THE HAGUE, 13/06/06 - From next year, companies can supplement the salary of the partially job-disabled due to illness for up to 10 years. After this, the government will pay the supplement for the part that the employees can no longer work.

The cabinet has decided on a further supplement to the WIA, the act that replaced the WAO job disability scheme this year. The WIA differentiates between people who cannot work at all and those who are assessed as partially job-disabled. Employers can cover the risk for the latter group at social benefit administrator UWV, or go to a commercial insurer or carry the risk themselves.

The cabinet has now decided that the UWV will anyway pay the wage supplement for everyone after a maximum of 10 years. It will levy a premium from all employers for this. According to Social Affairs Minister De Geus, the period of 10 years has been chosen as a good balance between individual responsibilities and collective solidarity.

MKB terms the 10-year period on the long side. The small and medium-sized companies organisation would prefer the collective payment to kick in earlier. According to spokeswoman Karin Kuipers, it is easy to say after 5 years whether an employee's illness is long-term or not.