{"id":5688,"date":"2025-06-16T11:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T10:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spee-advocaten.nl\/?p=5688"},"modified":"2025-06-16T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T10:04:10","slug":"wie-bepaalt-of-een-werknemer-ziek-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spee-advocaten.nl\/en\/wie-bepaalt-of-een-werknemer-ziek-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Who decides whether an employee is sick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

And if so, who determines whether he is unfit for work?<\/em><\/p>\n

Sick leave can be frustrating for employers. An employee calls in sick, but the question is: are they really sick? And more importantly, who decides? Is it the employee themselves, their GP, the employer or the company doctor?<\/p>\n

The main rule: only the company doctor is authorised<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a main rule, only a company doctor may determine whether an employee is unfit for work due to illness, provided that the employee is resident in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

An employee may, of course, report sick, but that is not a medical assessment. A general practitioner also has no formal role in this. Only a company doctor may determine whether there is illness in the sense of incapacity for work. In practice, we often see confusion and even discussion about this.<\/p>\n

An employee who says: but my GP says that I have burnout. An employer who says: I don't think that's the case.<\/p>\n

What does case law indicate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several recent court rulings have confirmed that only the company doctor is authorised to assess incapacity for work.<\/p>\n

Below are four relevant judgements:<\/p>\n

\u2022 ECLI:NL:RBZWB:2024:4521<\/a>
\n\u2022 ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2024:615<\/a>
\n\u2022 ECLI:NL:GHARL:2022:9231<\/a>
\n\u2022 ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2021:4433<\/a><\/p>\n

Role of the employer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The employer does not determine whether someone is ill, but may take action if an employee reports sick and, for example, does not cooperate with an investigation by the company doctor, or if he disagrees with the company doctor's assessment. Examples of this are: .<\/span><\/p>\n