# Paying Wages for Two Years of Illness: The Netherlands’ Unusual Policy

> URL: https://www.cityhorror.wiki/en/%EC%A7%88%EB%B3%91-%EC%8B%9C-2%EB%85%84-%EC%9E%84%EA%B8%88-%EC%A7%80%EA%B8%89-%EB%84%A4%EB%8D%9C%EB%9E%80%EB%93%9C%EC%9D%98-%EB%8F%85%ED%8A%B9%ED%95%A8
> Estimated date: Oct 2026
> Last updated: 2026-10-30
> Korean original: https://www.cityhorror.wiki/%EC%A7%88%EB%B3%91-%EC%8B%9C-2%EB%85%84-%EC%9E%84%EA%B8%88-%EC%A7%80%EA%B8%89-%EB%84%A4%EB%8D%9C%EB%9E%80%EB%93%9C%EC%9D%98-%EB%8F%85%ED%8A%B9%ED%95%A8

## Overview

Around October 28, 2026, Justin Mares, introduced as a venture capital founder, posted on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing the Netherlands’ sick-pay system, writing that “European employment regulations are genuinely insane.” Under the system, employers must pay employees who become ill at least 70% of their wages for up to two years. The post received around five million views and sparked a debate about labor culture among users in the United States and Europe.

The two continents viewed the system differently. Europeans countered that the United States was harsh, with too few workers’ rights, while those on the other side argued that rules like this reduced hiring and prevented companies from emerging in Europe. The Dutch government’s official guidance confirms the basic framework of at least 70% of wages for two years, but some of the detailed claims made during the debate do not appear in that guidance.

## An American Founder’s Tweet

Mares wrote that if a company operates in the Netherlands and one of its employees becomes ill, it must pay that employee at least 70% of their wages for up to two years. He added that if the employee still cannot return after two years and the employer has not made sufficient efforts to support their reintegration, the employer must pay another year’s wages—and cannot dismiss the employee before that year is over. The post expressed the sentiment that “it’s hard to do business in Europe” and drew a backlash from Europeans.

Some users agreed with him. One wrote that this was one reason wages in Europe were around a third of those in the United States, while Richard Derks posted a quote-tweet saying, “The Netherlands. Every entrepreneur goes bankrupt or gets driven out.” Dutch media had also covered the same system earlier. A DPG Media article published on December 23, 2025, had a title to the effect that the Netherlands was unique in requiring two years of wage payments during sick leave.

## European Backlash and American Reactions

A theqoo post summed up the situation as an incident in which Americans and Europeans were shocked by each other. Europeans responded that “your workers have too few rights” and that “the United States is harsh.” This sentiment also appeared in specific tweets. Omne Europa criticized Americans for getting angry about workers’ rights that improve people’s lives. The post received 16,000 likes and 380,000 views. Stjepan asked, “If he gets sick in the United States, is he planning to fire him and tell him to get lost?”

There were also reactions that did not side with Mares. NomadRaider wrote that the negative reactions to the post said a lot about the American workforce, adding, “We don’t abuse programs like that; workers’ rights are good.” The post received 25,000 likes and 640,000 views. Meanwhile, others countered that the system discouraged hiring and kept companies from emerging in Europe. The debate thus pitted two positions against each other: worker protections and the burden on businesses.

## Testimony from a Dutch Resident

burck, who identified as Dutch, described local conditions, saying the situation was much worse than it appeared. He claimed that the average period of absence from work was over 250 days for stress-related cases and over 300 days for burnout-related cases. He also said that returning to work for just four weeks while on sick leave reset the two-year period, and that employers had to pay for doctors and specialists and urge employees to return; otherwise, they had to pay another year’s wages.

He wrote that it was also possible to work another job outside the hours of one’s first job while on sick leave, while the first employer continued paying 70%. He added that employers could require employees on sick leave to use vacation days, but had to pay 100% rather than 70% during that period. Asked why employers did not simply hire people on temporary contracts, he replied that temporary workers could also claim employee status, and that there were many such cases. He complained that whenever he said things like this, commenters pushed back with claims about “workers’ rights.”

Another user, Porkchop Express, pointed to the hidden costs of the system. The principle that private companies must pay sick employees for two years before dismissing them may sound like “good workers’ rights,” he said, but people fail to consider the secondary effects. These claims all came from individual tweets, and no sources were provided for the figures or examples.

## What the Dutch Government’s Guidance Says

The Dutch government portal Rijksoverheid.nl confirms the basic framework of the system. During the first year of sick leave, employees receive at least 70% of their wages, and the amount must be at least the minimum wage. They may receive more depending on their collective labor agreement or employment contract. Employees who become ill due to organ donation, pregnancy, or childbirth receive 100%. In the second year, employers must still pay at least 70%, but are not required to top it up to the minimum wage. If this causes household income to fall below the social minimum, employees can apply for a supplement from UWV, the Employee Insurance Agency.

The guidance also addresses what happens after two years. If an employee’s working hours have been reduced or their duties have changed while they were on sick leave, it recommends recording the new “normal duties” in the employment contract after two years. If the employee becomes ill again, they will receive only the wages corresponding to those normal duties. However, the guidance does not mention the third year of wage payments described by Mares, the four-week return-to-work reset claimed by burck, or the claim that employees receive 100% pay when taking vacation while on sick leave.

## Authenticity Debate

The central issue is whether requiring employers to pay sick employees for two years is simply a form of worker protection, or an excessive regulation that holds back hiring and growth.

