Help with Sickness Absence: Your Rights and Obligations

Questioner

I have been calling in sick at work for 3 weeks now, I can no longer cope with the work mentally and therefore have physical complaints. I sleep very badly, am extremely tense, anxious, etc. I have been to the GP for this, he advises rest and going to a psychologist, yesterday I went to the company doctor and he said the same thing. My manager does not believe me and makes me hand in my PLB hours for the days that I have to work without asking. She called me by phone to say that I have to come for a meeting with her and someone from P and O next week. I do not know what this conversation will be about, but I do not feel physically and mentally well enough for it at the moment, this is really throwing me off track. Can all this just happen?

Lawyer

This is a very unpleasant situation for you. It is of course not right that your manager does not believe you. He or she can contact the occupational health and safety physician about your situation. The Working Conditions Act stipulates that a company doctor advises on sick leave management. This emphasises that it is the employer who is responsible for the sick leave management and must cooperate in your reintegration in the event of long-term illness. The employer has an obligation to continue paying wages for 2 years. In the first year of illness, an action plan must be drawn up with the occupational health and safety physician. The employee and employer have reintegration obligations. The UWV assesses whether these have been met. If not, sanctions may follow. For your employer, this may mean that the obligation to continue paying wages is extended. But of course, you are not there yet, it is now about 3 weeks of illness. However, only a company doctor can determine whether a sick employee is (temporarily) incapacitated for work. An employer cannot and may not assess this. An occupational health and safety physician may advise and inform the employer about the expected duration of absence and the extent to which the employee is incapacitated for work. Your employer would therefore be wise to contact the Occupational Health and Safety Physician. You can point this out to your manager or have the Occupational Health and Safety Physician contact you. This cooperation and exchange of information (other than medical data) must also exist between the Occupational Health and Safety Physician and the employer. Hours from the personal life phase budget you mean? This is intended for spending purposes in time and is separate from vacation hours and other legal leave standards. PLB hours do not have to be taken during illness. In fact, you continue to build them up during illness and incapacity for work, whether or not up to a certain period such as 6 months. These hours do not expire when you are ill. It is best to check the collective labor agreement for any deviations. If it does state that PLB hours do not expire during illness or do not have to be used during illness, you can point this out to your employer. If you still experience problems related to your illness, you can always ask a follow-up question or send me an email at a later time. Wishing you strength.

Questioner

I mean indeed the hours from my personal life phase budget. I work in a hospital but don't really understand much of the collective labor agreement. So now my manager uses my PLB on the days that I am sick. She has already invited me this week for a conversation with the aim of; discussing the application for sick leave (in my opinion that would be clear if the GP and the company doctor say, no work) and because I said in my letter that I should perhaps look for another job, that will also be discussed. When I wrote that and even now I was in a mentally and physically reduced/low emotional state. I cannot handle these kinds of conversations at the moment, I also have an appointment with the GP again tomorrow because I am even more 'broken' by this. What can you advise me to do, I really want to be myself again but I need some rest now. Am I obliged to go to such a conversation in my condition.

Lawyer

It is best to have a conversation with your employer. In that sense you are also obliged to do so in order to make agreements about your absence. However, in my first response I mentioned what an employer should do. Your employer must ask the Occupational Health and Safety physician for advice regarding your absence (other than your medical/personal matters that you have shared). Otherwise, you can ask the Occupational Health and Safety physician to contact your manager? In any case, your employer cannot use the letter you wrote against you or that you are now obliged to cooperate in dismissal by mutual consent. So you do not have to be afraid of that. Perhaps it would be good to have conversations with an expert about how you feel? Such as a practice assistant (psychologist) via the GP or another psychologist, and/or with a confidant at work so that you can get something off your chest? Of course, it is not nice for you to feel this way. If a reintegration process were to be initiated, the problem analysis and plan of approach drawn up by the Occupational Health and Safety physician may advise that you seek expert help. You are required to cooperate with a reintegration process. On the other hand, your employer also has obligations! In any case, your employer cannot simply fire you. About the PLB hours: you can check the collective labor agreement (possibly available on the intranet or at least via the HR department) to see what it says about using PLB hours in the event of illness. An employee generally does not have to use these hours in the event of illness, but to be sure, it is better to check. Under which collective labor agreement does the hospital fall? I can also investigate for you. In order to find out what your employer plans to do regarding your sick leave, it is therefore important that you first have a conversation, so that you can then consider which possible (legal) follow-up steps are necessary (or not). You can contact me after the conversation if you want.