SICKNESS AND REINTEGRATION
Resigning during illness is a delicate matter that requires careful consideration. As an employee, you have certain rights and obligations that you should know before taking this step. In this blog we explain everything about your position under employment law, including your right to continued payment of wages during illness, your obligations towards your employer and the possible consequences for your benefits.
Resigning yourself during illness
Incapacity for work is a prohibition on dismissal. This means that your employer may not dismiss you if you are (partly) unable to do your work because of illness. This does not alter the fact that it is possible to jointly agree on terminating the employment contract , or that you may resign yourself.
Situations in which it is not wise to resign.
When you are incapacitated for work, in most cases it is not wise to resign yourself. This is because it will affect any sickness benefits.
As an employee who is unfit for work, you are entitled to continued payment of wages. Only once you have been unfit for work for more than 104 weeks (2 years) can your employer dismiss you. This does, however, require permission from the UWV . Until those 104 weeks have passed, you therefore remain entitled to your wages. If you resign yourself, you lose these wages. As a result, in such a situation the UWV will decide, when you apply for sickness benefit (ZW), that you are culpably unemployed. According to the UWV, this is a act of disadvantage. The UWV would then have to vouch for the lost wages, which will void the right to sick benefits.
Situations in which it does make sense to resign.
There are also situations where resigning yourself during illness may be wise, namely:
When an employee situational unfit for work. This means that the employee is only unfit for work while employed by a specific employer. If the employee leaves that employer, he is no longer unfit for work. An example is when the employee is intimidated by colleagues or managers, causing mental or physical complaints. Since the employee becomes fit for work again by leaving the employer, no benefit needs to be claimed. In this situation it can therefore possibility to have to resign while on disability.
According to the UWV, you are also entitled to benefits if the you leave your job due to a mental condition at the time you resigned, or it is harmful to your health to continue working for the employer. Whether this is the case is determined by a UWV doctor. If the doctor judges that there was one of these two situations, then there is possibility to have entitlement to benefits.
Transition payment in case of illness
A transition payment is an allowance for the transition to a new job. You are entitled to transition compensation after 2 years of illness if your employer fires you. The amount of the transition compensation depends on the length of employment and the amount of salary.
In principle, there is no right to compensation if you resign yourself. You choose to terminate the employment contract. However, there is an exception when you have resigned due to serious culpable actions or omissions by the employer. It is then the employer's fault that the employment contract is not continued. Think for example of a threat by the employer, causing you to resign. In this situation, you do have the right to a transition allowance.
Settlement agreement in case of illness
If you resign during illness and are still entitled to wages, you are not entitled to a transition allowance and the right to ZW benefits lapses. With no prospect of another job, this is not an ideal scenario. For this reason, in some situations it is wiser for an employee to reach a solution together with an employer. This can be done by means of a settlement agreement.
A settlement agreement is and agreement where employee and employer come to a joint agreement for the termination of the employment relationship. The advantage of this is that the employer is usually willing to pay severance pay. This gives you financial compensation for the work you have done, so that you can bridge the period until a new job. The employer must also comply with the notice period. For this period, you remain entitled to your wages. Please note! never a settlement agreement when you have no concrete prospect of recovering within a short period.
Just as with resigning, the UWV regards signing a settlement agreement during illness as a prejudicial act. You lose your right to wages, so the UWV will decide that you are culpably unemployed. As a result, you are again not entitled to sickness benefit (ZW). Signing a settlement agreement while unfit for work is only advisable if your incapacity is situational or if you are sure you will recover within a short period, because then no benefit needs to be claimed. If you will most likely need to rely on sickness benefit, signing is not wise.
Becoming sick after dismissal
If you are dismissed as an employee and fall ill shortly afterwards, you can apply for sickness benefit (ZW) through the UWV. One condition is that you have already been granted Unemployment benefit . But if you become unfit for work after you have yourself have resigned, in most situations there is no right to WW benefits. This is because you are culpably unemployed.
Exceptions to this are:
- Seriously culpable acts or omissions of the employer;
- There is a mental state at the time you resigned;
- It is harmful to your health to continue doing work for the employer.
If you become ill after resigning, you should report sick to the UWV. The UWV will then assess whether or not you are entitled to sickness benefits.
Questions about resigning yourself during illness
Are you considering resigning, currently on disability and have questions? Please get in touch us. We can inform you on termination of the employment while on sick leave.
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Plan a conversationWe are happy to think along with you. For advice tailored to your situation, we would be glad to talk to you. No rights can be derived from the content of this page and it may contain inaccuracies.
