Pay stoppage or suspension during illness: the difference

Pay suspension concerns verifying entitlement

During illness, statutory conditions permit suspension if you do not follow reasonable written monitoring instructions about information needed to establish pay entitlement. Examples include availability for checks or attending the occupational physician. Not every information request is permitted. You do not have to disclose a diagnosis to your manager. Ask what check is missing and how to comply. Once the suspension ground is resolved, the question of arrears also needs assessment.

Pay stoppage needs a different statutory ground

Article 7:629 BW identifies situations without pay entitlement, including certain unjustified refusals of suitable work or reasonable reintegration measures. The facts and any valid reason for the employee’s conduct need investigation. Missing an appointment is not automatically equivalent to refusing all reintegration. Ask why the employer considers this heavier measure appropriate. The terminology in a letter matters, but its substance and factual basis must always be read together.

Notification must be clear and timely

The employer cannot freely add a pay measure retrospectively as a surprise when preparing the payslip. Ask when the reason was identified and how you were informed. Keep letters, emails and earlier warnings with receipt dates. Case law shows that absent or late notification may affect validity. This does not mean every awkward phrase automatically decides your whole claim. The actual content, reason and conduct need assessment together.

Medical inability differs from unwillingness

If your health prevents attendance or certain tasks, report this specifically and in time. Request occupational-physician contact and a suitable alternative, such as another meeting time or format. Share medical information with the authorised doctor, not unrestrictedly with HR. Keep requests. Disagreement about capacity needs substantive medical or occupational assessment. Cutting off all contact yourself makes it harder to demonstrate the cooperation you did offer.

UWV can help with a dispute

An expert opinion can assist disputes about suitable work, incapacity for your own job or reintegration efforts. A second opinion concerns doubts about the occupational physician’s advice. Choose the question actually blocking progress. Applying does not automatically suspend current obligations or a pay measure. Ask explicitly what is expected meanwhile, and assess whether a wage claim or urgent proceedings are needed for immediate income loss. Waiting for experts without a plan can worsen the financial problem. Payment may require a wage claim before the subdistrict court; a lawyer is not mandatory. Where suspension is also involved, return to work may be sought alongside wages. Match the procedure to the remedy needed: payment, resumption or both, and potentially interim relief if urgent.

You do not have to accept a dismissal proposal

An employer may suggest a settlement during a conflict. Refusing that proposal is not itself a statutory reason to stop sick pay. Published case law expressly makes that distinction. Continue responding to separate reasonable reintegration arrangements. For example, explain that you are having the termination proposal assessed and remain available for medically suitable discussions. This prevents all correspondence being treated as if signing an agreement were the only form of cooperation.

Build a targeted response

Start with the letter and disputed pay period. Identify the reason as understood, the fact challenged and cooperation offered. Request withdrawal, payment and substantiation of the statutory basis. Attach a brief timeline of physician advice, invitations and responses, not an unwieldy complete medical file. Where needed, have a lawyer determine whether an expert statement is required for wage proceedings and what exceptions exist. Correct procedural preparation prevents discussion focusing only on the amount.

Example: an appointment missed because of hospital attendance

You miss a check because of unexpected hospital attendance. Report the reason as soon as possible, request a new appointment and offer relevant information to the occupational physician. Keep confirmations without unnecessarily disclosing diagnoses to the employer. If the employer immediately imposes permanent pay loss, ask why the explanation, opportunity to check and correct measure were not considered. Outcome depends on the facts; this example principally shows which documents and alternatives should be recorded early.

Practical checklist

• Keep the measure, warning and receipt date.
• Request statutory ground, pay period and remedy route.
• Record medical assessment and cooperation offered.
• Have arrears, expert opinion and urgent proceedings assessed in time.