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? Report your illness to your employer immediately. Also, let them know 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 salary payment
You will receive your salary (partially) continued. It is structured as follows. In the first year of your illness, you will receive:
- The first 13 weeks: 95% of your salary continued.
- The following 39 weeks: 90% of your salary continued.
No waiting days are deducted, so you are paid for every day you are ill.
In the second year of your illness, you will receive:
- From illness week 53 to 104: 80% of your salary continued.
Employees must fully cooperate with their reintegration. If you do not cooperate, the entitlement to continued salary payment can be reduced to 78.75% (part A) or 70% (part B).
Do you work variable hours? Then the employer looks at the average salary of the 13 weeks prior to the illness report. If your average monthly salary over these 13 weeks is not a good comparison with what you averaged over the previous 52 weeks, then your average annual salary applies.
Rules during illness
If you are ill, you must not only report this to your employer in a timely manner. It is also important to check which rules apply after reporting an illness. Sometimes the works council or staff representation has made agreements with the employer about this. Always check this. If not, the regulations from the CLA catering apply. Your employer is responsible for arranging replacements.
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 to an action plan for proper reintegration.
Additional benefits 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 additional benefit after two years of WW or WGA. For the third year, you must apply for the benefit yourself. You can read more about this on the SPAWW website.
Do you receive a Wao, Wajong, Wia or Sickness Benefits Act payment? Or are you off sick at home and need help with your benefits application or have questions about your reintegration? As a member, you can get information and advice from our Wia advisors.
To the doctor or dentist
Do you need to go to 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 was not possible to schedule the appointment outside working hours. Are you ill and want to see the doctor? In that case, report yourself as sick. This way, you retain your right to salary.
Illness and holiday: what now?
Suppose you are on holiday and become ill. Or you are ill and would like to go on holiday. In both cases, you are obliged to inform your employer and possibly the company doctor. If you become ill on holiday, you must also report yourself as sick. It is wise to always 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 that your salary will continue to be paid 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 Dutch Government website, you will find all the information about this and the 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% pay.
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 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 birth of the child. Afterwards, you are entitled to an additional 5 weeks (5x the number of working hours per week) of paternity leave. This leave must be taken within 6 months after the birth of the child 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 birth of the child 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, your partner, or parents. The condition is that the sick person needs care. And given the circumstances, you are the only one who can provide the care. Can someone else take over the care? Then you are not entitled to short-term care leave. For someone who is, for example, in the hospital, you usually cannot take short-term care leave, as 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 faces 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 with the employer.
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 for the next five days, the employer pays 70% of the salary.
Are you covered by Part B of the CLA catering? Then the provisions of the Work and Care Act apply. For more information, check the website of the Dutch Government.
Special Leave
If you work in catering, you are entitled to special leave under 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 the Unie). You get leave if your work allows it and you have discussed this in advance and in a timely manner with your employer. 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.
For employees in Part A, it also applies: with parents or children, step-parents and step-children are also meant, but only if they live or have lived at the same address as the employee.