What are your entitlements during illness as a catering employee? Is your employer allowed to withhold salary, or not? And for which life events are you exactly allowed to take leave?
Illness
Are you unable to work? Then report your illness to your employer immediately. Also, inform them how long you expect to be ill and provide your location (if it's not at home). If necessary, visit the doctor. Furthermore, it's important to adhere to the reintegration obligations. This means, for example, doing everything you can to recover and maintaining contact with your employer and the occupational health service or company doctor.
Continued payment of wages
You will receive (part of) your wages. It looks like this. In the first year of your illness, you receive:
- The first 13 weeks: 95% of your wages paid.
- The following 39 weeks: 90% of your wages paid.
No waiting days are deducted, so you are paid for every day you are ill.
In the second year of your illness, you receive:
- From illness week 53 to 104: 80% of your wages paid.
Employees must fully cooperate with their reintegration. If you do not cooperate, the entitlement to continued payment of wages can be reduced to 78.75% (part A) or 70% (part B).
Do you work varying hours? Then the employer looks at the average wages of the 13 weeks prior to the illness report. If your average monthly wages over these 13 weeks are not a good comparison with what you averaged over the 52 weeks before that, then your average annual wages apply.
Rules during illness
If you are ill, you must not only report this to your employer in a timely manner. It's also important to check which rules apply after reporting sick. Sometimes the works council or staff representation has made agreements with the employer about this. Always check this. If there are none, the regulations from the CLA catering apply. Your employer is responsible for arranging a replacement.
Are you ill for a longer period? Then the occupational health service or company doctor will carry out checks and guidance in such a way that your reintegration proceeds as well as possible. If you disagree with a decision of the occupational health service, you can request a second opinion from another company doctor or an expert opinion from the UWV. There are costs associated with the expert opinion. Together with your employer, you will come up with an action plan to reintegrate properly.
Extra benefit after two years
As a catering employee, you pay a premium for the Stichting Private Aanvulling WW & WGA (SPAWW) scheme. This scheme entitles you to an extra benefit after two years of WW or WGA. For the third year, you must apply for the benefit yourself. On the SPAWW website, you can read more about this.
Do you receive a Wao, Wajong, Wia or Sickness Benefits? Or are you at home sick and need help with your benefits application or have questions about your reintegration? Then as a member, you can get information and advice from our Wia advisors.
To the doctor or dentist
Do you need to visit the doctor or dentist? Try to schedule the appointment outside working hours. If that's not possible, you can request short-term leave from your employer. The condition is that it wasn't possible to arrange the appointment outside working hours. If you're ill and want to see the doctor, report yourself as sick. This way, you retain your right to salary.
Illness and holiday: what now?
Suppose you're on holiday and fall ill. Or you're ill and wish to go on holiday. In both cases, you are obliged to inform your employer and possibly the company doctor. If you become ill while on holiday, you must also report yourself as sick. It's advisable to confirm this in writing as well. Your holiday days will no longer be deducted and will be converted into sick days from that moment. This means you will continue to receive your salary as described above.
Maternity, paternity, and parental leave
If you are pregnant or have recently become a parent, you will also encounter various forms of leave to which you are entitled, such as maternity leave, childbirth leave, paternity leave, and parental leave. In our 'Work, Pregnancy & Parenthood' brochure and on the website of the Dutch government, you will find all the information about this and answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Are you pregnant? Then you are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity and childbirth leave. During the leave, you receive 100% of your salary.
As a partner, you are also entitled to leave after the birth of your child. The official term for this is paternity leave. The duration of the paternity leave is equal to the number of working hours per week. Paternity leave is 100% paid. You must take this leave within the first 4 weeks after the child's birth. After that, you are entitled to an additional 5 weeks (5 times the number of working hours per week) of paternity leave. This leave must be taken within 6 months after the child's birth and is paid at 70% (up to 70% of the maximum daily salary) by the UWV. You can take the leave flexibly. However, you must first have taken the 5 days of paternity leave.
From 2 August 2022, an additional 9 weeks of paid parental leave has been added. During this leave, you receive 70% of your salary. Your employer can apply for a benefit from the UWV for this. This leave must be taken within a year after the child's birth and is flexibly deployable. For example, it is possible to take a few hours per day, spread over several weeks.
Care leave
You can take care leave if you need to care for a loved one who is ill or in need of assistance. Care leave is divided into short-term and long-term care leave. Curious about which leave you can take for which situations? Read on!
Short-term care leave
Short-term care leave is intended to provide necessary care for a few days to, for example, (foster) children, a partner, or parents. The condition is that the sick person requires care, and given the circumstances, you are the only one who can provide this care. If someone else can take over the care, you are not entitled to short-term care leave. For someone who is, for example, in hospital, you usually cannot take short-term care leave because the sick person is already receiving care.
Long-term care leave
You can take long-term care leave if you need to care for someone who is terminally ill or if you need to provide necessary care for someone who is ill or in need of assistance. Your employer can only refuse this leave if the company experiences serious problems due to the leave. You will not be paid during this leave. Long-term care leave must be requested in writing two weeks before it starts.
Based on the CLA catering, you are entitled to 30 days of care leave per year, of which eight days are paid. Your employer pays 95% of the salary for the first three days, and 70% for the next five days.
If you fall under part B of the CLA catering, the provisions of the Work and Care Act apply. Check the website of the Dutch government for more information.
How can I combine care and work?
Agreements have been made about an annual hours system for both part A and part B. With an annual hours system, the number of contract hours of an employee is determined per year instead of per month. This allows for flexibility with hours. During busy periods, you can work more than average, and during quiet periods, less. If you have caregiving responsibilities, this can be beneficial for your work-life balance as the schedule can accommodate your preferences.
The main principle is that employees in part A are guaranteed not to be financially or contractually disadvantaged. This arrangement still needs to be developed, and the working group formed for this purpose will start working on it as soon as possible. The working group will consider the possibility for an employee to accumulate roster-free days and the option to indicate when they want to be scheduled.
The intended start date is 1 January 2025. The content of the arrangement and communication about it will be announced well before the start date.
Special leave
If you work in catering, you are entitled to special leave for certain personal circumstances. Your employer is obliged to grant you leave, but you will still receive your salary. Always check the CLA for the conditions. You can take leave for the following events:
- In the event of the death of your partner or (step)child: from the day of death until the day of the funeral, but at least 4 days.
- In the event of the death of one of the (in-law) parents: 2 days.
- For the burial or cremation of your brother, brother-in-law, (in-law) sister, or own grandparent: 1 day.
- For your marriage or entering into a registered partnership of the employee: 2 days (part B: 1 day), or that of your (step)child, brother, sister, or (in-law) parent: 1 day.
- For your 25th or 40th wedding anniversary, or the 40th, 50th, or 60th wedding anniversary of your children, (in-law) parents, or grandparents: 1 day.
- A maximum of 12 days: for attending national meetings or training sessions of trade unions that are parties to the CLA catering (such as De Horecabond, CNV, and De Unie). You get leave if your work allows it and you have discussed this with your employer in advance and in a timely manner. Different rules apply to cadre members and members of the CLA committee. They are always entitled to a day off with pay up to a maximum of 12 days per year.