Sick on a zero-hours contract and the right to continued payment of wages

Reference date: 16 September 2026

Are you sick while on a zero-hours contract? You may be entitled to wages from your employer, even if you are no longer being scheduled. What is decisive are the shifts that were agreed, the actual scope of your work and whether your employment contract is still running. A sickness benefit from the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) under the Sickness Benefits Act is not automatically the alternative as soon as your employer stops paying.

Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 17 September 2026.

For students, hospitality staff, shop workers and other on-call workers, reporting sick can cause immediate financial uncertainty. You are counting on your shifts, but the hours disappear from the scheduling app. With a proper sickness report and an overview of previous shifts, you can establish which payment you are entitled to claim. In this article you will read how that works, which evidence matters and what you can do if your wages are not paid.

This explanation reflects the rules as they stood on 16 September 2026. If you work through a temporary employment agency, your agency work contract and the applicable collective labour agreement (cao) must also be assessed.

First establish which contract you actually have

A zero-hours contract is an ongoing employment contract in which no fixed number of working hours has been agreed. The contract may be for a fixed term or for an indefinite period. The title at the top of the document does not tell the whole story, however. An agreement on a guaranteed minimum number of hours, for example, points to a min-max contract. A fixed scope of work may also follow from later agreements or from the way the work has actually been performed.

A preliminary agreement works differently. Under such an arrangement you can in principle refuse a call, and each time you accept one, an employment contract is formed for the agreed period. The end of that period may therefore also be the end of a separate contract. Under a genuine zero-hours contract, the employment does not end every time you have worked a shift.

So check your contract, payslips and scheduling arrangements together. Also check which company pays your wages and with whom you concluded the employment contract. The company name on your work clothes is not always your legal employer. If you work through an agency, read more on our page about help for agency workers.

Sick during an agreed call-in period

Have you already been called in for work and are you unable to work because of sickness? Then in principle you are entitled to sick pay from your employer for the agreed call-in period. That may be a single shift, but it may also be a series of shifts that have already been agreed. Reporting sick does not erase those arrangements.

The statutory main rule of Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) is continued payment of 70% of the relevant wage, within the statutory limits. In the first year of sickness, the minimum wage guarantee also applies to the hours for which continued payment of wages is owed. So a small side job does not automatically entitle you to a full monthly minimum wage. Your cao or employment contract may provide for a higher payment, for example a top-up to a certain percentage.

Fictitious example. You are scheduled for three shifts of six hours. Your relevant hourly wage is €24 gross. The wage basis is 18 × €24 = €432 gross. Seventy per cent of that is €302.40. It must then be checked whether the minimum wage guarantee, a cao top-up or other wage components lead to a higher amount. This is a worked example, not a fixed rate or a general benefit calculation.

Keep the schedule as it looked before you reported sick. A later version without your name does not prove that the original call never existed. Dated screenshots, a confirmation email and app messages can make the difference here.

Sick outside a call-in period

If you are sick at a time when no shifts have been agreed, the answer is less straightforward. Without a call and without an established scope of work, you do not automatically have a right to wages for every day you are sick. Equally, however, the absence of a new schedule is not enough to reject every wage claim.

Had you already been working regularly for a longer period? Then the actual scope of your work may carry more weight than the zero-hours label. A previously accepted offer of fixed hours, or an offer that was wrongly not made after twelve months, may also be relevant. The assessment therefore starts with your employment history, not with this week’s empty scheduling app.

This distinction prevents two mistakes. You cannot simply demand two years of wages based on a number of hours you have chosen yourself. Nor can your employer claim, without investigation, that zero contract hours always means zero sick pay. The agreed scope, or the scope that can be established in law, determines the hours on which the calculation is based.

Worked structurally and then no longer called in

If the employment contract has lasted at least three months, Article 7:610b of the Dutch Civil Code can help. This provision contains a legal presumption of the scope of work. It allows you to show that your work in reality has a certain average scope, even if the contract does not mention any hours.

Draw up a monthly overview of your hours before the dispute arose. Explain why that period is representative. An employer can provide evidence to the contrary, for example that you temporarily worked extra hours during a clearly defined period of cover for a colleague. The presumption is therefore rebuttable. Nor does it amount to an automatic conversion into a contract for an indefinite period.

Fictitious example. An employee works 72, 84 and 78 hours in three representative months. The average is 78 hours per month. After the sickness report, nothing more is scheduled. The employee can substantiate a scope of work of 78 hours per month. If that scope is accepted or established, the sickness percentage is applied to it. The earlier maximum in the schedule is not automatically the benchmark.

