Your employer may not simply stop your pay during illness. A wage stop requires a statutory ground. With a wage suspension, payment is temporarily postponed because the employer cannot establish whether you are entitled to pay. Ask for the reason at once, respond in writing and keep cooperating with reasonable arrangements about monitoring and reintegration.
A letter about a wage measure can affect your income immediately. Yet the word at the top of the letter does not tell you everything. Sometimes an employer calls something a wage stop while the situation described concerns monitoring rules. Sometimes a clear announcement is missing, or the work offered does not fit your medical limitations. The facts, the communication and the statutory conditions determine your position.
Here you can read how to assess a wage stop during illness, which documents you need and when a wage claim or an expert opinion can be useful. If your question is mainly about ending the employment, also read our explanation of dismissal and illness.
What is the difference between a wage stop and a wage suspension?
With a valid wage stop you have no entitlement to pay over the period concerned. With a wage suspension the question of your entitlement remains open: the employer holds back payment until it can check the entitlement to pay. If it is then established that you were entitled to pay during that period, those arrears of pay must be paid after all.
| Subject | Wage stop | Wage suspension |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory basis | Article 7:629(3) of the Dutch Civil Code | Article 7:629(6) of the Dutch Civil Code |
| Core | No entitlement to pay because of a statutory ground of exclusion | Payment postponed because reasonable written monitoring rules have not been complied with |
| Payment afterwards | With a valid stop, not after all over the excluded period | Yes, where the entitlement to pay over that period is established |
| Example | Refusing suitable work without proper grounds | Making monitoring impossible without a good reason |
| First action | Check the ground, the facts and the duration of the measure | Make monitoring possible and ask for back payment |
So with a suspension too the pay is not automatically released as soon as you comply with one arrangement. It must be capable of being established that an entitlement to pay existed over the suspended period. Conversely, an employer must reverse an unjustified wage stop. The label on the measure is not a free pass.
When may an employer stop pay during illness?
Article 7:629(3) of the Civil Code lists exhaustively the grounds on which a sick employee can lose their entitlement to pay. Examples are refusing suitable work without proper grounds, hindering or delaying recovery, and failing to cooperate with reasonable measures or arrangements intended to make reintegration possible.
Refusing without a good reason to cooperate with drawing up, evaluating or adjusting the action plan can also have consequences. The statute moreover contains other specific cases, such as illness caused intentionally and certain problems around the work-capacity application. An employer must state which ground is being invoked in your situation and which concrete conduct goes with it.
Ordinary irritation, a difficult conversation or the fact that you have not yet recovered is in itself not a ground. Nor does the wish to limit staff costs make a wage stop valid. The legal question is always whether the statutory conditions have been met, not whether the employer is dissatisfied with your absence.
When may pay be suspended?
A wage suspension is about monitoring. The employer may set reasonable rules, given in writing, in order to obtain the information needed to establish the entitlement to pay. Think of being reachable for the occupational health service or attending an appointment with the company doctor.
If you cannot attend, report that in good time and explain why. Ask for another appointment or a suitable solution. A hospital admission, a summons that was not received or a medical impediment calls for a different assessment from staying away without a word. Keep confirmations of cancellations and messages about a new appointment.
A missed appointment with the company doctor does not automatically mean that a wage stop is permitted. First it must be clear which obligation has been breached. Was it about establishing incapacity for work, or about frustrating reintegration? That distinction has consequences for the measure and for any back payment.
What must the announcement contain?
The employer must inform you without delay as soon as it suspects that a ground for not paying wages is present. That duty of notification follows from article 7:629(7) of the Civil Code. If that immediate communication does not come, the employer can no longer rely on that ground in order not to pay the wages or to suspend payment. A clear written letter or e-mail prevents a dispute about what was communicated and when.
Check whether the employer has made the conduct, the obligation, the consequences for your pay and the starting date sufficiently clear. If it only says that you are not cooperating, ask which arrangements are meant. A measure covering a period long past without timely notification deserves extra attention: the absence of an immediate communication costs the employer the right to rely on that ground.
A prior warning with an opportunity to put things right can be important, but there is not one identical warning scheme for every statutory ground. The notification for a wage measure and the additional conditions for a later dismissal must be assessed separately. So do not be persuaded merely by the statement that a standard letter has been used.
