About 85 percent of sick employees with long-term corona complaints who end up at UWV for a WIA assessment are awarded a disability benefit. In the majority of cases, they have been declared fully incapacitated for work. This is evident from the first analysis of the WIA assessments of clients with corona complaints as the main diagnosis since the start of the pandemic up to and including May 2022.
Employees who have been ill for two years and are therefore unable to work or are less able to work may be entitled to a disability benefit under the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA). UWV determines whether people are eligible.
In the WIA assessments, an insurance physician looks at the limitations and (remaining) work possibilities of a client. An occupational expert then looks at what work someone can still do and how much he can earn with it compared to his old salary, the so-called residual earning capacity. The decline compared to that old salary determines the degree of incapacity for work. This also explains that the WIA assessment can lead to a different outcome for people with similar complaints. Anyone who is less than 35 percent incapacitated for work is not entitled to a WIA benefit.
More than 700 WIA assessments due to corona in the first five months of 2022
Since the start of the pandemic, UWV has been conducting WIA assessments of people with (long-term) corona complaints. Initially, these were clients who developed these complaints in addition to or after their original condition. After all, the first corona infection in the Netherlands was diagnosed at the end of February 2020. Since the beginning of this year, the first WIA assessments have been conducted of people who became ill primarily due to corona and who have sustained long-term complaints as a result of that infection. This is also reflected in the figures, which show a significant increase in 2022. While UWV conducted 2020 and 2021 WIA assessments of clients with long-term corona complaints as the main diagnosis in 22 and 139 respectively, this number has already risen to 2022 in the first five months of 736.
Most WIA assessments with primary diagnosis of corona in March 2022
In January, there were 82 WIA assessments with a primary diagnosis of corona, in February that number had almost doubled to 162. The busiest period so far was in March, when 240 WIA assessments were made of people with corona as the primary diagnosis. In April and May, the number of assessments was slightly lower again, 147 and 105 respectively. The 736 WIA assessments with a primary diagnosis of corona account for just under 3 percent of the total number of WIA assessments in 2022 so far.
By the way, corona is not always the only diagnosis, but people often have other conditions as well. This is the case for 61% of people with corona as their main diagnosis.
62 percent completely incapacitated for work
The results of the WIA decisions up to and including May 2022 show that 62 percent of clients with a primary diagnosis of corona (at the moment) are declared fully incapacitated for work. In a small number of cases, 8 percent of the total, this concerns a so-called IVA benefit due to full and permanent incapacity for work. In most cases, 54 percent of the total, this concerns a so-called WGA 80-100 benefit where someone is currently fully incapacitated for work, but improvement of the resilience is not ruled out.
Herman Kroneman, medical advisor, Division of Social Medical Affairs, UWV: 'The figures reflect what our insurance physicians encounter in the consultation room. They see that long-term corona complaints often have a major, drastic impact on the lives of clients and that in many cases there is therefore complete incapacity for work. But a prognosis is often still difficult. Scientific knowledge about the course of Long COVID is still expanding every day, but much is still uncertain. This means that it is often still too early to say that the incapacity for work is permanent. Many clients do not want that either, they want to recover and get back to work. We then want to see them again at a later stage for a reassessment. But there are also situations in which an IVA benefit is the only conceivable solution. You can see that in the figures too.'
Small portion not entitled to benefits
23 percent of people are awarded benefits due to partial incapacity for work (WGA 35-80). About 15 percent of people are less than 35 percent incapacitated for work and are therefore not entitled to a WIA benefit. This does not mean that these clients do not have any complaints, it only means that they can earn at least 65 percent of their old salary with the work opportunities that are still available. If the decline in salary is less than 35 percent, the law stipulates that there is no right to a disability benefit.
Kroneman: 'We realize that this is hard for people, because they do have real and long-term complaints and health problems due to corona. But that is how the law works. Fortunately, UWV can offer help with reintegration to people who are less than 35 percent incapacitated for work and are entitled to unemployment benefits, just like it can to people who do receive a WIA benefit.'
The WIA grants to people with a primary diagnosis of corona have so far accounted for approximately 2022 percent of the total WIA inflow in 3.
Image: ANP / ANP XTRA