A lower month due to sickness may not be used without explanation to keep reducing the wage basis. The very question to be examined is what scope of work existed in the absence of sickness. Also read the explanation of the legal presumption for on-call workers.

After twelve months a separate right comes into play

Under an on-call contract, the employer must, after every period of twelve months, make an offer of a fixed scope of work in writing or electronically within one month. That offer must at least correspond to the average over the relevant twelve months. You may refuse a correct offer.

If the mandatory offer of fixed hours was not made, Article 7:628a(8) of the Dutch Civil Code grants a separate wage claim. This can also be important when sickness and the end of calls coincide. The exact period and the amount owed must be calculated taking into account the time limit for the offer and the circumstances of the wage claim.

Keep this rule separate from the legal presumption after three months. The reference period, conditions and legal basis differ. Moreover, two legal routes do not mean that you can receive the same wages twice. The rules can, however, be relied on side by side while the correct scope of work is still in dispute.

No work and sickness are different grounds for wages

Zero-hours contracts sometimes state that only hours actually worked will be paid during the first six months. Such a written exclusion relates to the rule in Article 7:628 of the Dutch Civil Code on not working. It does not simply abolish the statutory sickness protection of Article 7:629 of the Dutch Civil Code.

An employer relying on this clause must therefore explain specifically why you would not receive wages. Had shifts been agreed? Was there a fixed or presumed scope of work? Or is it really a period without a call and without any other claim to hours? Simply referring to the first six months does not answer those questions.

Even after six months, you do not automatically become entitled to wages for any number of hours you wish. The lapse of a valid exclusion and the determination of the scope of work are separate steps. If your schedule dries up structurally, our explanation of no longer being called in on a zero-hours contract will help.

How long must the employer pay

The statutory period of continued payment of wages during sickness is a maximum of 104 weeks for an ordinary employee. With a zero-hours contract, it must also be established for which hours and periods an obligation to pay wages actually exists. A cao may provide more favourable wage percentages; it does not undo every break in the contract.

A fixed-term contract can end by operation of law on the agreed end date during sickness. The prohibition on giving notice during sickness does not automatically oblige an employer to extend the contract. If the contract is validly terminated, wage payments under that contract usually end as well, and the Sickness Benefits Act may come into play.

Note the difference with an employer who merely says that you will not be given any shifts for the time being. That is not in itself a fixed end date of the employment contract. Ask in writing whether, in the employer’s view, the employment continues, which end date the employer is using and on what basis.

When does the UWV come into play

As long as a zero-hours contract continues, you do not automatically have a right to a Sickness Benefits Act benefit because your employer is not paying wages. A payment dispute should therefore not simply be passed on to the UWV. The UWV explanation of sickness on a zero-hours contract makes clear why the call-in period matters.

If your employment contract ends while you are still sick, the situation of leaving employment while sick must be processed. The UWV assesses whether you qualify for a Sickness Benefits Act benefit. In some situations an employer acting as a self-insurer (eigenrisicodrager) plays a role in administering this. So ask who will be your point of contact and keep the confirmation of your sickness report.

If you fall sick shortly after an employment relationship has ended, rules on continued cover after employment may be relevant. Report the situation to the UWV in good time and mention any other work or benefits. A period of four weeks is an important threshold, but without further assessment it does not produce a guaranteed right.

How to report sick and keep evidence

Follow your employer’s absence protocol and report to the right person in good time. If you cannot work an agreed shift because of sickness, state which shift it concerns. Keep written confirmation, even if the protocol requires you to phone first.

A useful message could read, for example: “I am reporting sick for my scheduled shifts from [date]. I am following the absence protocol and I am available for the necessary appointments. Please confirm my sickness report and provide information about the payment of wages and supervision by the company doctor (occupational physician).” Adapt the message to your actual situation.

Cooperate with reasonable monitoring and reintegration arrangements. A wage stop or suspension requires a specific legal assessment, so keep responding to correspondence. If it is disputed that you are unable to work because of sickness, ask for an assessment through the designated medical route. A manager who does not find your symptoms convincing does not replace the company doctor.

Two side jobs or being able to work partially

If you have two employers, it must be considered for each employment relationship which work you cannot do because of sickness. It may be that heavy physical work is temporarily impossible, while other tasks remain possible. That distinction requires an assessment of your capacity and the content of the work. Do not jump to the conclusion yourself that working for one employer rules out any right to wages from the other.

