Occupational expertise and return-to-work support in the Netherlands
AD-Consult is an independent Dutch labour expert consultancy (arbeidsdeskundig expertisebureau). We assess what a person can still do, how that compares with the demands of the work, and which route is defensible when someone cannot simply return to their old job. We work for employers, occupational health services, insurers, municipalities and case managers, on site throughout the Netherlands. We work in English as well as Dutch: the assessment, the meetings with you and your employee, and the report can all be delivered in English.
25 pages, in English. Free download — no registration or email address required. Straight to the PDF.
Who we help
- International organisations with staff in the Netherlands.
- Foreign employers running a Dutch entity.
- HR directors, HR business partners and people operations managers.
- Occupational health services, insurers and reintegration partners.
- Employers facing long-term sickness absence of a Dutch employee.
What we do
Our assessments answer the questions that decide a case. Each service below links to its Dutch page, where the full description and the fixed fee are set out.
Labour expert assessment
Is the employee’s own work still suitable, can it be adjusted, and what are the realistic alternatives? The core assessment, covering first-track and second-track questions and the route towards a WIA claim.
Complex cases and coordination
A case that has stalled, a second opinion, a file analysis, or independent coordination where several parties are involved but nobody decides.
Earning capacity and specialist assessments
Wage value assessment (loonwaardeonderzoek) by a certified specialist, work performance, job demands and suitability.
Workplace assessment
What gets in the way at the workplace, which adjustments help, and which facilities are available — on site, at home or hybrid.
Objecting to a UWV or WIA decision
An independent counter-analysis of the labour expert reasoning behind a decision, and support in making the objection.
Shortening a UWV wage sanction
Where UWV has extended the wage obligation: what fell short, how to put it right, and the substantiation for a request to shorten it.
Working with the Dutch return-to-work system
In the Netherlands long-term sickness stays largely with the employer for about two years. You continue to pay wages, you and your employee must both make reintegration efforts, and at the end of that period the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) assesses what you actually did. Insufficient effort without sound justification can extend the wage obligation by up to 52 weeks.
Only the occupational physician (bedrijfsarts) assesses health; you never receive a diagnosis. A labour expert (arbeidsdeskundige) connects the capacity the physician describes with the real demands of the work. That is where our assessments come in, and why they are written to be followed by someone reading the file afterwards.
Free practical guide for international employers
Managing Sickness Absence and Return to Work in the Netherlands — 25 pages covering the statutory timeline, suitable work, the first and second track, the WIA stage, and a glossary of the Dutch terms you will meet in letters from your occupational health service and UWV.
Free — no registration or email address required. Or download the PDF straight away.
Contact AD-Consult
Bring one concrete question. For example: “We have adjusted the employee’s own work, but we do not know whether this is structurally suitable. Which information is missing, and which assessment would help us choose?” That makes a first conversation far more focused.
We work fully in English where you need us to: the assessment itself, the conversations with your employee, and the report. Which language the report is written in is agreed in advance, because reports are often also read by UWV and Dutch occupational physicians.
Or call +31 30 207 24 28. Please do not share medical data at first contact; we will first agree which information is needed and how it is exchanged securely.
De rest van deze website is Nederlandstalig. Ga naar de Nederlandse homepage.