Guaranteed salary during illness: rules for employers

Your employee calls on Monday morning: off sick. Once the practical questions are sorted, who covers the work, when the sick note arrives, one question stays on every employer's mind. How much salary do you keep paying? And for how long?

The answer sounds simple: 30 calendar days of guaranteed salary. But dig into the details and it gets trickier. A white-collar worker gets different percentages than a blue-collar worker. Variable pay counts too, but how? And what happens if that same employee falls ill again a few weeks later?

This article gives you a clear overview of the rules on guaranteed salary. With concrete worked examples, the new 8-week relapse rule that applies from 2026, and practical tips to avoid mistakes.

What exactly is guaranteed salary?

Guaranteed salary is the pay you, as the employer, keep giving an employee when they fall ill or have an accident. The employee can't work, but keeps their income for a set period. That's the foundation of our social system.

The period? Thirty calendar days. Not working days, calendar days. An employee who falls ill on a Monday and returns to work the following Monday has used eight calendar days of guaranteed salary, not five.

After those 30 days, the health insurance fund takes over. The employee then receives a sickness benefit through the NIHDI (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance). But that first month? It's entirely on you as the employer.

This is where it gets legal. Not boring-legal, but important.

The rules on guaranteed salary differ fundamentally between white-collar and blue-collar workers. And although the distinction between the two has been fading over the years, this remains one of the areas where the difference is still very real.

Guaranteed salary for white-collar workers

For white-collar workers, the calculation is relatively simple. You pay 100% of the normal gross salary for the full 30-calendar-day period.

This applies to:

• White-collar workers on a permanent contract
• White-collar workers on a fixed-term contract of at least three months

The condition? At the time of the incapacity, the white-collar worker must have been employed for at least one month. It doesn't have to be an uninterrupted month; the first month of employment simply has to be over.

A worked example for a white-collar worker:

Say you have an administrative assistant on a gross salary of 3,200 euros a month. She falls ill on 10 February and stays home for 25 calendar days.

• Days 1 to 25: 100% of 3,200 euros (pro rata)
• You pay the full salary as if she had worked

Simple, right? It gets a bit more complex when the white-collar worker has variable pay, but more on that later.

Blue-collar workers: the progressive system

For blue-collar workers, it works differently. And honestly: in a more complicated way. Guaranteed salary for blue-collar workers is built up in three phases with different percentages.

The three periods:

Day 1 to day 7: 100%, paid by the employer For the first week, you keep paying the full gross salary.

Day 8 to day 14: 85.88%, paid by the employer In the second week, the percentage drops. The blue-collar worker still receives their full salary, but part of it is topped up by the health insurance fund.

Day 15 to day 30: a split system Now it gets genuinely technical. As the employer, you pay:

• 25.88% of the gross salary capped at the ZIV salary ceiling (the ceiling used for health and disability insurance)
• Plus 85.88% of the portion of the salary above that ceiling

At the same time, the blue-collar worker receives a sickness benefit from the health insurance fund (60% of the capped gross salary).

In our experience with thousands of illness cases, this is where most mistakes happen. The third-period calculation for blue-collar workers demands precision, and combining it with the health fund's benefit makes it extra complex.

A worked example for a blue-collar worker:

A warehouse operative (blue-collar) earns 2,800 euros gross a month. He falls ill on 1 March and is absent for 30 days.

• Days 1 to 7: 100% of 2,800 euros (pro rata) = the employer pays in full
• Days 8 to 14: 85.88% of 2,800 euros (pro rata) = the employer pays, the rest via the health fund
• Days 15 to 30: 25.88% + 85.88% depending on the salary ceiling, plus the health fund benefit

The end result? Overall, the blue-collar worker receives roughly the same amount as when fully employed, but the funding comes from different sources.

With Recruit, this calculation happens automatically. The system factors in the status, the salary and the right periods, so you always pay the correct amount.

The new 8-week relapse rule (2026)

Here's the key point for many employers this year.

Until 2025, the relapse period was 14 days. If an employee fell ill again within two weeks of recovering, with the same condition, you didn't have to pay guaranteed salary again. The illness periods were, in effect, merged.

Since 1 January 2026, that period has been extended to eight weeks.

What does this mean in practice? If an employee returns to work and becomes unfit for work again within eight weeks due to the same illness, it counts as a relapse. You don't owe another 30 days of guaranteed salary. The counter simply picks up where it left off.

An example of the relapse rule:

An employee is ill from 1 to 20 February (20 days of guaranteed salary used). She returns to work on 21 February. On 15 March she falls ill again: the same back problem.

Old rule (until 2025): after 14 days back at work, a new 30-day period of guaranteed salary would start.

