Calling in sick in the Netherlands: ziekmelding, bedrijfsarts, Poortwachter

You wake up with a fever and cannot work. In many countries that means a text to your manager and, if it drags on, a doctor's note. In the Netherlands the first call is just as simple, but it starts a process: a company doctor (bedrijfsarts), a legal timetable for getting you back to work, and rules about what your employer may and may not know about your health.

This guide covers the steps only. Pay rates during sickness and how to read your contract are in the employment contract guide. What to do if you are given notice is in the dismissal guide. Here you will find the first-day call, what you do not have to say, the company doctor, the Wet verbetering poortwachter timetable, illness on holiday, how your contract type matters, the dismissal ban and the two-year mark.

Statutes were read on wetten.overheid.nl (Civil Code Book 7, version of 1 July 2026). Procedures come from UWV (the employee insurance agency) and Rijksoverheid (the national government). Everything was checked on 31 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and your employer's own rules and any collective agreement (CAO) can change the answer.

Main sources behind this guide

• Civil Code 7:629 (sick pay), 7:638 (holiday), 7:658a (employer's reintegration duties), 7:670 and 7:670a (dismissal ban and exceptions), wetten.overheid.nl
• UWV: "Ziek, wat nu", "Loondoorbetaling tijdens ziekte", "Opzegverbod", "Werknemer gaat ziek uit dienst", "Wachtdagen bij ziekte"
• Rijksoverheid: "Regels en verplichtingen bij ziekte", the fixed-term worker Q&A and the 27 March 2026 bill announcement

1. How does Dutch sick leave work in the first place?

In the Netherlands sick pay is an employment-law matter rather than a health-insurance benefit. Your employer keeps paying your wages, and both of you are legally responsible for getting you back to work. The pay duty runs for up to 104 weeks (two years), and the reintegration process during those two years is set by the Wet verbetering poortwachter of 2002.

According to UWV, you report sick to your employer, the employer informs the occupational health service (arbodienst) or company doctor, and from there you work together on reintegration. The system pushes in two directions: the employer cannot leave a sick employee alone, and the employee cannot refuse to take part.

What is changing in 2026?

The framework has not changed. On 27 March 2026 the government announced a bill, sent to the Council of State, that would make the company doctor's advice decisive when UWV tests, after two years, whether employer and employee did enough (the RIV test). It is a bill, not law, as of 31 October 2026.

Source: Rijksoverheid, 27 March 2026 and UWV. If you are sick today, no new duty has been added for you.

2. How and when do I report sick?

Reporting sick is called a ziekmelding (ZEEK-mel-ding). It tells your employer that you cannot work today. It does not tell them why.

The law does not say by what time you must call. Your employer's absence protocol (verzuimprotocol) does. Typical protocols require a phone call to your direct manager before work starts, sometimes rule out email-only reports, or ask you to log the absence in a system. This differs by company, so check these four points when you join:

What to say when you call

Say that you cannot work from today, give a phone number and the address where you are recovering, say roughly how long you expect to be off (you can say you do not know), and mention urgent work or meetings that need covering. When you are better, you report your recovery (hersteldmelding) the same way.

What if I cannot reach anyone?

Civil Code 7:629(6) lets an employer suspend wage payment while an employee does not follow reasonable written instructions about giving the information needed to establish the right to pay. Paragraph 3 lists cases in which the right to pay lapses, including refusing without good reason to cooperate in drawing up or evaluating the plan of action. Being too ill to phone is a reason you can explain later. Even so, do not stay silent for days; ask a family member or housemate to call for you.

Step 2 is the employer's job. Your part is step 1 and, in step 3, cooperating with the company doctor.

3. Can my employer ask why I am sick?

No. In the Netherlands an employer cannot ask for a diagnosis, a cause or symptoms, because health data is a special category under the GDPR.

