What is the Wet Verbetering Poortwachter?

The Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wvp) was established in 2002 with the purpose of reducing the number of long-term sick employees. The Gatekeeper Improvement Act obliges employers to start actively counseling the employee from the first day of sick leave. The goal of the Wvp is to help employees return to work faster.

Continued wage payment
Employers must continue to pay their employees 70% of their final wages in the event of illness for two years. For the first year of absence this must be at least the minimum wage, for the second year of absence this is not the case. If it appears that the employer has not made sufficient efforts to reintegrate the employee, the employer may also be required to continue paying wages for the third year. The costs of absence counseling or reintegration are also for the employer in this case.

Appropriate work

During the first two years of absence, the employee and employer are looking for opportunities to promote recovery and for suitable work. According to the Wvp, the employer first investigates with the employee whether he/she can continue to work in his/her own position at the same organization. This includes adjusting the workplace, position, number of hours and working hours or another suitable job within the organization. If research by the Occupational Assessor shows that there is no suitable work at the current organization (1st track), then the employer and employee will look for work at another organization (2nd track).

• • The employer may not ask the employee what they have, but rather when they expect to be able to return to work.
  • The employer can ask the employee to visit the company doctor. The latter assesses whether the employee is able to do adapted work and how long the absence may last. The occupational health and safety service can also visit the sick employee in the form of an emergency check-up.
  • The employer can allow the employee to return to work on an occupational therapy basis. This allows him/her to slowly get used to work again. Officially, however, the employee is still sick and must continue to be paid wages.
  • If the employer disagrees with the employee and/or occupational health and safety service about reintegration, he can request an expert opinion from the UWV.
  • A reintegration company can assist the employer and employee in returning to work or to other work in the same company or to another employer.