My employee has had an industrial accident

Your employee is entitled to the continued payment of wages after an industrial accident. You are required to pay on the usual dates. You can get a refund for the wage costs you incur via the loss of wages benefit (up to the maximum daily wage). In some cases you must report the accident to the Labour Inspectorate.

Reporting to the Labour Inspectorate

You are obliged to report an industrial accident immediately if:

  • It is an accident with fatal consequences.
  • The victim has to be admitted to a nursing institution. (This also applies to diving accidents whereby the employee has to enter a decompression unit.)
  • The accident causes such injuries that they may lead to permanent full or partial invalidity.
  • Thanks to fortuitous circumstances, no personal injury was sustained.

You can contact the Labour Inspectorate on telephone number 795 4832 or via arbeidsinspectie@rijksdienstcn.com.

Applying for a loss of income benefit

To receive loss of wages compensation, it is important to make a notification through the web portal of the SZW unit on the first day of absenteeism. This web portal can be accessed at MijnCN, the online platform for government services in Caribbean Netherlands.

Your notification will be handled as an application for loss of wages. The right to loss of wages commences on the third day after the day of the absence notification. If the absence lasts longer than three days, the first three days are also paid. Therefore, in case of illness or an accident, always report absence on the first day. The insurance doctor can then adequately assess whether your employee is ill and you are eligible for loss of wages.

Employee data required

You need, among other things, a recent salary slip, the CRIB number and a current and functioning telephone number of the employee involved, to make a notification of absenteeism through the web portal. If you are not in the possession of these details, we recommend requesting these from your employees. If your employee does not have a CRIB number, he or she can request one from the tax office (BCN). This number is necessary to verify that the employer has paid the insurance premiums for the employee concerned. Do you not have the employee's pay slip at the beginning of the month? Then any other proof of pay, such as an employment contract, is also good.

You do not have to fill in personnel details of employees you have reported sick before.  However, it is still important that you check the details of your (sick) employee. The telephone number is especially important so that the insurance doctor is able to contact your employee. Are you reporting a change in the salary of known employees? Then you should also enclose the most recent payslip with the new wages in the portal. You can then be sure that your claim for wage loss will be processed quickly and correctly.

Telephone consultation

The insurance doctor of SZW will contact the employee for a consultation. Your employee will no longer need to report work disability to the general practitioner (Bonaire) or occupational health and safety nurse (Saba and St. Eustatius) on the first day of sickness.

Digital decree

You will receive a digital decree through our web portal. The decree will list the amount that will be paid out in parts . It will also tell you the date on which the insurance doctor expects your employee to be able to work again.

Your benefit for loss of wages will be paid through the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland. The loss of wages payment will not be offset against any outstanding tax debts.  For questions about payments, you can simply contact the RCN unit SZW.

If your bank account number changes, it is best to inform Belastingdienst CN immediately. You can download the change form for this purpose and hand in the form in person at the service desk  of Belastingdienst CN. You will then be asked to show your sedula. This is to prevent misuse.

Back to work

If your employee returns to work within the first three days of illness, before the contact with the insurance doctor has taken place, you need to report his or her recovery by e-mail or telephone. You will also need to contact us if your employee returns to work on a different date than the one agreed with the insurance doctor. You do not have to file a report if your employee returns back to work on the agreed date.

Continued payment following an industrial accident

You are obliged to continue paying your employees 100% of their daily wage throughout the first year following an industrial accident. However, a maximum does apply (see maximum daily wage). If you have made agreements with employees about higher amounts, you should keep to these agreements. After the first year, you must continue to pay employees 80% of their daily wage. You are required to pay your employees on the usual dates.

When the employment contract ends, your obligation to continue paying will also end. In the event of permanent contracts, the employment contract can be terminated two years after the absenteeism due to the industrial accident.

No account yet?

As an employer you must create an account in MijnCN in order to use the services on the SZW web portal.

The first time you use the SZW web portal you must register as an employer. During the registration process you will be asked for your bank account details, among other things. The account number you are going to use must correspond to your company's account number, as registered with the Tax Office (BCN).

To ensure that the data of you and your employees are properly secured, the web portal of the unit SZW has high security requirements. For example, we use 2-factor authentication and a one-time verification code.  If you do not yet have one, you can request your verification code. This will then be sent to you by post. You can also pick up the verification code yourself at the Belastingdienst CN office.

If you need more information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.