Employment conflict during sickness absence: your rights, responsibilities and options

When does an employment conflict arise during sickness absence?

Sometimes the conflict is the reason for the sick leave. Years of tension with a manager or a conflict with colleagues can lead to stress-related complaints or burnout. In other cases, the conflict develops during the sickness absence process itself: about the way of returning to work, pressure from HR, or the feeling of not being taken seriously.

In both situations, it can feel as if two worlds are colliding: your physical or mental health issues and a damaged relationship with your employer.

Your rights and your responsibilities

Especially during this confusing period, it is important to understand where you stand.

You have rights: your employer must continue paying your salary (partly or fully, depending on the situation), you can expect a structured return-to-work plan, and your medical information remains confidential with the occupational physician.

But you also have responsibilities: you must cooperate with the reintegration process, remain reachable and actively work towards solutions. Many employees are surprised by this: “But I am sick, aren’t I?” Yes, but under Dutch law, sickness does not remove the expectation that you contribute to your recovery and return to work within your capabilities.

The occupational physician and the Dutch Gatekeeper Improvement Act

The occupational physician plays an important role in this process. Their role is not only to assess whether you are unable to work, but especially to determine what you are still capable of doing. Within six weeks after reporting sick, a problem analysis is made, followed by a return-to-work action plan developed together with your employer.

This process is guided by the Dutch Gatekeeper Improvement Act (Wet verbetering poortwachter). The law requires both employer and employee to actively cooperate in returning to work. The underlying principle is clear: sickness should not result in a standstill, but should be a starting point for exploring what remains possible.

If the occupational physician concludes that the conflict itself is preventing recovery, they may recommend mediation. In many cases, this is exactly the step needed.

When should you seek help?

Many employees wait too long. They hope the situation will resolve itself or that HR will take care of it. But experience shows that the longer a conflict continues, the greater the chance that positions become entrenched.

A good moment to seek help is when conversations repeatedly break down, your recovery appears to stall, or communication has been reduced to forms, procedures and formal messages. These are signals that it may be time to involve an independent third party.

What can mediation offer?

Mediation can provide relief in these situations. Not because a mediator determines who is right, but because they create the conditions for a conversation that otherwise may no longer be possible.

During mediation, you and your employer sit down together with a neutral third party. You have the opportunity to explain what you are experiencing without your perspective immediately being dismissed or reduced to legal positions. The other person hears your perspective, and you hear theirs.

The strength of mediation lies in its future-oriented approach. The focus is not on blame or proving who is right, but on questions such as: How can we make this situation workable? What do you need? And what can I offer? Sometimes this leads to recovery and a return to work; sometimes it results in a respectful separation. In both cases, however, it creates movement — something that a sick leave alone can never achieve.

In conclusion

An employment conflict during sickness absence is one of the most challenging situations you can experience. It affects not only your health, but also your sense of security and trust. Yet you are not powerless.

You have rights that protect you, responsibilities that keep the process moving, and tools such as mediation that can help break through the conflict. It takes courage not to avoid the situation, but to choose dialogue.

Do not see sickness absence as the end of the road, but as a signal that something needs to change. Use the opportunity to regain control and, with the support of the right people, take steps towards a workable future.