Employers appeared to have to take into account the elimination of the compensation scheme for transition payments in the event of long-term work disability, effective January 1, 2027. However, leaked documents from Prinsjesdag indicate that this abolition appears to be off the table for the time being, according to the Financieele Dagblad.<\/p>\n
It is important to emphasize that this appears to be merely a postponement of the intended effective date. The proposal to abolish the compensation scheme does not appear to have been withdrawn. Definitive clarity is not expected until Prinsjesdag.<\/p>\n
The government has long intended to abolish this compensation scheme. In addition, there are plans to focus the transition allowance more on the transition from one job to another in the future, for example by linking it to investments in training and reintegration.<\/p>\n
Currently, when an employer terminates the employment of an employee who has been on long-term disability, after 104 weeks of illness, the employer may receive compensation from the UWV for the transition payment made.<\/p>\n
Originally, the government\u2019s plan was to amend the regulation on July 1, 2026, under which only medium-sized and large companies would lose their right to compensation. Small companies would retain their right to compensation. This proposal has been abandoned.<\/p>\n
The government then proposed to completely abolish the compensation scheme as of January 1, 2027, for all employers, regardless of the size of the company. However, recently leaked Prinsjesdag documents indicate that, for the time being, this abolition will not take effect on January 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
For the time being, the compensation scheme therefore remains in effect without change. When terminating the employment of an employee who has been on long-term disability, employers can still apply to the UWV for compensation for the transition payment made after 104 weeks of illness.<\/p>\n
If the compensation scheme is actually abolished, it stands to reason that the debate over dormant employment relationships will flare up again.<\/p>\n
A \u201cdormant employment relationship\u201d exists when an employment contract is continued after two years of incapacity for work without pay and without a realistic possibility of returning to work. Before the compensation scheme was introduced, this occurred regularly because it was financially more attractive for employers not to pay a transition allowance. The compensation scheme was intended to prevent this.<\/p>\n
In addition, in the 2019 Xella ruling (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:1734) that, in principle, an employer must cooperate in the termination of a dormant employment contract if the employee requests it, including the transition allowance. A key factor in this decision was that the transition allowance is reimbursed to the employer by the UWV.<\/p>\n
If the compensation is eliminated, it remains unclear what role the Xella ruling will play. Must an employer, in the spirit of \u201cgood employment practices,\u201d still terminate dormant employment contracts even if the employer has a legitimate interest in postponing the termination?<\/p>\n
The government has not provided any clarity on this matter. The Council for the Judiciary expects that this lack of clarity will lead to more lawsuits.<\/p>\n
If the bill is passed in its current form and only the date is changed, employers will have to account for higher costs starting on the effective date of the repeal. In that case, the transition payment will still be due, but it can no longer be offset.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the application of the Xella ruling and the standard of good employment practices remains unclear at this time<\/p>\n
Although recent reports suggest that the elimination of the compensation scheme may be postponed, it is wise for employers to gain an understanding of current sick leave cases and the financial consequences of future terminations of employment. This will allow you to anticipate a potential abolition of the compensation scheme in a timely manner.<\/p>\n
Do you have any questions about this topic? We can help you with that. Please contact us.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":734,"template":"","class_list":["post-730","nieuws","type-nieuws","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n