Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act

Animation Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act
According to the Eligibility for Permanent Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act, a number of steps must be followed to ensure that an employee returns to work responsibly. The animation explains these steps:

Joint Effort

Obligations

Employers and employees have a number of obligations, starting as early as the first week of calling in sick. Below, you can find an explanation of these obligations as well as what you are obliged to do during an employee's sick leave.

The first year:

• Cases of illness must be reported to the occupational health and safety services or the company doctor no later than one week after the first day of sick leave.
• If the employee has been ill for six weeks, a problem analysis must be made by the occupational health and safety services or the company doctor. This will state why the employee is no longer able to work, what the possibilities for recovery are and when the employee expects to be able to resume work.
• Within eight weeks of reporting sick or no later than two weeks after the problem analysis, the employer will draw up a Plan of Action (PoA) in consultation with the employee. This plan will describe what both parties will do to get the employee back to work. The PoA is part of the reintegration file.
• If there is imminent long-term absence, the employer must keep a reintegration file. This should include the course of the illness and all the activities both parties have undertaken to enable a return to work.
• Every six weeks, the employer must discuss the progress with the employee.
• Together with the employee, the employer will choose a case manager. This person will guide and monitor the implementation of the PoA.
• During the 42nd week, the employer must report the employee sick to the UWV.

After one year:

• If the employee unexpectedly remains ill for a long time, a first-year evaluation will follow between week 46 and 52. Employer and employee will evaluate the past year and determine what reintegration results they want to achieve in the second year of illness and how to do it.
• If the employee is still not fully back to work after twenty months, the employer will draw up a reintegration report in consultation with the employee. This will contain all agreements and results of the planned work resumption.
• If all efforts to return to work have failed, the employee will receive a WIA application form from the UWV in the 87th week. The employee must return this form to the UWV within three weeks. Soon after, UWV will assess the reintegration report and conduct a WIA examination and grant WIA benefits if the legal conditions are met.
• If necessary, the employer must adjust the employee's work, workplace and/or work equipment.

Appropriate Work

If the employee does not succeed in returning to their old job, the employer must offer them suitable work within the company, such as working part-time or with an adjusted range of tasks. In extreme cases, the employer may offer them another position or a job with another employer. If the employee refuses to accept this work, this could lead to a stop in pay and even dismissal.

Assessing the Situation

In addition to the legal obligations, employers also have a number of options to assess the situation:

• The employer may not ask the employee what ails them, but rather when they expect to return to work.
• The employer may ask the employee to visit the company doctor. The company doctor will assess whether the employee is able to do modified work and how long the absence may last. The health and safety services may also pay a visit to the sick employee in the form of an emergency check-up.
• The employer may allow the employee to return to work on an occupational therapy basis. This will allow them to slowly get used to work again. Officially, the employee is then still sick and must continue to be paid their wages.
• If the employer disagrees with the employee and/or the health and safety services about the reintegration, they can ask the UWV for an expert opinion.
• A reintegration company can assist both the employer and employee in returning to work or to other work within the same company or to another employer.

Measures to Prevent Long-Term Absenteeism

• Make clear agreements in the PoA: what will the employee do to get back to work? And what is the employer doing to help the employee get back to work?
• Discuss the PoA regularly with the employee.
• If the employee's situation changes, make sure new agreements are made quickly.

Plan of Action

Using the Problem Analysis drawn up by the company doctor, the employee and employer will draw up a Plan of Action together for reintegration. The agreements that both parties have come to will be stated in this PoA. This overview of agreements will be logged on the computer and signed by both parties. The employee will receive a copy of the Plan of Action. They should keep this for their own administration.