Can I cut sick pay from 100% to 70%?
Conclusion
Cutting an agreed 100% to 70% takes a written clause and a compelling interest (art. 7:613 BW). The statutory 70% is the floor for 104 weeks. That is art. 7:629 lid 1 BW. Where a cao or the contract sets 100%, you pay 100%. The statute does not cut that agreement on its own.
What the statute actually says
Art. 7:629 lid 1 BW gives a right to 70% of the time-based wage for 104 weeks. For the first 52 weeks that is at least the statutory minimum wage that applies to this employee. The 70% runs up to the maximum daily wage. The amounts are on How much must I keep paying a sick employee, and for how long?.
A cao (collective agreement, collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst) or the contract may give more than that 70%. Where either sets 100%, 100% is the agreement. Art. 7:629 BW does not turn that agreement into 70% after 52 weeks.
A cut changes a term of the contract. You need a written clause that gives you the power to change such a term. That clause is a variation clause (wijzigingsbeding). You invoke it only with a compelling interest (zwaarwichtig belang). The employee's interest that would be harmed must yield by reasonableness and fairness. That is art. 7:613 BW. The statute lists no examples of such an interest.
If the employee agrees in writing to 70%, you change the agreement itself. Art. 7:613 BW is not required for that agreement. A cao that sets the 100% still sits above that agreement.
| Topic | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | 70% of time-based wage for 104 weeks; first 52 weeks at least the minimum wage | art. 7:629 lid 1 BW |
| Higher agreement | A cao or the contract may give more. The statute does not cut it | art. 7:629 lid 1 BW |
| Unilateral cut | Only with a written clause, and only with a compelling interest | art. 7:613 BW |
| Cao binds both | A conflicting clause is void. The cao applies | art. 12 lid 1 Wet CAO |
| Only you are bound | You apply the cao terms to contracts you enter, unless the cao says otherwise | art. 14 Wet CAO |
| Generally binding | A conflicting clause is void. That provision applies | art. 3 lid 1 Wet AVV |
| Below 70% | Only the first two days, if that was agreed | art. 7:629 lid 9 BW |
Where the cao binds both of you, a conflicting clause is void. The cao applies. That is art. 12 lid 1 Wet CAO. A silent contract is filled by the cao. That is art. 13 Wet CAO. Unless the cao says otherwise, it also covers contracts already running. That is art. 7 lid 2 Wet CAO.
Where the cao binds only you, you still apply its terms to contracts you enter, unless it says otherwise. That is art. 14 Wet CAO.
Where the minister has declared provisions generally binding, they bind every employer for work under that cao, including a contract already running. Named exceptions fall outside. That is art. 2 lid 1 Wet AVV. A conflicting clause is void. That is art. 3 lid 1 Wet AVV. A silent contract takes that provision. That is art. 3 lid 3 Wet AVV.
Deviation below art. 7:629 BW is allowed only for the first two days of the period. Those days must have been agreed. That is art. 7:629 lid 9 BW. Two unpaid days are not a cut from 100% to 70%.
What you should do as an employer
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The day of the sick report. Who: you. Read the cao and the contract. Note the percentage, and whether it drops after a stated period.
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Before the first payment at 70%. Who: you. If that drop is already in the cao or the contract, you carry out that agreement. That is not an appeal to art. 7:613 BW.
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If you want to cut a fixed 100%. Who: you. Find the written variation clause. If there is none, ask for written agreement. Without the clause and without agreement, you keep paying 100%.
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Before you invoke the clause. Who: you. Write down the compelling interest, and why the employee's interest yields.
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The same day, the cao check. Who: you. A cut that conflicts with a cao binding both of you, or with a generally binding provision, is void. Pay the cao percentage instead.
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Every wage period after that. Who: you. Stay at or above 70% for 104 weeks. For the first 52 weeks stay at or above the minimum wage. That is art. 7:629 lid 1 BW.
Main exceptions and edge cases
A schedule in the cao, such as 100% in the first year and 70% after that, is what you pay. That is the cao, not a unilateral change. Art. 7:613 BW is not the basis for it.
A schedule in the contract that undercuts the cao does not stand where that cao binds both of you. The conflicting clause is then void. That is art. 12 lid 1 Wet CAO. The same holds for a generally binding provision. That is art. 3 lid 1 Wet AVV.
Where the contract only refers to the statute, the agreement is the 70% in art. 7:629 lid 1 BW. There is then no 100% to cut. You pay more than 70% only where the cao or the contract agrees that extra.
Without a written clause, art. 7:613 BW does not give you this power. A sentence in a conversation is not that clause. The statute requires writing.
A wage sanction extends the period in which you pay wages. It does not lower the percentage. The extension is art. 7:629 lid 11 BW. The length, 52 extra weeks at most, is on When does a UWV wage sanction extend sick pay?.
Art. 7:629 lid 2 BW sets the statutory right at six weeks. That covers household work on usually fewer than four days, exclusively or almost exclusively for the natural person. And it covers AOW age (AOW-leeftijd). A longer agreement at 100% still stands.
If the employee refuses suitable work without a valid reason, the wage for that time lapses. That is art. 7:629 lid 3 BW. That is a stop, not a cut to 70%. Reintegration is on Wet verbetering poortwachter: what must I do?.
Checklist
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Cao and contract read for the percentage and for a schedule.
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Written variation clause found before a fixed 100% goes down.
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Compelling interest written down, and why the employee's interest yields.
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Checked whether a cao or a generally binding provision makes the cut void.
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If there is agreement: recorded in writing, and still at or above the cao and the statute.
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Every payment at or above 70%, and for the first 52 weeks at or above the minimum wage.
FAQ
Does 100% drop to 70% after a year by itself?
No. Art. 7:629 lid 1 BW sets 70% as the floor for 104 weeks. A cao or a contract that sets 100% stays at 100%. The statute does not convert that agreement after 52 weeks. You follow only a schedule in the cao or the contract that itself goes to 70%.
When may I cut from 100% to 70%?
With a written clause that allows that change, and a compelling interest. The employee's interest must yield for that. That is art. 7:613 BW. Or with written agreement, where the cao and any generally binding provision allow that 70%.
What if the contract has no variation clause?
Then art. 7:613 BW does not give you this power. You ask for written agreement, or you keep paying the agreed 100%. A spoken sentence is not the clause in that article.
Can the cao keep me at 100%?
Yes, where the cao sets 100% and it binds you. A conflicting clause is void where the cao binds both of you. That is art. 12 lid 1 Wet CAO. The same holds for a generally binding provision. That is art. 3 lid 1 Wet AVV.
May I pay less than 70%?
Only for the first two days, and only if that was agreed. That is art. 7:629 lid 9 BW. For the rest of the 104 weeks the floor stays 70%. For the first 52 weeks that is at least the minimum wage. That is art. 7:629 lid 1 BW.
Sources
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Art. 7:613 BW. A written variation clause works only with a compelling interest. Valid on 31 October 2026.
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Art. 7:629 BW. A floor of 70% for 104 weeks, the minimum wage in the first 52 weeks, and only two waiting days downward.
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Arts. 12, 13, 14 and 7 of the Collective Agreement Act. Conflicting clauses, a silent contract, and the duty of the bound employer. In force from 1 January 2007.
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Arts. 2 and 3 of the AVV Act. Generally binding provisions bind the whole scope. A conflicting clause is void. In force from 1 July 2026.
Look the article up via find a statute.