Long-term sick employees to miss out on €17,000: ‘We are going back in time’

Starting next year, employers in the Netherlands will no longer be compensated for severance payments to long-term sick employees, potentially costing workers an average of 17,000 euros. The labor union CNV warns that this change may lead to an increase in 'dormant employment' cases where sick workers are kept on the payroll without being formally dismissed. This policy shift effectively marks a return to previous labor practices that disadvantaged chronically ill staff.