Report relevant circumstances through the correct absence route and discuss your work with the company doctor. Record any arrangements about adjusted work. If you partially return to work, the payroll records must clearly distinguish between hours worked and hours of sickness. The fact that you can work a few shifts again does not automatically mean that you have fully recovered for your normal job.

A return to work with fewer hours should not quietly be presented as a permanent reduction of your contractual hours either. Confirm that it is a temporary reintegration arrangement where that is genuinely the intention. Keep the plan and the evaluations together with your payslips, so that it is clear later why your hours differed during this period.

Which documents help with a wage claim

Keep your employment contract and any addenda, the applicable cao, payslips, bank payments, original schedules and changes. Add the sickness report, messages about shifts being stopped and relevant correspondence with the company doctor or occupational health service. Share medical documents selectively, and only to the extent necessary for the assessment.

Then make a calculation for each pay period. Note the number of hours you are relying on, the wage and applicable sickness percentage, what has already been paid and what difference remains. Also check fixed allowances and other wage components. An amount received in your bank account is net; a wage claim is usually built up gross. Do not deduct those amounts from each other without converting them.

For a court claim for payment of wages during sickness, Article 7:629a of the Dutch Civil Code is important. An expert opinion from the UWV (deskundigenoordeel) may be required, unless a statutory exception applies. Whether that opinion is needed depends, among other things, on exactly what is being disputed. Look into this before starting proceedings, so that a claim that is defensible on the merits does not fail on a procedural requirement.

What can you do if payment is not made

First ask for an itemised calculation and a written explanation. Then, if necessary, send a formal demand for wages setting out the periods, basis and calculation. Reserve your right to statutory interest and the statutory increase for late payment of wages, insofar as these are owed. The increase does not automatically amount to the maximum in every case; a court can reduce it.

A wage claim is in principle time-barred five years after the individual instalments became due and payable. It may be necessary to interrupt the limitation period correctly. If you are facing an income problem, however, do not wait for the limitation period. In urgent cases, interim relief may be appropriate. If a dismissal is also being challenged, much shorter time limits may apply.

Arslan Advocaten can assess your contract, schedules and wage calculation and determine whether a formal demand or proceedings make sense. Read more about that help on our page about wage claims. At the intake, the options for subsidised legal aid and any costs can also be discussed.

Frequently asked questions

Do I always get 100 per cent of my wages when I am sick

No. The statutory basis is usually 70%, with the minimum wage guarantee in the first year of sickness and statutory limits. An applicable cao or employment contract may provide a top-up. It must also first be established for how many hours you are entitled to continued payment of wages.

May my employer remove my scheduled shifts

An amended schedule does not automatically remove existing entitlements. Keep the original schedule and the time of the change. Have it assessed whether your right follows from sickness, an agreed call, a fixed scope of work or several related rules.

Am I entitled to nothing without new calls

You cannot conclude that from the empty schedule alone. Structural previous hours, fixed arrangements and the offer after twelve months can provide a basis for wages. Without such indications, there is no automatic right to wages outside a call-in period.

Does a waiting day also apply to my zero-hours contract

One or two waiting days can only apply if there is a valid agreement to that effect, for example in the contract or cao. Also check the rules on sickness reports in quick succession. The employer may not arbitrarily treat every missed shift as a new waiting day.

May my fixed-term contract expire while I am sick

Yes, a fixed-term employment contract can end on the agreed end date during sickness. That is different from termination by notice before the end date. Ask about the report of leaving employment while sick and, if in doubt, have the end date and any earlier renewals checked.

Can I resign to get a benefit sooner

That may actually harm your position regarding wages and benefits. Do not resign and do not sign a termination solely to solve the payment problem. First have it assessed which rights you have against the employer and what the consequences of termination are.

Do these rules also apply to a student side job

Yes, a student side job is not automatically excluded from wage protection during sickness. The contract, the calls and the hours actually worked remain decisive. Also check the cao for sectors such as hospitality, retail or agency work.

What should I bring to a first consultation

Bring your contract, three to twelve months of payslips and schedules, the sickness report and your employer’s response. A short overview with the start of your employment, the first day of sickness and the missing pay periods makes a focused assessment possible.

All the rules on on-call work in one place, with a link for each question to the article that explains it in full: on-call workers: your rights at a glance.

Sources and legal basis

• Dutch Civil Code, Book 7: Articles 7:610b, 7:628, 7:628a, 7:629 and 7:629a.
• Dutch central government on wages during sickness as an on-call worker.
• UWV on sickness on a zero-hours contract.
• Dutch central government on types of on-call contracts.

Sources consulted on 16 September 2026. The outcome in an individual case depends on the contract, the cao and the facts.

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