What if you cannot manage the work offered?
Where there is a dispute about suitable work, your capacity and the content of the work offered are decisive. Ask for concrete information: which tasks, how many hours, which breaks, which physical load and which workplace? A general instruction to come back to work is not enough for a careful assessment of the medical fit.
Then explain in writing where the problem lies. Refer to the company doctor’s functional advice and ask for clarification if that advice leaves room for different interpretations. Medical diagnoses and treatment data belong in principle with the company doctor, not in an extensive e-mail to your manager.
Stay reachable and propose what does seem possible. Refusing without an explanation increases the risk that your attitude is read as insufficient cooperation. Conversely, you do not have to keep a medical problem quiet out of fear of a sanction. Make the difference between unwillingness and inability demonstrable with an appropriate medical assessment.
A workplace conflict is not the same as incapacity for work
A conflict at work can coincide with illness, but a workplace conflict alone does not automatically make someone incapable of work. The company doctor assesses the medical possibilities. In addition a conversation or mediation may be needed to make a return possible.
If mediation is proposed, ask about the purpose, the participants, confidentiality and what you can practically cope with. Taking part does not mean that you have to agree to dismissal in advance. A refusal can in some circumstances carry weight in the assessment of your reintegration conduct, but does not automatically have the same consequences in every conflict. Consult before you reject a proposal.
You can read more about this in our article on mediation in a workplace conflict.
When do you apply for an expert opinion?
Where reintegration has become stuck, the UWV can assess among other things whether the work offered is suitable and whether the employer or the employee is doing enough about reintegration. Formulate the question precisely. An application about your suitability for your own work is not the same as an application about your employer’s efforts.
According to the UWV’s information about the expert opinion you must state a dispute about the continued payment of wages on the application form. Gather in advance the problem analysis, the company doctor’s advice, the action plan and the correspondence about the measure. The opinion is advice; the court assesses a wage claim independently.
A second opinion from another company doctor has a different purpose. That concerns occupational health advice. The application does not automatically suspend current reintegration arrangements. Arboportaal explains this distinction. Discuss which route fits your difference of view, so that you do not lose time with an application that answers the wrong question.
Can you go to court for your arrears of pay?
Yes. With an unjustified wage measure you can claim payment. The subdistrict court can rule on the pay and, where applicable, the statutory increase and statutory interest. Interim relief proceedings can be suitable where quick payment is needed and the case is clear enough for a provisional assessment.
Article 7:629a of the Civil Code contains, for certain wage claims during illness, a requirement concerning an expert statement. There are exceptions, for instance where the relevant point is not disputed or where producing the statement cannot reasonably be required. In interim relief proceedings this can be applied differently. The right approach depends on the dispute and the procedure.
So make contact early if your income falls away. Waiting for every conceivable document is not always sensible, but litigating without preparation is not either. With help with a wage claim the basis, the urgency and the documents needed are assessed together.
Step-by-step plan when you receive a wage measure
- Keep the letter, the e-mail, the payslip and the bank payment. Note the date of receipt and the period the measure covers.
- Ask in writing which statutory ground and which concrete conduct are meant. Also ask for the calculation of the amount withheld.
- Respond to factual inaccuracies. Add relevant arrangements or messages and make clear which obligations you are already meeting.
- Contact the company doctor if your capacity or suitable work is in dispute. Send medical documents by the route intended for that.
- Put right a monitoring problem as quickly as possible. Ask for a new appointment yourself, for instance, and confirm your availability.
- Discuss whether an expert opinion and a formal demand are needed. Do not postpone the legal assessment where fixed expenses are at risk.
Make a timeline with the first day of illness, the arrangements, the advice, the warnings and the wage payments. It is often precisely the sequence that makes clear whether the measure was carefully announced and whether you actually refused anything.
Sample response to a wage stop or wage suspension
The example below is intended as a starting point. Adapt the facts; an acknowledgement of receipt alone is not a full substantive response.
Dear Sir or Madam,
On [date] I received your message about the non-payment of my wages from [date]. I dispute that there is an adequate ground for that in my situation. According to your letter I allegedly [allegation]. My response to that is [concrete explanation with reference to documents].
