.
A missed or late start of the second track is one of the most common reasons for such a sanction. So it is not a theoretical risk, but a real consequence that you easily avoid with a timely start. That is why it pays to understand exactly how the UWV wage sanction under the gatekeeper assessment works, so that you have a clear view of what is at stake and what UWV looks at.
In doubt about the obligation? Request an expert opinion
Are you in doubt about whether second-track reintegration is mandatory in your situation? Then you do not have to stay uncertain. If you have doubts about the right starting moment, or about whether you are doing enough, you can request an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel) from UWV. UWV then independently assesses whether your approach up to that point is sufficient. That provides clarity and prevents you from only hearing at the WIA application that you have done too little. Read how to request an expert opinion from UWV and what you gain from it.
If you are mainly in doubt about your employee’s possibilities, it is useful to know when an occupational assessment offers a solution. Such an assessment makes it objectively clear whether internal work is still possible or whether track 2 is truly indicated, and it also strengthens your case file.
More information at the UWV
The official rules and current amounts or deadlines are available at the UWV Werkwijzer Poortwachter. These can change, so always check them at the source itself for a concrete situation.
How to meet the obligation on time
To meet the obligation on time, you take direction and record everything. Work with an up-to-date plan of action, evaluate at the fixed moments set out in the gatekeeper framework and scale up as soon as the facts call for it. For track 2, choose an approach aimed at concrete placement opportunities with a different employer, not just orientation. A well-substantiated, UWV-proof case file is your best protection against disputes afterwards.
- Follow the fixed evaluation moments under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act.
- Substantiate every choice with up-to-date information from the company doctor.
- Aim the second track at concrete placement opportunities, not merely orientation.
- Consistently record agreements, evaluations and results for the UWV assessment.
On the page about second-track reintegration you can read how such a programme unfolds in practice and what you can expect from each phase.
Do you want to be sure that you meet the obligation on time and in a UWV-proof way? Care4Careers guides employers through a careful, timely start of second-track reintegration for employers. We provide a targeted programme and a case file that passes the gatekeeper assessment, so that you avoid a wage sanction and genuinely help your employee move forward.