Absence and reintegration

Even when you are not ill, you may still have questions about (imminent) health problems concerning work. Please contact your manager and HR Advisor to discuss this. Would you rather address these complaints with a company doctor? Feel free to make an appointment for the Open Consultation via 024-3717799 or servicebureau@debedrijfspoli.nl. The conversations that take place are confidential.

Getting sick while on holiday or during compulsory leave days is annoying. Below you will find what you should do in that case:

• Report sick to your manager before 9:00 a.m. on the first day of illness and via MyHR. Just like you would if you were not on holiday.
• Pass on your holiday address (or the address where you are being nursed) and the telephone number where you can be reached by your manager. Also, let us know if you can travel.
• Make sure you can be reached by phone at all times.
• Are you staying outside the Netherlands? Then visit a doctor on site and ask for an official doctor's statement (in Dutch or English) showing that you are unable to perform your own or other activities due to illness. The statement contains at least the name, address and telephone number of the treating physician, the onset date of illness and an estimate of the probable duration of the incapacity for work.
• Are you staying in the Netherlands? Then follow the instructions from the company doctor/work and health coach.
• Recovered? Immediately report this to your manager and report yourself back to work through MyHR. Just like you would if you were not on holiday.
• Do you need advice or consultation on the situation that has arisen and your leave (hours)? Please contact your manager and HR Advisor to discuss the situation.

• During a period of (partial) absenteeism, you build up leave hours as usual. In the case of full-time employment, however, the build-up of compensation hours stops after 6 months of (partial) absenteeism due to illness.
• It is the important that you continue to take holiday leave during a longer period of absence. During this leave, you are exempt from reintegration obligations and do not have to be available to your employer. You really are on leave then. You agree to take leave with your manager and then request this leave through MyHR. When you take leave, the hours are booked off following your normal work pattern. Make sure that leave does not hinder your reintegration. The company doctor may be asked for advice on this.
• If you do not take (sufficient) leave, there is a chance that leave hours will expire because you did not take them on time (see leave regulation University of Twente Leave Regulations). An exception applies to employees who were unable to take (part of) their leave hours for medical reasons because there were no usable opportunities to reintegrate into work. They reserve the right to take these hours at a later period. In general, this is only the case if you have been admitted to a hospital or other healthcare institution and/or are bedridden. Or if you depend on others to for activities in daily life and are not self-reliant. The company doctor advises in assessing this.

The process during reintegration in the first and second year of illness contains several documents and a step-by-step plan. With this step-by-step plan, you can see exactly what steps there are in case you are sick. For more information, please check the UWV-site.

An occupational health assessment is an analysis of the work situation and employability of a sick employee. The law obliges employers to assess how absent employees can continue to work according to their capacity. If you are incapacitated for a longer period, whether fully or partially, an occupational health assessment can provide insight into the possibilities, limitations and suitability of work content and the working environment. The assessment is carried out by a labour expert who records the findings and advice in a report.

The assessment normally consists of an interview with you, your manager and your HR Advisor and may also include a visit to your workplace. You, your manager and your HR Advisor receive a report containing the conclusions of the assessment as well as advice concerning the next steps in the reintegration.

The labour expert answers the following questions, among other things:

• Can you still perform your own work at UT, on a sustainable basis going forward?
• If not, is it possible to make your own work suitable with adjustments (content, conditions, scope, etc.)?
• If not, can you carry out other suitable work at UT?
• If not, are there possibilities to assist you in finding work outside UT and is a follow-up programme (second track reintegration process) desirable?

The occupational health assessment and the accompanying report form the basis for the further process and implementation of reintegration.

The UWV expert opinion is an independent opinion on the progress of reintegration and the current medical status of a sick employee. If an expert opinion is requested, the insurance medical advisor (and/or labour expert) of the UWV will form their own opinion regarding the work possibilities and the current state of health. They will generally also carry out an investigation for that purpose and, if necessary, will request information from the person or persons treating the employee.

The expert opinion provides an answer to one of the following questions:

• Can the employee resume work in full on a certain date?
• Is the work that the employee performs, wants to perform or must perform suitable?
• Has UT done enough to promote the employee’s reintegration?
• Has the employee done enough to facilitate the reintegration?
• Is it possible that the employee’s frequent sickness absence will decrease within 26 weeks if the work or working environment is modified? Or by transferring the employee to another suitable position, possibly assisted by training.

The expert opinion gives a judgement on an employee’s capacity or incapacity for work as well as the possibilities for reintegration. It is a non-binding opinion issued by the UWV and not a formal decision. As a result, it is not open to objection or appeal by the employee. Nor does the opinion constitute a recommendation or advice on what further steps should be taken concerning reintegration. It is a snapshot in which an assessment is made as to whether UT and the employee are meeting the obligations and responsibilities in case of sickness and absence.

Both UT and the employee can request the UWV to give an expert opinion. An expert opinion requested by the employee carries a charge of €100, payable by the employee.

More information on the expert opinion can be found at the UWV website.

Occasionally, it becomes clear during a period of absence that there is little or no prospect of the employee resuming his/her work on a sustainable basis and that there is also no other suitable position available within UT. In that case, a ‘second track process’ is started. UT usually engages an external reintegration agency for this purpose. An occupational health assessment may already have been carried out to determine what work might be suitable.

A ‘second track process’ is focused on finding a suitable position outside UT. Of course, your employability options are taken into account. Key elements of the second track process are job application counselling and active exploration of new job opportunities. A temporary work experience placement or a trial placement at another employer can also be a stepping stone to a sustainable return to work elsewhere.

A return to the employee’s own work or transfer to another suitable position within UT (first track) is always the preferred option. To ensure the greatest chance of a sustainable return to work, the first and second track processes can run in parallel during reintegration. It is also possible to alternate between the first and second track processes, depending on developments (increased or no increase of work capacity). A second track process may only be waived if, after 12 months (partial) sick leave, there is a firm prospect of a sustainable return to work in the employee’s own position or another suitable position within UT (first track).

Salary reduction after twelve months

Employers in the Netherlands are obliged to continue paying an employee’s salary during the first two years of absence due to illness (104 weeks). The employer must pay at least 70% of the annual salary during this period. This obligation is set out in the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities as follows:

• You will receive your full salary for the first twelve months. After twelve months, your salary is reduced to 70% for the hours you do not work. You receive your full salary for any hours that you have worked (own work/your own adapted work/other work) and for your holiday leave.

UT procedure

After nine months of sickness absence, partial or otherwise, you will receive a letter by email from HR containing information on several topics of importance about long-term sick leave. HR will send this letter to the private email address you have provided. If no private email address is known, the letter will be sent to your work email address.
After twelve months of (partial) sick leave, you will receive a second letter informing you about the salary reduction.

When you have been (partially) sick for more than twelve months, your salary will be reduced to 70%. This will only apply to the hours you are registered as sick. For example, if you are in the process of returning to work and have resumed your duties for 60% of your contract hours, then the reduction will apply to 40% of your salary. Always make sure that you provide the correct illness percentage to the HR department of the department/faculty/service so that the number of hours you work per week is correctly registered in MyHR.

You will also receive 100% salary for the leave hours taken. So always make sure that you properly register your leave in MyHR.

This information is intended for UT staff members who have been absent for more than nine months. In the ninth month after the onset of illness, the employee will receive a letter about the salary reduction after twelve months of illness as well as the “Long-term sickness absence folder”.