As of 1 April 2020, employers can request compensation for the transition allowance paid to an employee who is dismissed after two years of illness. A request can be submitted to the UWV via the employers’ portal (werkgeversportaal). The requirements for compensation are as follows:
- the employee was dismissed due to the long-term illness;
- the two year period ended on or after 1 July 2015;
- the employee was entitled to a transition allowance; and
- the employer paid the transition allowance to the employee.
The employer will have to prove that the above conditions are met, for example by providing:
- the employment agreement;
- the dismissal permit granted by the UWV and notice letter or the court decision by which the employment agreement was terminated;
- the settlement agreement if the termination was by mutual consent. The settlement agreement has to provide that the employment agreement was terminated due to long-term illness;
- the data used to calculate the transition allowance (e.g. salary slips); and
- proof that the transition allowance was paid in full (e.g. a bank statement).
Employers should be aware that the UWV will only compensate up to the amount the employee was entitled to after two years of illness. Consequently, if an employer paid more than the statutory entitlement up to that date, the surplus will not be compensated.
Finally, it is important to note that requests have to be submitted within six months after the date of full payment of the transition allowance to the employee. The compensation scheme has retroactive effect from 1 July 2015 Therefore for cases where the two year absence by reason of illness ended on or after 1 July 2015 and the transition allowance was paid before 1 April 2020, requests for compensation have to be submitted by 1 October 2020.
