FAQ - De Unie

My job

Will I continue to receive my wages if I cannot work due to illness?

Continued payment of wages during illness is legally required for 104 weeks (2 years). If you are sick for a long time, your employer must continue to pay you at least 104% of your wages for 70 weeks. Additional agreements may be included in your collective labor agreement, employment contract or internal company regulations.

Do I have to respond to the call from the company doctor?

Yes. During illness you follow the inspection regulations of your employer. This also includes a discussion with the company doctor. You can bring someone to the interview if you feel more comfortable with it. Making an appointment with the company doctor can also be preventively requested by you as an employee. Precisely to prevent you from dropping out due to illness.

What can I do if my employer and I disagree about the reintegration?

If you and your employer disagree about the reintegration or about the opinion of the company doctor, then you both have the option to request an expert opinion. This judgment is an objective approach from the UWV. This expert opinion entails costs. These costs are different for the employer and employee. The costs are for the party requesting the research. The application takes 2 to 4 weeks. However, the outcome is not binding, which means that the decision cannot be appealed.

My collective labor agreement / social plan

What is a collective labor agreement?

It is actually quite simple: collective labor agreement stands for collective labor agreement and comprises a written agreement between employees 'organizations, employers' organizations and employers. This contains agreements about employment conditions. A collective labor agreement applies in addition to your individual employment contract and therefore largely determines your terms of employment.

My employer is not covered by a collective labor agreement. What does this mean for me?

It often happens that no collective labor agreement applies. If there is no collective labor agreement that relates to your employer and thus your employment contract, then you make arrangements with your employer. It is wise to record these agreements in writing in your employment contract.

Can my employer deviate from the collective labor agreement?

If a CLA applies, your employer is obliged to apply the provisions in the CLA. Whether your employer may deviate from the provisions in the CLA depends on the nature of the CLA. With a standard collective labor agreement or standard collective labor agreement, your employer must apply all provisions as described in the collective labor agreement and may not deviate from this. Even if the change will be an improvement for you.

With a minimum collective labor agreement, your employer may deviate from the provisions in the collective labor agreement, but only if it is a better arrangement for you as an employee. The collective labor agreement often states what type of collective labor agreement it concerns.

More questions about my collective labor agreement / social plan

My pension

Is my employer obliged to make a pension plan for me?

No. According to the law, your employer is not obliged to make a pension scheme for you and your colleagues, unless collective agreements have been made about this. Your employer is obliged to offer you a pension scheme if this is included in your collective labor agreement (CLA), or if your employer falls within a sector with a collective industry-wide pension fund. In the case of a collective labor agreement, please note that it has been declared binding by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment.

Where can I find information about my accrued pension?

All information about your accrued pension can be found in a pension overview https://www.mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl/. Here you can check how much AOW and pension you have accrued, and what your attainable pension is. You can also consult your current Uniform Pension Overview (UPO).

What is a UPO?

A UPO stands for Uniform Pension Overview and gives you an update about your pension every year. You will of course only receive this overview if you participate in a pension scheme. On the overview you can check what amount you can expect when you retire or if you become incapacitated for work, for example. Have you accrued pension with multiple employers? Then you will also receive multiple UPS.

Where can I check whether I have accrued pension in the past?

You can first log in with your DigiD on https://www.mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl/. Here you will find an overview of everything about your pension. However, this information may not have been updated yet, or it may be incomplete. Therefore there is an alternative. You can contact the Pension Register Service Desk if you do not know whether you have accrued pension with employers in the past.

My allowance

What is a WIA benefit?

A WIA benefit is a temporary safety net in the event of loss of income if you are unable to work or can no longer work fully due to long-term illness. WIA stands for Work and Income according to Capacity for Work Act. Until 2006, the previous version of this law was known as the WAO (Occupational Disability Insurance Act).

What is unemployment benefit?

An unemployment benefit is a temporary safety net in the event of loss of income where you are not culpably unemployed. Reasons for unemployment benefit are, for example, dismissal due to reorganization or a fixed-term contract that is not renewed. WW stands for the Unemployment Insurance Act. Whether you are eligible for unemployment benefit depends on a number of factors. These factors are mentioned in the next question.

Am I eligible for unemployment benefit?

Whether you are eligible for unemployment benefit depends on a number of conditions. The conditions for unemployment benefit are as follows:

You must be insured for unemployment. This is usually the case if you are working as an employee and have not yet reached the official state pension age;
You lose at least 5 hours per week or, if you worked less than 10 hours per week, at least half of your number of hours per calendar week;
You must be available immediately for paid work;
You cannot be blamed for your unemployment (example: you have been fired due to reorganization or your fixed-term contract is not renewed);
You must meet the week requirement (you worked at least 36 weeks in the 26 weeks before you became unemployed).

My membership

How can I join De Unie?

We would like to welcome you as a new member of De Unie! You can register via our website via this link: https://www.unie.nl/word-lid. You then have the choice between a Light Membership and a Complete Membership. In addition, you can choose an individual membership or a combination membership if several members live at the same address.

How can I pay my contribution?

You can pay your contribution by means of a direct debit (direct debit) for which you must give us an authorization. This can be done via this link: https://www.unie.nl/over-ons/contact/machtigingsformulier

Or you will receive a payment request from us by e-mail so that you can pay your contribution on time.

Where can I request my annual statement?

You can request the annual statement via this page:
https://www.unie.nl/opvragen-jaaropgave-2020

My taxes

Can I have the payroll tax credit applied to several employers at the same time?

No, this is not possible. You can only apply for the payroll tax credit at one employer. You must take this into account when completing the wage tax statement. It is best to apply the payroll tax credit to the employer where you receive the highest salary.

Can I retroactively use the vakbondHave the contribution settled for tax purposes?

In principle, you can only have the contribution paid in the current calendar year settled for tax purposes if agreements have been made about this in the context of the Work Expenses Scheme. If your employer has offered you the option to also set off other years, we will prepare an annual statement of the desired years at your request and you may be able to retroactively adjust the vakbondhave the contribution settled.