Waking up too ill to work brings a small extra dread when you are new to a country: how exactly do you tell your employer, and what are you supposed to say? In the Netherlands the process, called ziekmelden, is refreshingly clear, and the law is firmly on the employee’s side, including your right to keep the medical details private.
Follow your employer’s method, and be early
The first rule is procedural. As Business.gov.nl sets out, employers set the how and when of the ziekmelding (sick report), and you must follow it. Most require a phone call to your direct manager, early, before the workday starts, rather than a text or email. Check your contract or staff handbook, because if the policy says call and you text, the notification can count as improper and sick pay for that day can be withheld.
What you must say, and what you need not
This surprises many newcomers and is genuinely reassuring: you do not have to tell your employer what is wrong with you. As iamExpat’s sick-leave guide explains, in principle you only give:
- That you are sick (ik ben ziek).
- Roughly how long you expect to be absent.
- How you can be reached.
Your employer is not allowed to ask about the nature of your illness, though they may ask when you expect to be back. You also do not need a doctor’s note for the first days; if it runs longer, the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) or arbodienst may contact you.
What to actually say on the phone
A simple, polite script:
- “Goedemorgen, ik bel om me ziek te melden.” (Good morning, I’m calling to report sick.)
- “Ik voel me niet goed en kan vandaag niet werken.” (I don’t feel well and can’t work today.)
- “Ik verwacht morgen weer beter te zijn.” (I expect to be better tomorrow.) or “Ik weet nog niet hoelang.” (I don’t know how long yet.)
- “Ik ben bereikbaar op mijn telefoon.” (I’m reachable on my phone.)
You owe no more than that.
A ready ziekmelden message
If your workplace does allow a written ziekmelding (some do, especially for a heads-up alongside a call), keep it brief and proper, this is not the place for texting abbreviations like gwn or ff:
“Beste [naam], ik ben helaas ziek en kan vandaag niet werken. Ik houd je op de hoogte over wanneer ik weer aan het werk kan. Met vriendelijke groet, [jouw naam].”
(Dear [name], I am unfortunately ill and cannot work today. I will keep you posted on when I can return. Kind regards, [your name].)
Better Beterschap, and getting back
When you recover you do a betermelding (recovery report) so payroll knows you are back. A colleague wishing you “beterschap!” means “get well soon”. The register here is the formal end of the workplace-Dutch spectrum, the opposite of casual chat, and it sits alongside the rest of working on a Dutch team and writing properly in work Slack.
What your employer may ask, and may not
The privacy rule is law, not politeness. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens bars employers from recording your diagnosis, and the government’s rules on absence through illness set out what an employer may ask:
| Allowed to ask | Not allowed to ask |
|---|---|
| How long you expect to be absent | What is wrong with you |
| Your phone number and the address where you are staying | Your diagnosis or symptoms |
| Which tasks and appointments need handing over | Your medical history |
| Whether the absence is due to an accident at work | Anything only a doctor should know |
| Whether a third party may be liable (a traffic accident) | Which safety-net scheme applies, if one does |
The last two rows are narrower than they look, and they are the boundary most managers get wrong. The employer may ask whether an accident at work or a liable third party is involved, because that affects who pays, and whether you fall under one of the Sickness Benefits Act safety-net schemes, but not which one, because that would reveal something medical. Everything else about your health belongs to the arbodienst and the bedrijfsarts, who are the only parties allowed to process it.
There is no ziektebriefje (doctor’s note) in the Dutch system. GPs do not write notes for work absence, and an employer may not demand one. A plain ik ben ziek really is all you owe.
What you get paid while you are off
This is the question most newcomers are too polite to ask, and the answer is reassuring. Per the government’s rules on pay during illness:
- Your employer keeps paying you for up to two years of illness.
- In the first year you get at least 70% of your wage, and never less than the statutory minimum wage.
- In the second year the 70% floor still applies, but the minimum-wage guarantee does not.
- Many collective agreements (cao) and contracts top this up, often to 100% in the first year. Check yours, because that top-up is contractual, not legal.
