When to Bring in Psychological Support

The Wet verbetering poortwachter timeline sets out what a reintegration file must show at each stage. It says far less about what the person going through it is actually carrying.

Five points in that timeline are where the two come apart most clearly.

Week 1 to 6: the problem analysis

The bedrijfsarts completes the probleemanalyse within six weeks, and the file gets a diagnosis and a plan.

What the file does not show is how long the person has already been struggling before that appointment. Often it is months, not weeks. This is also the cheapest point in the whole two years to bring in support, because nothing has hardened yet and the person is not yet defending a position.

Week 8: the plan of action

The plan van aanpak is signed by both sides, and the file records agreement.

What it does not record is whether the conversation to get there was easy or under pressure. A plan signed under pressure tends to need revisiting, and revisiting later costs more than addressing it now.

Week 42: the notification to UWV

The employer notifies UWV that reintegration is behind schedule. That notification records a fact.

It does not say why the file stopped moving, and the reason often sits outside what a bedrijfsarts can assess. This is a useful point to ask what has not been said, rather than to request another medical opinion.

Week 52: the first-year evaluation

The eerstejaarsevaluatie decides whether the person moves to a second track or takes on different duties.

Deciding well requires having accepted the situation first, and the file has no way to check whether that has happened. Someone who has not processed what the second track means will struggle to choose well within it.

Week 88 to 93: the WIA application

The employee applies for WIA, submitting the reintegration file with the application. UWV assesses the file before deciding the claim.

The file is nearly finished at this point. What it took to get there is not, and the assessment itself is stressful for the person living through it.

What runs through all five

At each of these points, the file can be complete and the person still stuck. Refer when a conversation stalls, not when someone gets sicker.

Sick-leave and reintegration support is most useful exactly at these points, and least useful when it arrives at the end to repair a file that has already gone quiet.

Kelly Kim is an NIP-registered psychologist and workplace mental health specialist supporting international and Korean organisations in the Netherlands.

Source: the Wet verbetering poortwachter process as set out by UWV.