If you disagree with the company doctor, first ask for an explanation of the advice and record your objections in specific terms. A second opinion or an expert opinion from the UWV can then help. Keep discussing the current work arrangements carefully. If a wage sanction or dismissal is looming, it is wise to have your file assessed quickly.
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A company doctor (occupational physician) does not determine treatment and does not decide on an employment dispute either. The company doctor advises on your capacity for work, your limitations, the options for suitable work and the build-up of reintegration. Your employer may not ask for the diagnosis or medical details. The employer only receives the information needed for the return to work and for guidance.
What does a company doctor assess?
The company doctor assesses which work you can still do from a medical point of view and under which conditions. This may concern the build-up of hours, working times, exposure to stimuli, physical strain, travel, working from home and necessary adjustments. The employer and employee then translate this advice into specific work arrangements.
Your GP or treating practitioner has a different role. They treat your symptoms and can provide medical information, but they do not decide independently whether you are unfit for your own job. A difference of opinion between your treating practitioner and the company doctor therefore does not automatically mean that either of them is acting carelessly. However, the company doctor must take relevant information into account if you give consent for this.
How do you request the advice and its reasoning?
Ask for written advice that clearly states which tasks, hours and build-up the company doctor considers possible. Then identify, task by task, where you have doubts. A specific difference between the actual workload and the advice is easier to discuss than a general complaint. Also ask when the advice will be reviewed.
Ask the company doctor for a follow-up consultation if the advice is unclear. Provide relevant information in a targeted way. Share medical documents with the company doctor and not with your manager. Keep invitations, advice, emails, the action plan and evaluations together in one chronological file.
Which arrangements remain in force during a reassessment?
A request for a second opinion or an expert opinion does not automatically suspend the current arrangements. You should therefore attend appointments and carry out suitable work insofar as this is medically responsible. If you genuinely cannot perform part of it, report this immediately in writing and ask for a consultation with the company doctor on the same day.
Stopping work on your own initiative or missing an appointment may be regarded as insufficient cooperation with reintegration. This may lead to a wage sanction. Conversely, the employer may not replace the medical assessment with its own view. An employer considering a wage stop must state the statutory ground clearly and in good time.
When is a second opinion or an expert opinion appropriate?
A second opinion is carried out by another company doctor and concerns the correctness of the occupational health advice. In principle, you request it through the first company doctor. The costs are borne by the employer if the second opinion is carried out in accordance with the basic contract. The first company doctor must cooperate with the request, unless there are compelling reasons against it.
An expert opinion from the UWV, the Dutch employee insurance agency (deskundigenoordeel), is suitable for a specific dispute about (in)capacity for work, suitable work or reintegration efforts. The opinion is advice and not a decision against which an objection can be lodged. It can, however, carry considerable weight in wage proceedings, a dismissal case or the later assessment of the reintegration report.
When do you choose which route?
Choose a second opinion sooner if you mainly doubt the company doctor’s medical or occupational health reasoning and want a second professional assessment. Choose an expert opinion sooner if the conflict already specifically concerns whether you can do your own job, whether the work offered is suitable or who is not doing enough towards reintegration.
Sometimes both instruments are useful, but stacking them without a clear question can cause delay. Formulate one or two decisive questions in advance. Do not ask for a general opinion on “everything that is going wrong”, but, for example, whether the work offered is suitable given your established limitations.
What if your employer puts pressure on you?
Ask the employer to confirm instructions and objections in writing. Respond in a businesslike manner, confirm that you want to cooperate and state which part you consider medically unfeasible. Refer to the pending request for reassessment, without sharing medical details. Keep the acknowledgement of receipt.
If your employer threatens a wage stop, ask which provision of Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) it relies on and from which date. Where monitoring information is missing, suspension of wages may be at issue; where a statutory ground for exclusion applies, the right to wages may lapse. The financial difference is significant. Have an announced measure assessed quickly.
Would you like the arrangements and their consequences assessed? Tell us about your situation.
What information may your employer request?
When you report sick, your employer may ask about your availability, the expected duration of absence and current work arrangements. Medical details, such as diagnosis and treatment, belong with the company doctor. Discuss options for adjusted work on the basis of the functional information that the company doctor has passed on; the employer may not carry out that medical assessment itself.
Only give targeted consent if the company doctor needs information from a treating practitioner. Check which information is being requested and for what purpose. A medical authorisation should not be broader than necessary.
Which mistakes can you avoid?
Many employees wait, miss appointments in the meantime or write emotional emails containing medical details to their employer. This makes the file confusing and can obscure the core of the dispute. A second mistake is assuming that the GP’s opinion automatically takes precedence. A third mistake is applying for an expert opinion without precisely describing the question and the relevant job demands.
Employers make mistakes too. They treat advice as a binding order, demand medical explanations or announce a wage stop without distinguishing the statutory ground. A careful file always contains the specific obligation, the warning, the employee’s response and the medical advice without diagnostic data.
Disagreeing with the company doctor: which steps should you take?
Work from the specific arrangement or advice about which there is a difference of opinion. First gather the documents and then formulate your question. Record responses in writing and assess the next step on the basis of the file. This prevents discussions about general positions from overshadowing the actual issue.
- Request the current advice and your functional capabilities in writing.
- Describe, per task or hour, why you consider the advice unfeasible.
- Ask for a follow-up consultation and provide relevant information to the company doctor.
- Keep attending and cooperate with the parts that are possible.