- Pay is 100% where the illness relates to pregnancy, childbirth or organ donation.
After two years the UWV assesses whether you qualify for a WIA disability benefit, which is what the poortwachter steps below are quietly building towards.
When it lasts: the bedrijfsarts and the poortwachter steps
If sick leave continues, the person who assesses you is the bedrijfsarts (company doctor), an independent occupational physician engaged through the employer’s arbodienst, not your huisarts. Under the Wet verbetering poortwachter (Gatekeeper Improvement Act), employer and employee follow fixed steps towards suitable work: the bedrijfsarts must produce a probleemanalyse by around week six of continuous absence, a plan van aanpak follows by week eight, the UWV must be notified in week 42, and the file is assessed when the absence reaches two years. The bedrijfsarts is bound by medical confidentiality: your manager hears what you can and cannot do at work, never the diagnosis. Your rights with the company doctor goes into that conversation in detail.
The vocabulary
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| zich ziekmelden | to call in sick |
| de ziekmelding | the sick report |
| het verzuimprotocol | the company’s absence procedure |
| de bedrijfsarts | company doctor (occupational physician) |
| de arbodienst | occupational health service |
| het ziektebriefje | doctor’s note (does not exist here) |
| beter melden / de betermelding | to report recovered |
| re-integratie | the return-to-work process |
| beterschap | get well soon |
The bottom line
Calling in sick in the Netherlands is simpler and more private than many expect: follow your employer’s method (usually an early phone call), say only that you are ill and roughly how long, and keep the diagnosis to yourself, that is your legal right. You keep at least 70% of your pay for up to two years, and often 100% in the first year if your cao says so. Learn the short script, do a betermelding when you are back, and one of the more anxious moments of working abroad becomes a two-minute call.
Where it connects
What you are paid while off is a payslip question: decoding your loonstrook. The collective agreement that may top it to 100% is the same body of rules the works council oversees, and telling the team uses the same register as the overleg and the Friday borrel.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell my Dutch employer what illness I have?
No. By law you only need to report that you are sick, roughly how long you expect to be absent, and how you can be reached. Your employer is not allowed to ask about the nature of your illness, although they may ask when you expect to return to work. The medical details stay private.
Do I need a doctor’s note to call in sick in the Netherlands?
No. There is no ziektebriefje in the Dutch system: GPs do not write notes for work absence and an employer is not allowed to demand one. You report sick the way your company’s absence procedure says, usually a phone call, and say roughly how long you expect to be off. If the absence continues, the company doctor (bedrijfsarts) assesses your fitness for work, not your GP.
Can I call in sick by text or email in the Netherlands?
Only if your employer’s policy allows it. Many require a phone call to your manager, and if the policy says call but you text, the notification can be deemed improper and sick pay for that day withheld. Check your contract or staff handbook first, and when in doubt, phone.
What can my employer ask when I call in sick?
Only practical things: how long you expect to be absent, where you can be reached, which tasks need handing over and whether appointments are affected. Under Dutch privacy law they may not ask what illness you have, your symptoms or your medical history, and may not record a diagnosis. You are never obliged to explain what is wrong.
Who is the bedrijfsarts and when do they get involved?
The bedrijfsarts is the company doctor, an independent occupational physician engaged through the employer’s arbodienst. For longer sick leave they assess what work you can do and how to return, under the Wet verbetering poortwachter, which requires a problem analysis by about week six of continuous absence. They are bound by medical confidentiality and pass your employer only your work capacity, never your diagnosis.
How much do I get paid while I am off sick in the Netherlands?
Your employer keeps paying you for up to two years. In the first year you receive at least 70% of your wage and never less than the statutory minimum wage; in the second year the 70% floor still applies but the minimum-wage guarantee does not. Many collective agreements (cao) top this up, often to 100% in the first year, so check yours, because the top-up is contractual rather than legal. Pay stays at 100% when the illness relates to pregnancy, childbirth or organ donation. After two years the UWV assesses whether you qualify for a WIA benefit.
