What must the plan of action contain, and when is it due?

Conclusion

You draw up the plan of action (plan van aanpak) within two weeks after the opinion. That is art. 4 lid 1 of the Regeling procesgang. You do so only if the opinion still shows room to promote a return to work. You make the plan with the employee and put it in writing. It contains the activities, the goals, the deadlines, both views, the evaluation moments and a guide.

What the statute actually says

The plan of action is the agreement on the return to work. Art. 7:658a lid 3 BW places that agreement on you, in agreement with the employee. Art. 25 lid 2 WIA points to a ministerial regulation for the deadline. That regulation is the Regeling procesgang eerste en tweede ziektejaar.

The opinion comes from the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) or the occupational health service (arbodienst). The UWV calls that opinion the problem analysis (probleemanalyse). You ask for it within six weeks of the first sick day if a long absence is expected.

The two weeks for the plan start on the day of that opinion. If the opinion falls in week 6, the plan falls in week 8. The UWV Werkwijzer Poortwachter (1 August 2022) places the plan in week 8. That is UWV policy, not a separate deadline in the regulation. The full sequence is on Wet verbetering poortwachter: what must I do?.

The activities aim at a return to work. First in your own business. Once the employee's own work is no longer possible and your business has no other suitable work, you promote suitable work with another employer. That is the second track (spoor 2), from art. 7:658a lid 1 BW.

The evaluation at the end of the first year of illness is the first-year evaluation (eerstejaarsevaluatie). It is on the first-year evaluation. The doctor hears the employee regularly. If the course of the illness calls for a change, you ask for advice at once. You adjust the plan if the evaluation or that advice gives reason to. The same rules apply to the update: agreement, in writing, and a copy at once. That is art. 4 lid 4 and lid 5 of the regulation.

You give the copy to the employee, to the guide and to the company doctor or the service. The UWV calls the guide the case manager (casemanager). The statute does not use that word.

The employee cooperates with drawing up, evaluating and adjusting the plan. That is art. 7:660a lid 1 BW. A plan you draw up alone is not a plan under art. 4 lid 1. The agreements are kept. That is art. 25 lid 2 WIA.

Employer and employee may depart from the deadlines in art. 2 and art. 4. The departure is motivated. Write the reason down. That is art. 5 of the regulation.

If the plan is missing without a valid reason, the UWV extends the wage duty by 52 weeks at most. The same follows if the reintegration was insufficient because of that gap. That is art. 25 lid 9 WIA. The detail is on A UWV wage sanction.

The Beleidsregels beoordelingskader poortwachter treat the formal steps in the regulation as secondary to the actual effort. A late or incomplete plan counts where chances of a return to work were missed because of it. The mere absence of a case manager does not by itself draw a sanction.

What you should do as an employer

1. On the day of the opinion. Who: you. Read whether a return to work is still possible. Without those possibilities you make no plan. You do not write the medical opinion yourself.

2. Within two weeks. Who: you and the employee, together. Agree the activities, the goals and the expected deadlines. Include your view and the employee's view.

3. In the same document. Agree the evaluation moments. One moment is the end of the first year of illness. Name the guide. That person keeps contact between the employee, you and the doctor.

4. The same day. Put the plan in writing. Give a copy to the employee, the guide and the doctor.

5. On each agreed date. Evaluate. Ask the doctor for advice if the course of the illness calls for it. Adjust the plan in agreement with the employee. Give a copy again.

6. If the employee refuses. Who: you. If the employee refuses the plan or suitable work, the right to wage ends under art. 7:629 lid 3 BW. Those grounds are on sick pay during illness.

Main exceptions and edge cases

If the opinion shows no remaining possibilities to promote a return to work, you do not make a plan of action. The absence record and the week-42 report stay in place for as long as the wage duty runs.

An employee who has reached AOW pension age does not get a plan of action. That employee does not have to cooperate with the plan. That is art. 7:658a lid 3 BW and art. 7:660a lid 2 BW.

If a long absence only becomes clear after six weeks, you ask for the opinion at once. The two weeks for the plan start on the day of that later opinion. Week 8 is not the deadline then.

A departure from the two weeks belongs in the file, with the reason. A plan without the employee's view misses art. 4 lid 2 point a. A plan without a copy misses art. 4 lid 3.

You stay responsible for the agreements. The company doctor advises. You conclude the plan with the employee.

Checklist

• Opinion in: possibilities of a return, or none.

• Plan within two weeks after that opinion, together with the employee.

• Activities, goals, expected deadlines and both views written down.

• Evaluation moments agreed, including the end of the first year of illness.

• Guide named.

• Copy the same day to the employee, the guide and the doctor.

• Any update again in writing, in agreement, with a copy.

FAQ

When is the plan of action due?

Within two weeks after the opinion of the company doctor or the occupational health service. That is art. 4 lid 1 of the Regeling procesgang. If that opinion falls in week 6, the plan falls in week 8. The two weeks start on the day of the opinion.

What must the plan of action contain?

The activities of you and of the employee, the goals and the expected deadlines. Also both views. Then the evaluation moments, in any event at the end of the first year of illness, and a guide. That is art. 4 lid 2 of the regulation.

Do I make a plan if a return to work is impossible?

No. Only if the opinion still shows possibilities to promote a return to work. That is art. 4 lid 1 of the regulation. Without those possibilities you do not make a plan of action.

Must the employee agree to the plan?

Yes. You draw up the plan in agreement with the employee. That is art. 7:658a lid 3 BW and art. 4 lid 1 of the regulation. The employee cooperates with drawing it up, evaluating it and adjusting it. That is art. 7:660a lid 1 BW.

What if the plan does not work?

You evaluate and adjust the plan, together with the employee. The doctor advises if the course of the illness calls for it. That is art. 4 lid 5 of the regulation. If you miss the plan without a valid reason, the UWV extends the wage duty by 52 weeks at most.

Sources

• Art. 7:658a BW. The plan in agreement with the employee, and the regular evaluation.

• Art. 7:660a BW. The employee's cooperation with the plan.

• Art. 25 WIA. The deadline by ministerial regulation, keeping the agreements, and the extension of 52 weeks at most.

• Regeling procesgang eerste en tweede ziektejaar, art. 4 and art. 5. In force from 1 July 2025, consulted on 31 October 2026.

• UWV, Werkwijzer Poortwachter, 1 August 2022. Policy. Week 8 for the plan comes from that guide.

• Beleidsregels beoordelingskader poortwachter. Policy. The formal steps are secondary to the actual effort.

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