- Choose a second opinion or an expert opinion in a targeted way.
- Respond immediately to a warning or wage sanction.
- Have the file legally assessed if your wages or employment are at risk.
Which illustrative situations may arise?
The following fictitious situations show which questions may play a role in the assessment. They do not describe client cases or results achieved by the firm. Above all, compare the facts and arrangements with your own file. A difference in capacity for work, tasks or available options may lead to a different assessment.
Suppose the company doctor advises four hours of administrative work per day, while your own position mainly involves customer contact and deadlines. In that case, do not only ask whether working four hours is correct, but also which specific tasks are suitable within those four hours, which breaks are needed and how the build-up will be evaluated. This turns an abstract disagreement into arrangements that can be tested.
Another example is advice stating that there are no medical limitations, while the company doctor has not yet seen recent information from a specialist. Provide that information, with your consent, in a targeted way, ask for a new consultation and confirm that you will continue to cooperate with what is feasible in the meantime. Avoid concluding that you can stay at home entirely without new advice.
The conflict may also in fact be organisational rather than medical. Consider a manager who only accepts full recovery, while the company doctor advises a gradual build-up. The employer must then translate the advised capacity for work into suitable work. Ask in writing which tasks are being offered and why they fall within the advice.
How do you prepare your file for a legal assessment?
A useful file contains at least the problem analysis, all revisions of the advice, the action plan, evaluations, proposals for suitable work, warnings and your written responses. Add a short timeline with the date, arrangement, person involved and outcome. This prevents the core issue from being lost in dozens of separate emails.
Also note your normal tasks and the demands they place on you. Do not describe only job titles, but for example lifting weights, travel time, screen time, deadlines, confrontational customer contact or changing shifts. The suitability of work can only be properly assessed when the advice and the actual job demands are placed side by side.
Keep medical content separate from the employer’s file. Medical information may be relevant to a lawyer, but the employer should only receive functional data. Always check who the recipient is before sending anything.
Frequently asked questions
Many questions concern the meaning of arrangements and the options for responding. The answers below provide guidance for that choice. Always also assess the specific documents and circumstances. A general explanation cannot establish which outcome is legally achievable in an individual conflict.
Can my employer decide that I am fit for work?
The employer may not independently give a medical opinion on your fitness for work. The company doctor assesses your capacity for work and advises on your return to work. Your employer organises the work on the basis of that advice. Ask for clarification if you believe the tasks offered do not match the capabilities described.
Is a second opinion binding?
A second opinion is not binding. The first company doctor discusses the second advice with you and explains how it will be taken into account in further guidance. Ask for a specific explanation if the two opinions differ. Keep the feedback, so that it remains clear which arrangements apply to your return to work.
Can I object to an expert opinion?
No objection can be lodged against an expert opinion, because it is advice. That does not remove the underlying dispute about wages or reintegration. Raise factual inaccuracies and missing documents in a targeted way. If the conflict persists, separate court proceedings may be an option.
Do I have to keep working during the second opinion?
Requesting a second opinion does not automatically put current work arrangements on hold. Keep responding to invitations and discuss what is feasible. If you believe a task endangers your health, report this immediately and ask the company doctor for advice. Simply staying at home without consultation may make the dispute worse.
Who pays for the second opinion?
The employer pays for a second opinion carried out through the agreed route in the basic contract. If you independently choose a doctor outside that arrangement, discuss reimbursement in advance. This avoids uncertainty about the bill. Ask the first company doctor how the request is arranged within your organisation.
When do I need a lawyer?
Legal assistance can be useful in the event of an announced wage stop, a conflict about suitable work or a proposal to terminate employment. A lawyer can assess which question remains unanswered and which response is needed. For this, gather the advice, the correspondence and the work arrangements. An assessment does not guarantee a particular outcome.
Can subsidised legal aid limit the lawyer’s fees?
Subsidised legal aid (toevoeging) is provided through the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand). A regular application is subject to an income and assets test and a personal contribution. The firm assesses for each case whether an application is possible. Discuss in advance which costs remain payable by you and whether legal expenses insurance provides cover.
For applications in 2026, the reference year is normally 2024. The applicable reduction of the personal contribution is applied automatically in suitable cases. You do not first need a referral from the Juridisch Loket (the Dutch Legal Services Counter). Source: Legal Aid Board, 2026 standards, consulted on 22 September 2026.
Need help with employment law?
Would you like to know which step suits your employment law question? Have the relevant arrangements, correspondence and proposals assessed together. This makes clear which information is missing and whether consultation, a written response or proceedings may be worthwhile. Discuss the purpose of the assessment and the costs in advance.
The first consultation is free of charge and confidential.
What can Arslan Advocaten do for you?
Arslan Advocaten in Rotterdam handles employment law matters. A legal assessment links the arrangements made to the correspondence and the specific consequences for your situation. Discuss what you want to achieve and which documents are available. The appropriate next step and its associated costs can then be determined.
Which sources were used?
- Working Conditions Act (Arbowet), Article 14(2)(g)
- Arboportaal: second opinion
- Dutch Civil Code, Article 7:629
For questions about illness and changing work, employment law assistance, the UWV expert opinion and unilateral changes to terms of employment may also be relevant.
Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten in Rotterdam since 2009. He handles employment disputes concerning dismissal, wages, settlement agreements and terms of employment, for both employees and employers.
Last substantively updated: 23 September 2026.