Could you state on which statutory ground you rely, which obligation you consider I am not meeting and how the amount has been calculated? I remain willing to cooperate with reasonable monitoring rules and with reintegration that matches my capacity.
I ask you to reconsider the measure and to pay the wages due. I expressly claim the pay over [period] and reserve my rights to the statutory increase and interest. I would be glad to receive your written response within [reasonable period].
Yours faithfully,
[name]
Three situations calling for a different approach
In the first fictional example an employee has missed a summons from the occupational health service because a wrong e-mail address was used. He asks for a new appointment at once. Here it is above all the receipt of the summons, the monitoring rules and the possibility of back payment that must be investigated.
In the second example an employee refuses adapted work because he thinks only his original job can be suitable. The company doctor sees possibilities. Here a substantive assessment of the work offered is needed. The absence of your own preference does not automatically make other work unsuitable.
In the third example an employee is given a wage stop while he has repeatedly asked for clarity about his medical limitations. The employer names no concrete task that was refused. The emphasis then lies on the basis, the communication and the missing connection between the allegation and the measure. These examples illustrate the assessment and are not described results of the firm.
Frequently asked questions about a wage stop during illness
May my employer stop my full pay?
That is possible on some statutory grounds, but only if the conditions have been met. Do not assume that a measure must always be limited to the reintegration hours refused. The basis, the period and the circumstances must be assessed separately.
Will I get suspended pay back later?
If it is ultimately established that you were entitled to pay over the period concerned, that pay must be paid after all. With a valid wage stop that does not apply to the period in which the ground of exclusion existed. With an unjustified stop you can demand back payment.
Is a wage stop permitted without a letter?
The employer has a statutory duty of notification (article 7:629(7) of the Civil Code) and, where the communication is late, loses the right to rely on the ground concerned. The statute prescribes no fixed form for that communication; an oral communication above all creates problems of proof. For monitoring rules with a wage suspension, however, it does apply that they must be given in writing.
Can I stop work because my pay is not coming?
Do not do that without advice about your specific situation. A payment dispute does not automatically remove your own obligations. Keep cooperating within your capacity and record that you are available for suitable work and reasonable arrangements.
Is advice from my GP enough?
Your GP treats you, whereas the company doctor assesses your possibilities in relation to work. A report from a treating practitioner can be relevant, but does not automatically replace the assessment by the company doctor or an expert opinion. Share medical data by the route intended for it.
May my employer demand my diagnosis?
Your employer has no general right to your diagnosis or complete medical file. The company doctor can give functional information about deployability and adaptations. A refusal to give medical details directly to your manager does not automatically justify a wage measure.
What if the UWV takes a long time?
Keep your application and seek advice about the urgency of your wage claim. The waiting time, the medical information available and the nature of the procedure can be relevant. Do not simply assume that you can do nothing until the expert opinion.
Can I ask for an extra amount as well as the pay?
Where payment is late, the statutory increase and statutory interest can be payable. The statutory increase can amount to a maximum of 50 per cent, but the court can reduce it. Whether these items can be awarded depends among other things on the duty to pay and the circumstances.
Can a wage stop lead to dismissal?
Continuing to fail to cooperate with reintegration can, subject to conditions, lead to dismissal proceedings. A wage measure does not itself end the employment. Separate statutory requirements apply to dismissal, so an employer cannot refer solely to the earlier wage stop.
What should I send a lawyer?
Send your contract, the relevant collective agreement, payslips, the measure, earlier warnings, the company doctor’s functional advice and your responses. For medical attachments, ask which secure route is suitable. A short timeline helps to determine the urgency and the legal questions quickly.
Have your wage measure assessed
Arslan Advocaten helps with disputes about pay, illness and reintegration. We assess which measure has been taken, whether the ground asserted fits the facts and what next step is needed. Get in touch and state from which date your pay is not being paid. Your question can then be assessed to the point.
Legal sources
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7, articles 629, 629a, 658a and 660a: continued payment of wages, the expert statement and reintegration. Consult the applicable version via wetten.overheid.nl.
- The UWV on expert opinions in reintegration.
- Arboportaal on the second opinion from the company doctor.