Benefit allowance Employees

For certain employees (with an illness or disability) or for employees over the age of fifty, you, as an employer are entitled to a benefit allowance for the premium for the National Insurance Scheme. You can only apply one discount per employee.

Rules concerning employees with an illness or disability

During a job interview the employer is not permitted to enquire about the health of the job applicant. As an employer there are however payroll advantages if the employee has been ill for a long period of time over the past few years or received a benefit. If the employee is in employment for longer than two years, you are allowed to ask the employee about his/her past. The employee is obligated to give full disclosure, the employee is also obligated to report if he/she has been ill for a long period of time over the past few years and if he/she received a benefit. The employee is not obligated to go into detail about the illness or disability. It is advisable to make an inventory of such matters for each employee, in this manner you will not miss out on benefit allowances.

Conditions for applying benefit allowances

In some cases the employer is entitled to certain benefit allowances. The following conditions must be met:

-The employee is 50 years or older. If you employ someone for at least 36 hours a week, who is entitled to a benefit, then you have a possible benefit allowance of a maximum of three years up to €7000,- per year.

-The employee is the widow/widower and 50 years or older. If you employ someone who is 50 years or older, who did not receive a labour income and in addition received a benefit on the grounds of the Algemene nabestaandenwet (ANW – General law for surviving dependants), then you are, in principle, entitled to a benefit allowance of up to €7000,- per year.

-The employee has a work limiting disability. If you employ someone who has a work limiting disability, you are, in principle, entitled to a benefit allowance of up to €7000,- per year.

-The employee is young disabled and is entitled to a (disability Act for Young disabled)- premium. If you employ someone who has been disabled before they turned 17 (if, for example, he is considered, for the Wajong-benefit), the employer can be considered for a benefit allowance of a maximum of €3500,- in a 36 hour work week.

-The employee is an unemployed adolescent. You can be considered for this benefit allowance per the 1st of July 2014 if you employ someone of the age 18-27 on the basis of a half year contract of at least 32 hours a week. The benefit allowance will amount to a maximum of €3500,- and will apply for a maximum of two years.

-A jobseeker is posted in your company by the municipality. With (municipal) grants you can have someone with a long-standing unemployment be posted in your company. The employee will remain in the service of the municipality. This approach has been created, among other reasons, to give the unemployed work experience.

Source: Elsevier, Fiscaal Totaal professional (2014). Pay attention! The abovementioned conditions are not cumulative. This means that not all conditions have to be met before the benefit allowance can be applied.

How is the benefit allowance applied?

If an employee is already in service and resumes his activities (or only resumes his activities in part), then the discount may be applied for one year. If someone enters employment under the abovementioned conditions then the benefit allowance may be applied for a maximum of 3 years. The benefit allowance is applied on the WAO/WIA premium (Law on Invalidity Insurance for Employees/ Law on Work and Income in Accordance with Capacity for Work) and the employers’ part of the WW premium (Unemployment Act).

For more information or any other questions please do not hesitate to contact us at info [at] lupacompany.com.