Wages during illness

published by: Sebastian van den Brink posted on August 15, 2022 reading time

An employee is paid his wages if he is ill and cannot work. This pay is an exception to the rule that the employee receives no pay if he is unable to work and this falls within his sphere of risk. Based on the law, the employer bears the risk of the illness of the employee (there are exceptions such as the no-risk policy of the WIA). The underlying idea is that the employer has a financial incentive to work towards the recovery (and reintegration) of the employee.

The law has a separate regulation for the amount of wages during illness for the employee. How are these wages regulated and what should the employer and employee pay attention to?

This article is part of a series on the concept of wages in employment law. See also our pieces on vacation wages, minimum wages and commission wages.

Statutory base pay during illness

The employee is not entitled to his full salary during illness. The minimum for wages during sickness is 70% of the "wages determined by time period". This refers to the payments that depend on working during a certain period of time. This includes the basic wage, but also the allowances that an employee receives if he works irregularly.

In addition, the employee is also entitled to 70% of the average of the wages that are not fixed by time period, but are dependent on the employee's work. In the form of piecework, commission, overtime or a performance-based bonus scheme. In practice, a reference period prior to the period of illness is often taken to determine this average. Depending on the wage components, reference periods can range from three months to an entire year.

During the first year of incapacity for work due to illness, the salary during illness may not be less than the statutory minimum wage. This lower limit is abandoned in the second year.

The collective agreement and the exceptions

For most employees, the statutory regulation of wages during illness is supplemented by the applicable collective agreement. Although there are many different options for the employer (even within one CLA sometimes), we mainly see that in the first year the wage is kept at the normal level. Only in the second year is a wage reduction applied to a lower percentage (usually 70%). So always check the CLA to know which rule should be applied.

There are a few exceptions for the continued payment of wages during illness. The so-called "waiting days" can be included in the collective agreement or employment contract, which means that the employee is not entitled to wages during the first or first two days of illness. In addition, it is possible to agree on a wage exclusion clause. This exclusion relates to the first six months of the employment contract. During this period of up to six months, the employee is only entitled to wages for the hours worked. If the employee falls ill or is unable to work for any other reason during this period, the employer is not obliged to pay any wages.

 

Improper payment of wages during illness can be recovered for up to five years and can be a latent risk to your business. Do you have questions about your wages during illness or questions about wage payments, reintegration or absenteeism? Then contact one of our labor law specialists without obligation.

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