Resigning during illness: know your rights!

Questioner

I have a question about being sick and resigning. I have had a burnout recently and became ill on December 14th and started working again on February 16th, 2 days a week, 4 hours a day. Now I have been working on a possible new job for a week and a half. As far as I understood from friends/acquaintances you can always resign from your current employer as long as you keep to the notice period. The only disadvantage here would be that you do not receive unemployment benefits. Now I would not need them if I were offered the new job. I would like to know if I am in the right and if it is possible to resign if you are still working half days/reintegrating with my current employer? I hope you can help me with a clear answer

Lawyer

Your friends are right. As an employee, you can resign at any time if you observe the notice period. This is different with a fixed-term employment contract. Resignation during illness has risks: 1. you no longer receive wages from your previous employer; 2. you are not entitled to unemployment benefits or sickness benefits from the UWV; 3. You will receive wages from your new employer. If it does not work out with your new employer and you are dismissed during the trial period, you will have no income. You will then end up on welfare. Your income will then drop considerably. If you have an earning partner or (too much) wealth, this will cause even more problems.

Lawyer

The tendency to want to resign yourself in case of burnout is understandable, but strongly discouraged. You write that you have a new job in mind. For that you have to have recovered. Ask your occupational health physician and your own family doctor for advice. If you resign while you are ill, you are not entitled to unemployment benefits because your illness makes you unavailable for the labor market. Nor is there any entitlement to a ZW benefit if, despite the statutory dismissal protection during illness, you have agreed to the termination of your employment during your illness. If you are dismissed from your new job during the trial period, you also run the risk of having your unemployment benefits refused if you yourself resigned from your previous job. In case of burnout, it is always preferable to reach a settlement agreement with your employer, if only to secure your unemployment benefit. It is wise to only sign a settlement agreement once there is a concrete prospect of recovery. For further advice and guidance you are always welcome. We have a lot of knowledge and experience with dismissal in case of burnout and know the right strategies.