ARTICLE · 03 OCTOBER 2025

The Netherlands: Risks Of Dormant Employment

Littler Mendelson

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In principle, sick employees retain the legal right to continued payment of a wage for 104 weeks. This term runs parallel to the waiting period for WIA (Work and Income according to Labor Capacity Act) benefits.

NetherlandsEmployment and HR

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A recent decision by the Gelderland District Court shows yet again that dormant employment in the Netherlands comes with risks.¹ In this article, we briefly set out what dormant employment is and what the associated risks are.

Sick employees

In principle, sick employees retain the legal right to continued payment of a wage for 104 weeks. This term runs parallel to the waiting period for WIA (Work and Income according to Labor Capacity Act) benefits. Both the obligation to continue to pay a wage during illness and the waiting period of 104 weeks may be extended by up to 52 weeks if the Employee Insurance Agency ("UWV") is of the opinion that insufficient redeployment efforts have been made. This means that, in principle, the obligation to continue to pay a wage expires after this period of 104 weeks and a sick employee is, in principle, entitled to WIA benefits.

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