If an employee is receiving an occupational disability benefit (‘WAO-, WIA- or Wajong-uitkering') or an unemployment benefit (‘WW-uitkering’) and faces significant barriers to finding work, you might be eligible for the low-wage hiring subsidy. This is an annual allowance for employers who employ people on low wages.
You do not need to apply for this subsidy as we calculate which employees are eligible, based on your pay and deductions report (‘loonaangifte’). The final calculation and payment will be processed by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration ('de Belastingdienst').
Find out more about qualifying for a low-wage hiring subsidy (in Dutch).
If an employee is receiving an occupational disability benefit and cannot independently earn a minimum wage (‘minimumloon’) due to lower work productivity, you might be eligible for the productivity gap subsidy scheme. This scheme aims to bridge the wage gap between what the employee is able to earn, and the 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 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. Otherwise, you could be fined.
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.
If an employee is receiving an occupational disability and needs support in order to do their work, they might be eligible for an in-house, or external job coach. An in-house job coach works within your own organisation and might be subsidised by UWV. We will also consider an external job coach, accountable to us and working for a recognised job coaching organisation, however this will not be subsidised.
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 qualifying for 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.