The Case Clarity – by Kirsten Freichmann

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The 09:03 call you didn’t ask for

There’s a very thin line between:

“Take your rest and recover” and “Hey quick question, can you jump on a call?”

Usually around 09:03 on a Tuesday.

If you’re on sick leave, this question pops up fast:

👉 Do I actually have to respond?
👉 Can I ignore this?
👉 Or am I accidentally making things worse?

Let’s clear this up without HR vagueness.

Are you obligated to respond while on sick leave?

Short answer:
👉 Yes… but within reason.

You are not on vacation. But you are also not expected to function as a fully available employee.

Under Dutch law, during illness you have obligations based on:
📜 Wet verbetering poortwachter

Which basically says:

👉 You must cooperate with your recovery and reintegration

And yes… that includes maintaining reasonable contact with your employer.

What does “reasonable contact” actually mean?

This is where things get beautifully vague. Because the law does not say:
“Answer within 2 hours” or “pick up every call” or “communicate via mail only”.

Instead, it expects:

👉 Normal, reasonable communication related to your reintegration

Which sounds hella fluffy, but think:

• Being reachable for check-ins
• Responding within a reasonable timeframe
• Participating in conversations about your return

Not:

• Daily calls
• Constant Slack messages
• “Just quickly joining meetings”

Sick leave is not remote work with a sad tone.

Boundaries that are actually allowed

This is the part people underestimate.

👉 You are allowed to have boundaries while sick.

These boundaries translate into, for example:

• Not answering immediately
• Not being available all day
• Not joining work-related meetings

When ignoring your employer becomes a problem

Now let’s flip it to your responsibilities as a sick employee under the Wet Verbetering Poortwachter.

Because full silence or communication on purely and only your terms, is also not a great strategy

Real-life scenario (very common in practice)

Let’s say you report sick and your employer reaches out. But you barely reply, because you believe you need to focus on your recovery instead. When an employer follows up, you still do nothing and before you know it, weeks go by.

👉 Result:

• Employer cannot guide reintegration
• File starts building
• Tension increases

Eventually:

👉 Salary can be suspended
👉 Or conflict escalates

Because under Wet verbetering poortwachter

👉 Non-cooperation can have consequences

The slightly more subtle version (and just as risky)

Now let’s talk about your boundaries. Because some employees do respond…
👉 but only on their own terms.

Think:

• “I’ll just reply by email”
• “I don’t do calls”
• “Let’s keep everything on Teams”

I get that this might feel reasonable, structured and safe, because you also keep everything in writing just in case you want to engage a lawyer at some point (*bombastic side eye happening)

But legally?

👉 This can still be seen as non-cooperative.

Especially when:

• Your employer asks for a normal conversation
• Or the bedrijfsarts advises direct contact (in multiple reports).

Case law consistently shows that:

👉 Reintegration requires actual interaction, not just selective communication.

So yes, email can support communication, but it cannot fully replace it when engagement is expected.

(This one deserves its own blog, because there are many recognisable cases here. Drop a comment below if you want to know more about this topic)

Case insight (what courts look at)

In disputes, the question is usually not: “Did you reply instantly?”

But:

👉 “Did you reasonably cooperate with your reintegration?”

In daily practise this means that courts look at:

• Responsiveness over time
• Willingness to engage
• Whether communication was structurally avoided

While an occasional delay is fine, structural avoidance is problem for you as an employee.

Final thought

Dutch sick leave is not about control. It’s about balance.

Too available → you’re basically working
Too unavailable → you’re not cooperating

And most conflicts start exactly in this grey zone.

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Struggling with boundaries?

Because let’s be honest: this is where things quietly escalate.

If you’re unsure:
👉 “Am I doing too much?”
👉 “Am I doing too little?”
👉 “Can I ask for only email contact?”
👉 “I don’t feel ready to fully communicate with my employer, so what now?”

Let’s look at your situation before it turns into a bigger issue.

👉 Send a DM or use the contact form

Clarity here saves a lot of headaches later.