What to expect if you become a self-insured employer for the sickness benefit

As a self-insured employer for the sickness benefit you will pay lower contributions to the return-to-work fund (‘werkhervattingskas’). You will no longer pay the contribution rate for casual employees (‘ZW-Flex’). 

Read more in our overview and find out about the current rates and contributions (‘actuele bedragen en premies’) that might apply.

You will be responsible for paying the sickness benefit in the following situations:

• Your employee is not an actual employee but is classed as such for tax purposes (‘fictief dienstverband’), such as interns and home-based workers. 
• Your employee was ill when their employment contract ended. 
• Your former employee falls ill within 4 weeks of their contract ending.

UWV will be responsible for paying the sickness benefit in the following situations:

• Your employee falls ill during pregnancy and childbirth. 
• Your employee falls ill due to donating an organ. 
• Your employee is part of the compensation scheme for hiring previously unemployed individuals (‘compensatieregeling oudere werknemers’). 
• Your employee is covered by the risk-free scheme for employers (‘no-risk polis’).

If you are self-insured and your employee or former employee falls ill, you will have the following obligations:

• You evaluate their eligibility for the sickness benefit, including the level and duration. 
• You pay their sickness benefit. 
• You support your employee during their absence and help them return to work in a suitable role (‘passend werk’). 
• You report their sick leave and recovery. 
• You maintain sickness records (‘verzuimadministratie’).

Please note: There are certain situations where you must request a decision from us regarding the sickness benefit. You will need to do so for each individual employee or former employee.

You can also request an evaluation from us, for a fee, regarding a benefit entitlement or the level or duration of a benefit.

As a self-insured employer, you will need to establish a prevention and sick leave policy (‘verzuimbeleid’) with your occupational health physician (‘bedrijfsarts’) and occupational health and safety service (‘arbodienst’). Together, you will determine how to support your employee or former employee during their absence and help them return to work.

As a self-insured employer, you are responsible for complying with the sickness benefit rules and regulations. However, the final responsibility lies with us. We inspect a self-insured employer at least once every 2 years. If you have outsourced the sickness benefit related tasks, we will carry out our checks with the other organisation and you will receive the results of our inspection.

To apply, go to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (‘de Belastingdienst’) website and complete the Applying to become a self-insured employer for the sickness benefit form (‘Aanvraag Eigenrisicodragerschap voor de Ziektewet’). Include your sick leave policy agreements along with your application form.