The Gatekeeper Improvement Act requires employer and employee to work together. But what if a conflict arises?
An employee can be unable to work for various reasons. This is challenging both for the employee and for the employer. The Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wet Verbetering Poortwachter) is Dutch legislation that requires both parties to actively work toward the employee's return to work.
Both employer and employee must commit to a smooth reintegration. However, employment conflicts during reintegration are common and can significantly complicate the process.
The two parties then cannot agree on the process.
An employment conflict during reintegration can have various causes. Such a conflict typically disrupts and delays the reintegration process significantly.
Often the conflict is about the number of hours an employee will work again. The expectations of employer and employee can differ greatly in this regard.
Disagreements about the employee's work capacity frequently arise to such an extent that an employment conflict seems inevitable.
Disagreement about the quality of performance, the level of wage payment, and the suitability of the work also play important roles.
In some cases, an employment conflict during reintegration seems to be driven by an employer. The fact that an employer sometimes seems to prefer getting rid of the sick employee is not simply ill will.
An employer or manager can come under considerable pressure during the absence of the person concerned and during their reintegration project. Not only are there costs involved, colleagues may also express their dissatisfaction about the extra workload.
The conflict can also be explained by the wage sanctions that threaten when the UWV judges that the employer has made insufficient reintegration efforts.
In the Netherlands, reintegration is always supervised by an occupational physician (bedrijfsarts). The occupational physician advises on your work capacity and indicates which activities are and are not possible for you.
Do you disagree with the occupational physician's assessment? You can request that they consider medical information from your GP (huisarts) or specialist, provided you give permission for this.
You also have the right to request a second opinion from another occupational physician (for a fresh medical perspective), or an expert opinion (deskundigenoordeel) from the UWV (which carries more formal weight in disputes).
Is there an employment conflict during reintegration? This doesn't mean that both employer and employee don't have to meet their obligations. The tasks that employer and employee agree upon must be within the bounds of reasonableness.
You must be accessible for communication regarding your reintegration and respond to appointments with the occupational physician. If you cannot yet perform your original tasks, you may be asked to perform other suitable work - but only if medically appropriate and within your capabilities.
You have the right to perform suitable work as soon as this is medically responsible, albeit in adapted form. You cannot be asked to perform tasks for which you are not qualified based on education or experience.
An employer may not, for example, ask you to work night shifts when you previously worked office hours. An employment conflict is prevented through clear agreements and mutual respect.
An employment conflict during reintegration is something you'd prefer to avoid. A dispute significantly delays the reintegration process, which is very disadvantageous for both employer and employee.
That's why it's important that both parties work toward a shared goal. Workplace mediation can help facilitate this, though it requires willingness from both sides.
A mediator is neutral and helps both parties identify common objectives and rebuild a working relationship.
At LegalBacking, we stand 100% on the side of the employee. We guide you through employment conflicts during reintegration.
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