The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP, the Dutch data protection authority) has guidance on this called "De zieke werknemer". As summarised by trade publications such as HR Praktijk: an employer may ask for a contact number and the address where you are recovering, the expected duration of the absence, and the ongoing work and appointments that need handing over. It may not ask for the nature or cause of the illness or detailed limits on what you can do. The AP website refused automated access when this guide was checked, so the AP original was not read directly. This chapter relies on those summaries and on a report of an AP fine in a case about asking employees about their illness (TaxLive).

If you are asked a question from the right-hand column, a polite "I will discuss that with the company doctor" is enough. The company doctor tells the employer what you can do, what adjustments help and roughly how long, not the diagnosis.

Do I need a doctor's note?

In general a ziekmelding does not require a doctor's note (doktersverklaring). The role of checking is given to the company doctor the employer has engaged. In the Civil Code provisions checked, no general duty to submit a medical certificate for an ordinary sick report was found. Some employers' protocols do ask for papers in specific situations such as illness abroad (chapter 7). Check your own protocol.

4. What does the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) do?

The company doctor is a physician who assesses what you can and cannot do at work. The Dutch term is bedrijfsarts (buh-DRYFS-arts). They are often attached to an occupational health service (arbodienst) that the employer has contracted, and they are not your own GP (huisarts).

Rijksoverheid describes the role as drawing up a problem analysis and advising the employer. The company doctor does not treat you; your GP or specialist does that.

What happens at the consultation?

Usually within the first weeks you are contacted for a call or visit. You may be asked which tasks you cannot do, when you might recover and what adjustments would let you work. You can discuss your condition with the company doctor, who does not pass the diagnosis to your employer without your consent. Missing appointments without good reason repeatedly can be treated as refusing to cooperate.

What if I disagree with the company doctor?

Rijksoverheid lists the options: the dispute procedure in a CAO, asking UWV for an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel), going to court, or asking another company doctor for a second opinion. A second opinion is usually the lightest first step.

5. How long will I be paid, in one table?

The rates are in the employment contract guide. This table only holds the points that touch the procedure. The legal basis is Civil Code 7:629.

UWV notes that most CAOs provide 100% in the first year, and that in the first year the employer also keeps paying pension contributions and holiday allowance. The "add up" row matters: if you recover and fall ill again soon, the second absence continues the 104 weeks. Keep a note of your sick dates.

The figure shows the legal floor only. Check your contract and CAO for anything above it.

What about waiting days?

Waiting days are unpaid days at the start of sickness, and they exist only if your contract or CAO says so, for at most two days. UWV notes that for its own Ziektewet benefit there are normally no waiting days, with exceptions such as people working from home. If your contract has none, pay starts on day one.

6. What does the Wet verbetering poortwachter require, and when?

If you are not back within days, the Wet verbetering poortwachter (the "gatekeeper" law) sets the timetable. It exists so that long absences and disability benefits are not the default. Civil Code 7:658a requires the employer to promote your return to your own work, to look for suitable work elsewhere if that is not possible, and to draw up a plan of action (plan van aanpak) in agreement with you.

The week numbers below combine UWV's pages, the Dutch civil service HR site P-Direkt and HR trade publications. UWV's own pages did not give a week-by-week list that could be checked, so treat weeks as the usual practice and follow the dates your employer, company doctor and UWV give you.

Solid circles are items for which UWV or a government source gave the week; dashed circles come from trade publications. The first two months are the busiest, after which the process is mostly reviews.

Week 6: the problem analysis

The company doctor produces a problem analysis (probleemanalyse): what you cannot do, the prospects for return and what is in the way. P-Direkt says action starts in week 6. The employer uses it to plan.

Week 8: the plan of action

You and your employer then draw up the plan van aanpak together. P-Direkt places it in week 8. Under 7:658a(3) it is made in agreement with you and evaluated and adjusted regularly with your cooperation. It may cover tasks you can do, adjusted hours, workplace changes or other work.

