Financial support schemes and obligations

Anyone who can work but needs support to succeed in the employment market falls under the Inclusive Employment Act. This law helps people with occupational disabilities find work, regardless of whether they have full or partial capacity to work.

The access to work programme is an agreement between the Dutch government and employers to provide a certain percentage of jobs for people with occupational disabilities. This offers as many people as possible a fair chance to access work and economic independence.

UWV manages the access to work register (in Dutch), a database that includes everyone covered by the access to work programme. You can check the register to see if an employee or job applicant is listed. If so, their employment will count towards the occupational disability employment quota (‘quotum arbeidsbeperkten’).

The access to work register is also used by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (‘SZW’) to check whether employers are creating enough additional jobs for people with an occupational disability. 

Please note: If you employ more than 25 people, you will be expected to do your part to meet the occupational disability employment quota. Otherwise, you run the risk of receiving a fine (‘quotumheffing’).

To check whether an employee, casual employee, temporary worker or job applicant is included in the register, log in to the employer portal with your EH3 level eHerkenning account. Make sure you have your employee’s citizen service number (‘BSN’) and payroll tax number (‘loonheffingennummer’) close to hand when doing this.

The access to work register is regularly updated with information received from third parties, so check it often to make sure you have the most recent information. To protect people’s privacy, you will only see whether your employee or job applicant is included in the register. No other information will be given.

Your employee will be included in the access to work register if they fall under the Inclusive Employment Act, or if 1 of the following situations applies:

• Your employee receives an UWV recommendation for access to work (‘Indicatie banenafspraak’), where they can work independently but cannot earn 100% of the national minimum wage (‘wettelijk minimumloon’). 
• Your employee qualifies for a Wajong benefit and can work independently. 
• Your employee receives a recommendation for sheltered work (‘Advies indicatie beschut werk’), arranged by their local council. 

If your employee falls under the Inclusive Employment Act they will also be included in the access to work register if they are working with an UWV scheme offering support and guidance such as: 

• job coaches 
• services for people with loss of hearing or vision 
• services for people with a motor disability 
• transportable disability equipment (‘meeneembare hulpmiddelen’) 
• transportation

If your employee is listed in the register, there are a number of advantages for you: 

• You will be complying with the occupational disability employment quota. 
• You might be entitled to compensation for workplace adjustments for your employee. 
• Your employee might qualify for a sickness benefit (Ziektewet-uitkering) if they fall ill. 

Please note: If your employee is not included in the access to work register but believes they should be, they can apply for a work capacity evaluation. You cannot apply for this on behalf of your employee.

To find out more about the schemes that might be available to you, please check the overview of financial support schemes. More detailed information can be found in the access to work register advisory guide (in Dutch).