Sick leave in the Netherlands and being asked to sign a settlement: your rights and what you lose

Yes, you can sign a vaststellingsovereenkomst (VSO) while on sick leave. That is the trap. For the first two years of illness the employer generally cannot dismiss (art. 7:670(1) BW). Signing is written consent, and then that ban does not apply (art. 7:670a(2)(a) BW).

That is not the same as being fired during sick leave without your signature. There the ban still holds.

Is it legal to pressure me?

The dismissal ban binds the employer, not your signature (art. 7:670 BW and art. 7:670a(2)(a) BW). Asking you to sign during illness is therefore not automatically illegal — it is how the ban is waived. Pressure is still not a blank cheque: you keep the art. 7:670b BW cooling-off period, and mistake or duress (art. 6:228 BW, art. 3:44 BW) remains a separate route.

What do I lose?

• Sick pay (art. 7:629 BW) ends on the VSO end date. There is then no employer left who owes wages.
• Ziektewet through UWV does not follow automatically. With no employer and a mutual termination, UWV often refuses ZW.
• WW requires you to be available for work. If you are still ill on the end date, the claim usually fails. UWV may also treat the ending as culpable unemployment.

Second year of illness — real options

The ban lasts 104 weeks, not “until you feel better”. In the second year the employer still cannot dismiss you for illness, but a VSO still gives that protection away — including the remaining sick pay until week 104.

After 104 weeks the ban ends and the employer can try UWV dismissal for long-term incapacity. That is a different route from signing now. Signing in year two only makes sense if someone who has your file says the deal beats that path: a larger payment and an end date after recovery, or a contract that would end anyway. That is the exception.

If you already signed: revoke in writing inside the 14 or 21 days and get it checked.