New rule (2026): within 8 weeks of recovery. This is a relapse. You only pay the remaining 10 days of guaranteed salary.

When does the relapse rule not apply?

The employee can show, via the medical certificate, that it's a completely different condition. Back problems in February, flu in March? No relapse. A new 30-day period of guaranteed salary.

Keeping track of this requires accurate records. When did the previous illness period end? What was the diagnosis? Does the new illness fall within the eight weeks? On our platform we track this automatically, so you always know whether it's a relapse or a new illness period.

When do you owe no guaranteed salary?

There are situations where you, as the employer, are exempt from paying guaranteed salary. Worth knowing, because it saves a lot of discussion.

1. Late notification of illness

The employee must inform you of their incapacity immediately. In practice, "immediately" means on the first day of illness, as early as possible. Someone who only calls after two days can lose their right to guaranteed salary for the days they missed.

This does need to be set out in your work rules. Haven't you included a clear procedure for reporting illness? Then it becomes hard to refuse guaranteed salary.

You can read more about the obligations around illness in our article on the obligations when an employee is ill.

2. No medical certificate, or a late one

The medical certificate must be submitted within the deadline set in your work rules, usually two working days. No certificate, or too late? You may refuse guaranteed salary for the days without a valid certificate.

3. Refusing a medical check

As the employer, you have the right to send a medical inspector. Does the employee refuse this check, or are they not home when they should be? Then they lose the right to guaranteed salary.

Note: the employee is allowed to leave the house if the doctor permits it on the certificate. So always check what the sick note says.

4. Incapacity caused by gross misconduct

Did the employee cause the incapacity themselves through gross misconduct? Think of drink-driving that leads to an accident. In such cases, the right to guaranteed salary lapses. But be careful with this exception: the burden of proof lies with you as the employer.

5. Not meeting the seniority requirement

Blue-collar workers must have been employed continuously for at least one month. If that's not the case, you have no obligation to pay guaranteed salary.

Want to know how to record sick notifications correctly? Take a look at our guide on reporting illness in payroll.

Partial incapacity: a phased return to work

Sometimes an employee isn't fully unfit for work but can still work part-time. This is called a phased return to work, with the approval of the health insurance fund's medical adviser.

In this scenario, you as the employer pay salary for the hours actually worked. On top of that, the employee receives a supplementary benefit from the health insurance fund for the hours not worked.

Important since 2026:

Does an employee on a phased return become fully ill again? Then no guaranteed salary is owed. The employee falls straight back on a full sickness benefit from the health insurance fund.

This rule used to apply only during the first twenty weeks of a phased return to work. Since 2026, it applies for the entire duration. This is a deliberate choice by the legislator to encourage employers to allow phased returns, without the financial risk of another 30 days of guaranteed salary.

For you as the employer, this means you can agree to a partial return to work without extra risk. If the employee becomes fully ill again, the health insurance fund bears the cost.

Calculating guaranteed salary with variable pay

The honest truth? This is where it gets complex.

On top of their fixed monthly salary, many employees also have variable elements: commissions, bonuses, overtime, shift allowances. These count towards guaranteed salary. But how do you calculate that?

The basic principle:

Guaranteed salary is calculated on the normal salary. That covers everything the employee would have earned had they worked: fixed pay, but also the average of the variable pay components.

Calculating variable pay:

For variable pay, you take the average over a representative period. Usually that's the 12 months before the incapacity. Did the employee earn an average of 400 euros in commission per month during that period? Then you add those 400 euros to the fixed monthly salary when calculating the guaranteed salary.

What does count:

• Commission pay
• Productivity bonuses
• Overtime pay (if structural)
• Shift premiums
• Night-shift allowances

What does not count:

• One-off bonuses (non-recurring)
• Expense reimbursements
• The end-of-year bonus (usually handled separately)
• Meal vouchers (a benefit in kind, not salary)

A worked example with variable pay:

A sales manager earns 3,500 euros fixed gross plus an average of 800 euros in commission per month (calculated over the past 12 months). Total reference salary: 4,300 euros.

When ill, she receives 30 days of guaranteed salary based on 4,300 euros, not 3,500 euros.

In our experience with thousands of temporary workers, we see this go wrong often. Employers forget the variable component, or take too short a reference period. The result: too little paid, an unhappy employee, and possibly a correction afterwards.

After 30 days: the health fund takes over

Once the guaranteed-salary period ends, your payment obligation as the employer stops. From day 31, the employee receives a sickness benefit through the health insurance fund.

What does the employee receive from the health fund?

During the primary incapacity (month 2 to month 12), the benefit is 60% of the capped gross salary. That gross salary is capped at the ZIV salary ceiling, which is indexed annually.

From the second year of illness (invalidity), the percentage rises to 65% for anyone who has a dependant.

