If an employee leaves employment while ill because the contract ends, you as the employer report them sick to the UWV on the last day of the employment. If that day falls at the weekend or on a public holiday, the UWV must have the sick report on the next working day. The UWV then assesses within four weeks whether the employee is entitled to a sickness benefit, and from the date the employee leaves employment the UWV takes over the reintegration.
In this article you will read exactly what you have to do as an employer when a sick employee leaves: when and how you arrange the sick report, which form you need, what you sometimes have to supply on top of that, and how the responsibility passes to the UWV.
What does “leaving employment while sick” mean?
An employee leaves employment while sick if their employment contract ends while they are still ill, for example because a fixed-term contract expires or the employment stops in another way. As long as someone is employed by you, they always report sick to you as the employer and not to the UWV. That only changes at the moment the employment ends.
Until that moment the normal rules around illness apply. You continue to pay the wage and work on recovery and return, up to a maximum of 104 weeks. If you want to know exactly how that continued pay works, read more about continued pay during sickness for employers. If the contract ends before the employee has recovered, the sick report to the UWV comes into play.
The sick report to the UWV: the right moment
Report the employee sick to the UWV on the last day of the employment. If you do that too late, you run the risk of delay in the benefit and possible discussion about the application. If that last day falls at the weekend or on a public holiday, the UWV must have received the sick report at the latest on the next working day.
How you submit the report depends on your situation:
| Situation | What you do |
|---|---|
| You have access to the employer portal | You report the employee sick to the UWV through the portal |
| You have no access to the employer portal | You use the form “Ziektewet-uitkering aanvragen werkgever” |
| The employee already receives a sickness benefit | You report the end of the employment with the form “Doorgeven wijzigingen van werknemers die een Ziektewet- of WAZO-uitkering hebben (aangevraagd)” |
After the sick report the UWV assesses within four weeks whether the employee is entitled to a sickness benefit. When an employee is or is not entitled to that benefit is explained in the article on when an employee receives a sickness benefit.
What do you sometimes supply on top of that?
Besides the sick report, the UWV in some cases asks for a reintegration report. Whether that is needed, and whether it is a full or a shortened report, depends on how long the employee has already been ill at the moment the employment stops. The longer the absence has lasted, the more the UWV wants to see what has been undertaken.
So make sure your file is in order before the employee leaves. What belongs in such a report and how you build it is explained in the article on drawing up the reintegration report. A complete file prevents questions afterwards and shows that you have met your obligations.
If the employee is 44 weeks or longer ill when the contract expires, the UWV can invite them for a conversation. The UWV then looks at the situation and the possibilities for what comes next.
Who is responsible for the reintegration after leaving employment?
For employers this is often the most important question, and the answer is clear. From the date the employee leaves employment, the UWV is responsible for the reintegration. Your role as employer stops at that point: you no longer have to start or continue a second-track programme and you no longer continue to pay wages.
That makes the moment of leaving employment a pivot point. As long as the employee is employed by you, you bear the full responsibility for recovery and return to work. If you want to know exactly which duties you have in that period, look at the employer’s obligations in second-track reintegration. After leaving employment the UWV takes over that responsibility and guides the return to work itself.
Exception: successive employership
There is one important exception in which the responsibility does not go to the UWV, but to another employer. If an employee changes jobs while leaving employment sick, and is still ill on their first working day with the new employer, that new employer takes over. The new employer then pays the wage and becomes responsible for the reintegration, in the case of long-term illness up to a total of two years (104 weeks) of illness.
The new employer may, however, terminate the contract during the trial period. If that happens, the UWV becomes responsible after all. This rule affects both the old and the new employer, so it is good to know how it works. You can read more about this in the article on successive employership.
What if the absence is long-term?
If it becomes clear that an employee will not return for the time being and the employment still runs for a while, work with another employer is sometimes the most realistic route. In that case second-track reintegration comes into play: a programme that helps the employee towards suitable work outside their own organisation. As an employer you remain responsible for this as long as the contract runs.
Source at the UWV
The rules in this article are based on the UWV’s information about a sick employee who leaves employment: uwv.nl on leaving employment while sick. Legislation and the forms used can change. So for a concrete situation, always check the current information on the UWV website.
Frequently asked questions
Where does a sick employee report sick? As long as someone is employed by you, they always report to you as the employer, never directly to the UWV. Only when the employment ends while the employee is ill do you, as the employer, report them sick to the UWV.
When do I have to report the employee sick to the UWV? On the last day of the employment. If that day falls at the weekend or on a public holiday, the UWV must have the report on the next working day.
How quickly do I know whether the employee gets a sickness benefit? The UWV assesses within four weeks of the sick report whether the employee is entitled to a sickness benefit.
Am I still responsible for the reintegration after leaving employment? No. From the date the employee leaves employment, the UWV is responsible for the reintegration. The exception is successive employership, where a new employer takes over.
Do I have to include a reintegration report? Sometimes. Whether you have to send a full or shortened reintegration report depends on how long the employee has been ill when the employment stops.
Help with a sick employee who is leaving employment?
Care4Careers guides employers through absence and reintegration, from a well-built file to a full programme. With more than thirty years of experience we know the legal frameworks and the practice. For more information, see our page about second-track reintegration for employers.
Request a no-obligation advisory conversation and we will look together at what is needed in your situation.