Overview of financial support schemes

The low-wage hiring subsidy (in Dutch) was abolished on the 1st of January 2025.  This was an annual allowance for employers who hired people on low wages. The employee had to be covered by the employee's national insurance contribution (‘werknemersverzekeringen’) but did not have to receive a WAO, WIA, Wajong or WW benefit. 

In 2025 the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration ('de Belastingdienst') will still pay for the hours worked in 2024.

The young person's low-wage hiring subsidy ('Jeugd-LIV') was already abolished in January 2024.

If an employee falls under the Inclusive Employment Act ('Participatiewet') and cannot earn the national minimum wage (‘minimumloon’) due to lower work productivity, you might qualify for the productivity gap subsidy scheme. This scheme aims to bridge the wage gap between what the employee is able to earn, and the national minimum wage. 

To apply for this scheme, you must go to the local council ('de gemeente') where the employee is registered. 

Find out more about qualifying for the productivity gap subsidy scheme (in Dutch).

If an employee is receiving a Wajong benefit or an IVA benefit and they are unable to perform as much work as their peers, you might be eligible for the minimum wage exemption scheme. This scheme allows you to temporarily pay your employee a reduced wage while UWV supplements the wage. 

An occupational disability employment counsellor (‘arbeidsdeskundige’) will visit your workplace and do a productivity-based wage assessment (‘loonwaardebepaling’) so that we know how much of your employee’s wage you will pay. 

Find out more about qualifying for the minimum wage exemption scheme (in Dutch).

If an employee has been included in the access to work register (‘doelgroepregister’) or is receiving an occupational disability benefit, and you are covered by the risk-free scheme for employers, they might be eligible for a sickness benefit (‘Ziektewet-uitkering’) if they fall ill. 

When you report your employee sick, let us know that the risk-free scheme for employers applies. We will assess whether your employee will receive a sickness benefit. If you receive a productivity gap subsidy from the local council for your employee, we will take this into account when calculating the amount of sickness benefit. 

Please note: Make sure you report your employee sick within 6 weeks of your employee becoming ill. 

Find out more about qualifying for the risk-free scheme for employers (in Dutch).

If an employee is receiving an occupational disability benefit or an unemployment benefit and is having difficulty finding work, they might be eligible for a trial placement. 

If we grant permission for a trial placement, the employee will work for you for 2 months on full benefit, giving you long enough to gauge their suitability without needing to pay their wages. 

Find out more about how an employee might qualify for a trial placement while keeping their benefit.

Employees with an illness or disability that need support in order to do their work might be entitled to an in-house or external job coach. If you have an in-house job coach, you can apply to us for a job coach allowance. In the case of an external job coach, we will reimburse the job coach upon approval. 

Find out more about qualifying for a job coach (in Dutch).

If an employee is receiving an occupational disability benefit, you might need to make workplace adjustments or buy disability equipment to help them do their job. You might be entitled to compensation for these expenses.  

Find out more about qualifying for compensation for workplace adjustments.

If an employee is receiving a Wajong benefit and you want to make a one-off payment to them, the tax-free company benefit allows you to do so without it affecting their benefit.  

Find out more about tax-free company benefits (in Dutch). 

In order to access the various financial support schemes, you might need extra information from your employee about their situation before you can apply. The following details will be important to know: 

• Does your employee have an occupational disability that affects their ability to work? 
• Does your employee have a decision from UWV showing that they have an occupational disability benefit, or that they are covered by the risk-free scheme for employers? 
• Does your employee receive an occupational disability benefit, or have they received one in the past? 

Please note: Your employee does not have to answer these questions until they have worked for you for 2 months.

If your employee does not have the documents to prove that they are receiving a benefit, or that they are covered by the risk-free scheme for employers, you can request more information from us. 

You must receive your employee’s permission to do so. Please ask them to fill out the form 'Authorisation to share information about an employee's benefit or occupational disability' ('Machtiging voor informatie over uitkering of belemmering').  

Send us the original completed and signed form:

• a letter asking for information about your employee's benefit or occupational disability 
• a copy of your employee’s ID  

Provided that your request is complete, we aim to send you the document within 6 weeks. You will receive this letter by post.

Please call the UWV Employer's helpline and keep your payroll tax number (‘loonheffingennummer’) close at hand so that we can help you quickly.