Starting track 2 early: is it allowed before week 58?

Track 2 does not have to wait until week 58. According to the UWV, a track 2 process must start as soon as there is no longer a prospect of a structural return within the own organisation, and that moment can come well before the end of the first year of sickness. At the same time, starting too early can work against you: if you start track 2 without properly exploring track 1, you run just as much risk of a wage sanction at the WIA application.

In this article you will read where the familiar week 58 comes from, when starting earlier is sensible or even required, what the courts have said about it and how to justify the choice for track 2 so that the UWV can follow it.

Where does week 58 come from?

Reintegration has two tracks. In track 1 the aim is a return with the own employer, in the employee’s own work, adjusted work or another suitable position. In track 2 (spoor 2) you guide the employee towards suitable work with another employer.

In the Werkwijzer Poortwachter (section 4.3.1), the UWV describes when track 2 applies. Two sentences matter here:

• As soon as there is no (longer a) prospect of a structural return within the own organisation, an adequate track 2 process must be started.
• A track 2 process must start no later than six weeks after the first-year evaluation in the 52nd week of absence.

Week 58 comes from that second sentence. It is a final date, not a fixed starting point. The first sentence carries at least as much weight: if it is clear earlier that a return with the own employer is not going to happen, track 2 should start at that moment. How the starting rules work in general is explained in when does track 2 reintegration start.

There is one exception after the first-year evaluation. Track 2 may only be left out if, within three months, there is a concrete prospect of a structural return to work within the own organisation.

Can track 2 start during the first year of sickness?

Yes. Nothing in the rules prohibits a start in the first year, and the Dutch association of labour experts (NVvA) explicitly names it as an option: if it is clear that the employee cannot return to the own organisation in the longer term, track 2 can start before the first-year evaluation.

Think of an employee who, because of lasting limitations, can no longer do their own work, in an organisation where no adjusted or other suitable position is available. Waiting until week 58 then only costs time you will miss later. Our waiting period calculator shows the date on which week 58 falls for your employee. An early start leaves room for exploring the labour market, training and applications, and so a better chance of suitable work before the two years of sickness are over.

An early start does not mean track 1 stops. The Werkwijzer is clear on this: employer and employee keep exploring every option for a return within the own organisation for as long as the employment lasts. The tracks run side by side.

When is starting early a risk?

The risk lies not in the timing itself, but in the justification. At the WIA application, the UWV checks whether you seriously explored track 1. According to the Werkwijzer (section 4.2.3), that exploration consists of at least two parts:

1. An overview of all positions within the own organisation at and below the employee’s (education) level.
2. For each position, an assessment of whether its demands fit the employee’s capacity and skills.

If you start track 2 before this has been done, the UWV may conclude that you skipped track 1. The early start does not make that any better.

Example: track 2 started before track 1 was explored

A ruling by the Gerechtshof ‘s-Hertogenbosch of 11 May 2023 shows how this plays out. A teacher reported sick at the end of March 2018. The employer registered her for track 2 in March 2019, but the labour expert assessment of the internal options only followed in April and May of that year.

The UWV imposed a wage sanction and wrote, among other things, that track 2 had started too early, because there was no labour expert assessment of track 1 yet. The UWV also found the execution of track 2 inadequate: the first applications came seven months after registration. In later proceedings about fair compensation, the court of appeal held that the employer had not met its reintegration obligations.

Note what “too early” means here. Track 2 started around the end of the first year of sickness, so not especially early on the calendar. The problem was the order: track 2 was already running before track 1 had been explored.

What role does the labour expert assessment play?

A labour expert maps whether the employee can still do their own work, whether that work can be adjusted and which other positions within the organisation are suitable. The labour expert works from the capacity established by the occupational physician. The report also includes advice on whether track 2 is needed.

A labour expert assessment is not required in every situation. You can read more in is a labour expert assessment mandatory. With an early start of track 2, though, it is the most obvious way to record why a return within the own organisation is not feasible. How the assessment and track 2 connect is explained in labour expert assessment and track 2.

Is a workplace conflict a reason to start earlier?

A conflict with a manager or colleagues can make a return difficult. Even so, it is not in itself a reason to let go of track 1. The Werkwijzer (section 5.3) says a conflict is no reason not to work actively on reintegration, with the own employer or with another employer. In such a situation, the occupational physician also advises on how to tackle the conflict, for example through conversations or mediation.

The reverse is also true: a conflict is no reason to postpone track 2. In a case before the Rechtbank Oost-Brabant (30 June 2023), the occupational physician advised mediation at the first-year evaluation. The employer assumed track 2 could wait until the mediation was finished. It failed after ten months, track 2 had never started and the court upheld the wage sanction. According to the court, the advice was not unambiguous and the employer should have doubted the assumption that track 2 could wait.

With a conflict, you work on a solution in track 1 and check at the same time whether track 2 is already needed.

What if you are too late instead?

Starting track 2 too late risks a wage sanction under article 25 of the Wet WIA: wages must then be paid for up to 52 weeks longer. The UWV looks not only at the starting moment, but also at the content of the process. Once you repair the shortcomings, you can shorten the sanction with a shortening request.

Example: waiting for the recovery the physician expected

On 25 February 2026, the Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant ruled in the case of a barber who fell ill in May 2022. According to the UWV, track 2 should have started by 8 July 2023 at the latest, but it only began in December 2023. The employer had waited because the occupational physician expected the employee to be fully back in his own work within three months.

The court did not accept this. According to settled case law of the Centrale Raad van Beroep, the employer is responsible for the reintegration, including the advice of the occupational physician it engages. The process itself also fell short: no personal and search profile had been drawn up and the guidance focused on a single placement. The wage sanction was upheld.

You can read more about the consequences in our article on the UWV wage sanction and Poortwachter.

Checklist: starting track 2 early

If you are considering starting track 2 before week 58, check these points:

How to build that file is explained in how to build a UWV-proof reintegration file.

The prospect sets the moment, not the calendar

Starting track 2 before week 58 is allowed, and sometimes required. What matters is whether there is still a prospect of a structural return within the own organisation. If there is not, waiting until week 58 is not a safe choice. If there still is, or you do not know yet, track 1 should be properly explored first.

This explanation is general and does not replace legal or occupational health advice. Rules and working methods can change after publication; for your own situation, always check the current Werkwijzer Poortwachter from the UWV.

Unsure about the right moment for track 2?

Care4Careers guides employers and employees through track 2 reintegration, from intake and process plan to application support and progress reports. We are happy to look with you at whether track 2 is already needed now and how to record it. You will find more information on our page about track 2 for employers.