Rijksoverheid says employer and employee discuss progress at least every six weeks. Declining these meetings without good reason risks the cooperation rule in 7:629(3).

Week 42: the report to UWV

UWV states that at 42 weeks of sickness the employer reports the employee sick to UWV. You do not file anything. The purpose is to give UWV an early view of long-term absences ahead of any WIA decision.

The first-year evaluation

Towards the end of year one an evaluation (eerstejaarsevaluatie) looks back and sets the plan for year two. P-Direkt says it is held before the end of the first year. Trade publications say either weeks 46 to 52 or by week 52, so the exact window varies in how it is described.

Applying for WIA

UWV invites you to apply for WIA. Trade publications describe a UWV notice at around week 88 and an application due by week 93, with the reintegration report attached. The exact dates are in the notice you receive, so rely on that.

7. What if I fall ill on holiday?

The statute answers this. Civil Code 7:638(8) says that days (or parts of days) of an agreed holiday on which you are ill do not count as holiday unless you agree. In principle you get those days back.

There is an exception. By written agreement, days of holiday taken in a year can still count as holiday if they exceed the statutory minimum, which is four times your weekly working time. Check your contract's holiday clause to see how many days are statutory and how many are extra.

Practical points

Report sick from your holiday address using the normal protocol. HR publications note that employers often ask for a medical statement. That comes from the employer's protocol, not from the statute, so read it before you travel. After your holiday, check that your leave balance is right.

8. Does my contract type change anything?

It does.

On probation

UWV says that during a probationary period either side may end the contract without a reason, and this applies even if the employee is sick. The dismissal ban for sickness does not apply in the probationary period. You may afterwards be entitled to a Ziektewet benefit, according to UWV. The limits on probation length are in the employment contract guide.

On a fixed-term contract

A fixed-term employee has the same right to sick pay. Rijksoverheid says the employer pays at least 70% for up to two years. If the contract runs out during the sickness, the dismissal ban no longer applies and the contract simply ends (UWV). From then UWV takes over paying and supports reintegration.

As an agency or flex worker

Where the employer does not pay wages, as with many agency and on-call arrangements, UWV's Ziektewet benefit applies instead. UWV says that if you are sick when employment ends, the employer reports you sick on your last day and UWV decides within four weeks whether you are entitled.

9. Can I be dismissed while I am sick?

Generally no. Civil Code 7:670(1) says the employer cannot give notice while you are unfit for work through illness. UWV states that this protection covers the first two years of sickness.

So the default is protection, but the situations in the table can end it. UWV adds that the protection can last longer if the employer has not done enough on reintegration and must keep paying.

If you are given notice

Deadlines apply, such as the two-month period under Civil Code 7:686a, described in the dismissal guide. For your own case, contact the Juridisch Loket (the government-funded legal advice desk) or an employment lawyer.

10. What happens after two years of sickness?

After 104 weeks the employer's duty to continue paying normally ends and UWV assesses your entitlement under the WIA (Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen, the work and income according to labour capacity act).

UWV also carries out the RIV test of the reintegration report to check whether you and your employer did enough. Rijksoverheid says that if the employer did not, it can face a wage sanction of up to one more year of pay. If you were at fault, your benefit can be affected.

The bill of 27 March 2026 would make the company doctor's advice the benchmark in the RIV test. If it passes, the consultations with the company doctor would matter even more. As of 31 October 2026 it has not.

11. How does this compare with Japan?

The systems start from different places. This is a comparison of conditions, not a ranking.

According to Kyokai Kenpo (the Japan Health Insurance Association), the allowance starts after three consecutive days of waiting, is paid from the fourth, and runs up to one year and six months in total from the start of payment. It is a health-insurance benefit, separate from company wages.

The doctor's note

In Japan many employers ask for a doctor's note after a few days, written into work rules and varying by company. In the Netherlands the check is done by a company doctor contracted by the employer, not by a certificate handed to your manager. The difference is who verifies the illness and how far the diagnosis travels.

