When does a UWV wage sanction extend sick pay?

Conclusion

Without a valid reason (deugdelijke grond) the UWV extends the wage duty by 52 weeks at most. That is art. 25 lid 9 WIA. You report the repair to the UWV. The extension ends six weeks after the UWV accepts the repair, and no later than 52 weeks.

What the statute actually says

A wage sanction (loonsanctie) is that extension of the wage duty. People call it a third year of sick pay. The statute names a period of 52 weeks at most, on top of the waiting period of 104 weeks. During that period you keep paying the wage in art. 7:629 lid 1 BW. The percentage is on sick pay during illness.

The UWV extends the wage duty in two cases. Without a valid reason you missed a duty in art. 25 lid 1 to 5 WIA. Or the reintegration effort was insufficient. Those duties are the record, the plan of action (plan van aanpak), the reintegration report and the company doctor's assistance. The steps are on Wet verbetering poortwachter: what must I do?.

Art. 65 WIA states the test. The UWV assesses whether you and the employee could reasonably have come to the reintegration efforts that were made. The application is accompanied by the reintegration report.

The Beleidsregels beoordelingskader poortwachter are UWV policy, not statute. They have been in force since 18 November 2006.

The UWV looks at the result first. A satisfactory result is a structural return to work that fits the remaining capacity. It is also structural work with a wage value of at least 65% of the wage before the illness. You and the employee then agree that more could not reasonably be expected of you. On such a result the UWV imposes no wage sanction.

If the result is not satisfactory, the UWV tests the efforts. Sufficient efforts draw no sanction. Insufficient efforts with a valid reason draw no sanction either. If that reason is missing, the UWV suspends the application and the wage duty continues. That order is in the policy rules. The extension itself is art. 25 lid 9 WIA. Suspension of the application is art. 64 lid 7 WIA.

Art. 25 lid 9 WIA requires a valid reason and gives no list. In the policy rules that is the reason on which the UWV does not attribute a defect to you.

If the report is missing or incomplete, the UWV first sets you a deadline to complete it. That is art. 25 lid 8 WIA. The policy rules name one week first for missing papers. That week is policy.

If the application was on time, the UWV gives the decision on the extension at the latest six weeks before the waiting period ends. That is art. 25 lid 10 WIA. If the UWV does not give that decision before the waiting period ends, the extension does not take place. That is art. 25 lid 11 WIA.

If pregnancy or maternity leave is running when the extension starts, the extended period begins the day that leave ends. If that leave starts during the extension, the period pauses for the length of the leave. That is art. 25 lid 9 WIA.

What you should do as an employer

1. Before the WIA application. Who: you, with the employee and the company doctor. Carry out the steps in the Gatekeeper regulation. A satisfactory result makes the path afterwards irrelevant to this test.

2. If the report is incomplete. Who: you. The UWV sets a deadline. Supply the missing papers within that deadline. The policy rules name one week first for an administrative gap.

3. If the decision names a defect. Who: you. The decision states what is missing and how you repair it. Start at once. The actual length depends on the time the repair takes.

4. Once the defect is repaired. Who: you report, the UWV decides. Report the repair and show it. That is art. 25 lid 12 WIA. The UWV decides within three weeks of that report. That is art. 25 lid 13 WIA.

5. After that decision. The extension ends six weeks after the UWV finds the repair, and no later than 52 weeks. If the decision is late, the period ends as many weeks earlier as the decision was late. That is art. 25 lid 14 WIA. The UWV then decides on the benefit within six weeks. That is art. 25 lid 15 WIA.

6. If the employee does not cooperate. Who: you. Address it. If you leave that undone without a valid reason, and steps were missed, the sanction follows. If the employee refuses suitable work or the plan, the wage ends under art. 7:629 lid 3 BW. See sick pay during illness.

Main exceptions and edge cases

A satisfactory result draws no wage sanction. Sufficient efforts do not either. A defect with a valid reason does not either.

If there is no remaining capacity for work, the policy rules require no further reintegration efforts. The UWV still tests whether that judgment could reasonably be reached. If it could not, and chances were missed because of that, the UWV suspends the application.

An application for a shortened waiting period falls outside art. 65 WIA. That is art. 66 lid 6 WIA. Where the incapacity is full and permanent, the UWV gives no judgment on the reintegration efforts in that track.

If the employment ends during the illness after six weeks or more, draw up the reintegration report on the last day. That is art. 38 lid 2 ZW. Where the efforts were insufficient, the policy rules say the UWV recovers the sickness benefit from you.

You stay responsible where the company doctor or a reintegration company did the work. The policy rules attribute a defect of that provider to you.

Checklist

• Result at the end of the waiting period recorded: a structural return, or the 65% line in the policy rules.

• Reintegration report complete with the application, or completed within the UWV deadline.

• Decision read for the named defect and the repair it asks for.

• Repair started at once and reported to the UWV, with the proof.

• Date of the decision kept. A late decision shortens the period.

• An employee's refusal addressed in writing, before the UWV attributes the standstill to you.

FAQ

What is a wage sanction?

The UWV extends the period in which you pay wage during illness. It does so if, without a valid reason, you missed a duty in art. 25 WIA, or if the reintegration effort was insufficient. The extension is 52 weeks at most. That is art. 25 lid 9 WIA.

How long does a wage sanction last?

52 weeks at most. The actual length is the time the repair takes. It ends six weeks after the UWV finds that you have repaired the defect, and no later than 52 weeks. That is art. 25 lid 14 WIA.

How do I shorten a wage sanction?

Repair the defect named in the decision and report that to the UWV. Show the repair. That is art. 25 lid 12 WIA. The UWV decides within three weeks. The extension stops six weeks after that finding.

Is there a sanction if the result is satisfactory?

No. The policy rules treat a satisfactory result as enough. The UWV does not then test the path. A satisfactory result is a structural return that fits the remaining capacity, or work at least 65% of the former wage.

What is a valid reason (deugdelijke grond)?

Art. 25 lid 9 WIA uses the words and gives no list. Without that reason, a missed duty or an insufficient effort leads to the extension. With that reason, the policy rules say the UWV imposes no wage sanction, even where the effort was insufficient.

Sources

• Art. 25 WIA. An extension of 52 weeks at most, the repair report, the end six weeks later.

• Art. 64 WIA and art. 65 WIA. Suspension and the reasonableness test.

• Art. 66 lid 6 WIA. No test on an application for a shortened waiting period.

• Art. 7:629 BW. The wage during the extension.

• Art. 38 lid 2 ZW. The report on the last day of an employment that is ending.

• Beleidsregels beoordelingskader poortwachter. UWV policy, not statute. In force from 18 November 2006, consulted on 31 October 2026.

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