Sickness Benefits Act benefit with zero-hours contract: Your rights

Questioner

I have a zero-hours contract until March 2018. I have had surgery and cannot work for 6 weeks. Can I apply for sickness benefits?

Lawyer

With a zero-hours contract, you are obliged to come when the employer calls you. If you become ill within certain call-up periods, then the following; You become ill during an on-call period; you will receive at least 70% of your salary over the agreed call-up period that you should work. If this is lower than the minimum wage applicable to you, you will receive the minimum wage. You remain ill after the end of an on-call period; after a call-out you will no longer receive wages, even if you are still ill. You will only receive sick pay once your employment contract has ended. You are ill outside a call-up period; in the period in which you are not called, you are not entitled to continued payment of wages. As long as your employment contract is still in effect, you are also not entitled to sickness benefits. Only when your employment contract ends, you can apply for sickness benefits from UWV.

Questioner

Okay, that's clear. You can't help it, but honesty is punished. Normally I am in unemployment during this period because there is no work for a traffic controller in December, January and February. I should have applied for unemployment. Thanks anyway