12. Three situations (fictional examples)

These people are invented to show how the rules apply.

A permanent employee with a fever

She phones the protocol contact before work starts, says she cannot work from today, gives a number and says she will update tomorrow. Asked what is wrong, she says she will discuss it with the company doctor. She reports her recovery after three days.

A new employee on probation

He falls ill a month into the job and reports sick as the protocol says. Because he is on probation, the employer can end the contract without giving a reason, including while he is sick. He asks UWV whether he qualifies for Ziektewet.

A long absence

A worker off for months takes part in the company doctor's consultations, the problem analysis and the plan of action, and attends the six-weekly meetings. The employer reports to UWV in week 42, and before the first-year evaluation she asks HR to review the plan.

13. What should I avoid?

14. A checklist for this week

• I have read the absence protocol and noted the contact, deadline and channel
• I have checked my contract and CAO for waiting days and extra holiday days
• I will share my diagnosis only with the company doctor
• I know I should answer the company doctor's contact quickly
• I keep a note of sick dates, since periods less than four weeks apart add up
• I have checked what my protocol asks for if I am ill abroad
• I have noted my contacts: Juridisch Loket, UWV and HR

15. Summary

• Call in sick on the first day, following your employer's protocol; the law sets no clock time.
• You do not have to give a diagnosis, and your employer may not ask for one. Medical detail goes to the company doctor.
• The company doctor is an independent assessor of what you can do.
• The Poortwachter basics are a problem analysis at week 6, a plan of action by week 8 and a report to UWV in week 42.
• Illness on holiday normally gives your days back; days above the statutory minimum can be an exception.
• Dismissal during sickness is generally banned, with probation and fixed-term expiry as exceptions.
• After two years the process moves to WIA; for your own case, ask a public service.

Sources

Primary sources (statute, government, UWV)

• Civil Code 7:629, sick pay — wetten.overheid.nl: 104 weeks, 70%, waiting days, cooperation
• Civil Code 7:638, holiday — wetten.overheid.nl: illness during holiday
• Civil Code 7:658a, reintegration — wetten.overheid.nl: employer duties and plan of action
• Civil Code 7:670, dismissal ban — wetten.overheid.nl: ban and exceptions
• Ziek, wat nu — UWV: first steps and week 42 report
• Loondoorbetaling tijdens ziekte — UWV: rates, period, waiting days
• Wachtdagen bij ziekte — UWV: waiting days
• Werknemer gaat ziek uit dienst — UWV: illness at the end of a contract
• Opzegverbod — UWV: exceptions to the ban
• Regels en verplichtingen bij ziekte — Rijksoverheid: six-weekly meetings, wage sanction
• Temporary worker falls ill — Rijksoverheid: fixed-term contracts
• RIV test bill — Rijksoverheid, 27 March 2026: company doctor advice bill
• Re-integration weeks 6 and 8 — P-Direkt: civil service HR guidance
• Injury and sickness allowance — Kyokai Kenpo: Japanese comparison
• Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens: guidance on questions about illness (original not read; site blocked automated access)

Trade and industry publications (secondary)

• What you may and may not ask when someone reports sick — HR Praktijk: summary of the AP guidance
• Fine for privacy breach about sick employees — TaxLive: report of an AP fine
• Sick employee and reintegration timetable — Salaris Vanmorgen: week milestones
• Employee ill on holiday — Ondernemen met personeel: practice on illness during holiday
• Ill during probation — HR Praktijk: probation and sickness

Statutes and the UWV and Rijksoverheid pages were checked on 31 October 2026. The AP original and a week-by-week list on UWV's own pages (weeks 6, 8, the first-year evaluation and week 93) could not be checked directly. Rules change, so confirm with the official pages and ask the Juridisch Loket, UWV or HR about your own situation.