Expert opinion
Both the employer and the (sick) employee are responsible for the reintegration process. If these two parties get into a disagreement about the approach, both the employer and the employee can request an expert opinion from the UWV.
Reasons for an expert opinion
An expert opinion is reviewed by an independent insurance physician or a Occupational Assessor, they then rule on it.
An expert opinion may cover:
- The employee's employment (in)suitability;
- the reintegration efforts of both employer and employee;
- the appropriateness of the position.
These experts can only comment on the medical aspect of the situation, so they may not have a legal opinion.
The independent UWV physician's opinion may include answers to one or more of the following questions:
- Can the employee return to full work at some point?
- Has the employee done enough to reintegrate?
- Is the work the employee has to do appropriate?
- Has the employer done enough to reintegrate?
- Can the employee's sick leave decrease within 26 weeks through job modification or reassignment to another position?
There are also a number of situations in which UWV does not issue an expert opinion, please refer to the UWV website.
Requesting expert opinion
Both employers and employees can request an expert opinion through UWV. If an employer wishes to request an DO, the fee is €400, for an employee it is €100. If the employer needs an DO for a dismissal request due to insufficient reintegration efforts or frequent absenteeism due to illness, there are no costs involved.
UWV indicates that it will take two to four weeks to receive the expert opinion from UWV. Afterwards, the employer, employee and company doctor receive the expert opinion.
To apply for the expert opinion, use the application form for employer or the application form for employee.
Second opinion
Since July 1, 2017, the employee can use a second opinion with another independent company doctor if the employee disagrees with the findings of the primary company doctor. The company doctor conducting the second opinion will issue a new opinion. From here, the company doctor, employer and employee can then further determine policy.
