The Bottom Line
- Financial Risk: A Dutch court confirmed that employers can be forced to pay an extra year of sickness benefits if reintegration efforts are deemed insufficient, even when acting on the advice of a company doctor.
- Scrutiny of Medical Advice: A company doctor’s assessment that an employee has “no usable capabilities” for work is not a free pass. The Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and the courts will rigorously test whether this conclusion was medically reasonable.
- “Marginal” Capacity Still Requires Action: Even when an employee’s ability to work is severely limited, the employer is still obligated to explore and attempt reintegration. Doing nothing is not a defensible strategy if any capacity for work exists.
The Details
This ruling from the District Court of Oost-Brabant serves as a critical reminder for businesses operating in the Netherlands about the nuances of long-term employee sickness. The case involved an employer who was ordered by the UWV to extend sickness benefit payments for an ex-employee by a full year. The employer appealed, arguing they had a valid reason for ceasing reintegration efforts: their appointed company doctor had concluded that the employee had “no usable capabilities” for work due to fluctuating health conditions. The employer believed they had reasonably relied on this professional medical opinion.
The court, however, sided with the UWV, clarifying the limits of a company doctor’s professional discretion. While the doctor’s judgment is given weight, it is not absolute. The UWV’s insurance doctors reviewed the employee’s case and found that, based on the medical evidence, the conclusion of “no usable capabilities” was unreasonable. The court noted that having significant limitations—such as physical complaints, variable energy levels, or even being restricted to just two hours of work per day—does not automatically mean a complete inability to perform any work. The company doctor’s role is to identify these limitations; it is then up to occupational experts to determine what, if any, work is possible within that framework.
The key takeaway for employers and their legal counsel is that the ultimate responsibility for ensuring adequate reintegration efforts rests with the company. The court found that the employer should not have passively accepted the “no work” assessment, especially after an earlier UWV evaluation had already established a list of the employee’s functional capabilities. The ruling underscores a core principle of Dutch employment law: if an employee has any capacity for work, no matter how marginal, the employer must actively explore possibilities. Simply filing away a doctor’s note stating otherwise, without further critical inquiry, exposes the business to significant financial penalties.
Source
Source: Rechtbank Oost-Brabant