So the benefits are lower than the normal salary. But that's no longer your responsibility as the employer.

A new solidarity contribution for large employers (2026)

There is, however, an additional obligation for larger employers since 2026. You pay a solidarity contribution of 30% on the sickness benefit your employee receives during the second and third month of incapacity.

Good news for smaller companies: SMEs with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from this contribution.

The measure has a clear aim: to encourage employers to invest actively in reintegration and phased returns to work. As soon as an employee resumes work part-time, the solidarity contribution lapses entirely.

From 2027, the contribution will be extended to the fourth and fifth month of incapacity. So the financial incentive to limit long-term absence keeps getting stronger.

A mandatory contact procedure in the work rules

New since 2026: as the employer, you must include a clear procedure in your work rules for staying in contact with employees who are unfit for work. This goes beyond just the notification of illness.

At a minimum, the procedure must cover:

• How and when the employee must report their illness
• Who the internal contact person is for ill employees
• How contact is maintained during a longer absence
• What steps are taken on return to work

This fits into the broader return-to-work policy the government wants to promote. The aim isn't to put pressure on ill employees, but to improve communication and smooth the path to reintegration.

Don't yet have an updated procedure in your work rules? Then it's time to sort it out. If the social inspectorate carries out a check, a missing procedure can lead to remarks.

Frequently asked questions

Do weekend days count towards the 30 days of guaranteed salary?

Yes. It's about calendar days, not working days. A weekend therefore counts, even if the employee doesn't normally work on Saturday and Sunday. This is a common misconception. An employee who falls ill on a Friday has already used four days of guaranteed salary by Monday, not one.

Do I have to pay guaranteed salary if the employee has only been on the job for a week?

For blue-collar workers: no, only after one month of uninterrupted employment. For white-collar workers on a permanent contract or one of at least three months: yes, you have that obligation in the first month too. For white-collar workers on a shorter contract, the same rules apply as for blue-collar workers.

What if the employee falls ill during their notice period?

The notice period is suspended during the incapacity. You pay guaranteed salary under the normal rules. Once the employee recovers, the notice period resumes. This applies whether you dismiss the employee or the employee resigns.

Can I send the medical inspector more than once?

Yes, you may have several checks carried out during the same illness period. The employee has to cooperate. That said, the checks must be proportionate: daily checks for a three-day bout of flu could be seen as excessive.

How do I know whether it's the same illness in the event of a relapse?

The medical certificate doesn't state a diagnosis (privacy), but it does state whether it concerns the same condition as an earlier illness period. If in doubt, you can call in the medical inspector to verify this. In practice, the employee has to show that it's a different condition if they want to claim a new period of guaranteed salary.

How many times a year can an employee be absent without a sick note?

Since 2026, an employee may be absent for one day, twice a year, without a medical certificate. Until the end of 2025, that was three times a year. Note: this rule only applies if your work rules allow it. As the employer, you can also decide to always require a certificate from the first day of illness.

What if the employee falls ill during their holiday?

If an employee falls ill during their planned holiday, those holiday days are converted into sick days. The employee keeps their holiday days and can take them later. This only applies if the employee provides a medical certificate and informs you in time.

Is guaranteed salary subject to NSSO contributions?

Yes. Guaranteed salary is treated as normal salary for social security purposes. So you pay the usual employer contributions. The same goes for the professional withholding tax: it's deducted in the normal way.

In short

Guaranteed salary is the legal obligation to keep paying your ill employee for 30 calendar days. The rules differ by status: white-collar workers get 100% for the entire period, while blue-collar workers follow a declining system from 100% to 85.88% to a split arrangement.

Since 2026, an extended relapse period of eight weeks applies. Does an employee fall ill again within that period with the same condition? Then it counts as a relapse and no new period of guaranteed salary starts.

The calculation needs care, especially with variable pay. The average of commissions, bonuses and other variable elements counts. And after 30 days the health insurance fund takes over, though larger employers have been paying a solidarity contribution since 2026.

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How Recruit helps you here

Calculating guaranteed salary correctly and keeping track of sick days? On our platform, it happens automatically.

With Recruit:

• Contracts in under 60 seconds: create trial and temporary contracts without the hassle
• Automatic salary calculation: correct pay in line with current legislation and your Joint Committee
• Dimona (immediate employment declaration) and social documents: we handle all the declarations, you focus on your business
• 24/7 personal support: always a dedicated contact who knows your company
• No fixed monthly costs: pay only for what you use

Try Recruit or get in touch with our HR experts for tailored advice.

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The information in this article is purely informative and does not replace professional legal or accounting advice. Labour law changes regularly. Always consult the current legislation or contact an HR expert for advice tailored to your situation. Note: the rules can differ by Joint Committee and sector.