### The Worker-Protection Position

Those on this side ask what the alternative would be. As Stjepan put it, in the United States, would an employee who gets sick simply be fired and left to fend for themselves? Moreover, a closer look at the system shows that it does not place an unlimited burden on employers. Under the government guidance, the payment is 70%, and in the second year employers do not have to top it up to the minimum wage. Mares’s own post said “up to two years,” and the additional year applies when reintegration efforts have been insufficient. One Reddit post explained that while employees do have two years of sick leave, reintegration support is generally required only during the first year.

### The “Kills Businesses” Position

Those on this side focus on the costs hidden behind the visible protections. Porkchop Express claimed that businesses end up hiring less, fail to grow, and pay lower wages because sick-leave insurance is expensive. The system makes everyone bear the cost for the sake of a small number of people who abuse it, he argued. burck’s claims as a local resident point in the same direction: average absences exceed 250 or 300 days, returning for just four weeks resets the period, and employees are allowed to take a second job while on sick leave. There is also the claim that temporary workers can still claim employee status, making that an ineffective workaround. Claims that the system also contributes to the wage gap between the United States and Europe follow the same line of reasoning.

Both sides make strong arguments, but little has been established conclusively. The government guidance confirms the two-year, 70% framework, while details such as average absence lengths, the reset rule, and temporary-contract cases rely on individual tweets. The debate has not established how much the system actually affects employment and wages.

## Trivia

- In response to the claim that wages in the United States are three times those in Europe, one X user retorted, “If you earn three times the European average and then get sick for three years, doesn’t it all even out in the end?”
- Mares’s tweet is shown as having been posted on either October 28 or 29, and the view counts differ between screenshots.

## Sources

- theqoo post, [“theqoo - Cultural Differences Between the United States and Europe Spark a Debate on Twitter”](https://theqoo.net/square/4390954733?filter_mode=normal)
- DPG Media, [“The Netherlands Is Unique in Paying Wages for Two Years During Illness”](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESuQEB6zswFXyTR-O07hzoHGXbTMq9vQOdVxxIkTlRphlzIBMOFxxC_U8bbhTXQoFUqI-VYkzQBTB4o48pZWX0yk4QO0B5uN2tmHN4zprVMV-nkyjaGeoUMC07WJexf9-Tn-l3aTlTJPNP2s1V-u10ok6eTIa2EozS-ghCNYU5Bl7NLQIYyxs_AkyycfER_fr3rKNGO7eEyBpoiyXJy4ILNepRE5DIJ_VHM9uvaKYUl71oY1vZRWtW_ip7Eg) (2025-12-23)
- Rijksoverheid.nl, [“How Much of My Wages Will Continue to Be Paid If I Am Ill?”](https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/vraag-en-antwoord/ziekteverzuim-van-het-werk/hoeveel-loon-krijg-ik-doorbetaald-als-ik-ziek-ben)
- X (formerly Twitter), [“If You Earn 3x the Average European and Then Get Sick for 3 ...”](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESbwHrOzAVn3acU3xCjhI6A8CqfWGP6ov5b5GFmGV1Sx9EO9RQk_L7rsAkqdDgewNpx6KrG61jZjC39V9pHLiswFK-rFSXRDZkGmVI73i1a43BEhfghqNb7A2_AyAf2EaaTHvWJy2cDkkXyE_lzP-iDg) (2026-10-29)
- X (formerly Twitter), [“Richard Derks on X: ‘The Netherlands. Every entrepreneur goes bankrupt or gets driven out.’”](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScwHrOzAVQQUJvrPEjVZg8qkSs4eBYbg-Kjxmu0sIVboYhfno0b2_DAQFHydwdDs0IFXg-bZGneUr34PfaWk7dGifmdFRXgNcL7Y4MSBD0hBLPIKyExA1nSShFjCZXzxamA20Jga3JBE-uwaWZ_bDrCQ8ToY) (2026-10-28)
- Reddit r/insanepeoplefacebook, [“Americans When You Can’t Fire an Employee for Getting Cancer”](https://www.reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook/comments/1xihzie/americans_when_you_cant_fire_an_employee_for/)

## Verified facts

- American user Justin Mares (@jwmares) posted on X that “European employment regulations are genuinely insane.” He said that if an employee in the Netherlands becomes ill, the employer must pay at least 70% of their wages for up to two years. This is confirmed by the TheQoo post and several captures of X posts (including posts quoting the tweet by beeeemooooo and Richard Derks).
- According to guidance from the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid), employees receive at least 70% of their wages during the first year of sick leave, and this amount must be at least the minimum wage. In the second year, the employer must still pay at least 70%, but is not required to top it up to the minimum wage. This is consistent with Mares’s claim that employers pay “at least 70%” for “up to two years.”
- Reactions to the tweet were divided. In the tweets captured in the TheQoo post and Richard Derks’s quote post, some European users defended workers’ rights and criticized the United States. Others, by contrast, argued that such a system prevents companies from hiring and growing.
- X posts quoting Mares’s tweet linked the regulation to the burden on European companies or to low wages. Augustus Stanley called it “one of the reasons European wages are 1/3 of US wages,” while Richard Derks said “Dutch entrepreneurs go bankrupt or leave.”
- A Reddit post (r/insanepeoplefacebook) said that employees in the Netherlands can take two years of sick leave, and that support for returning to work (reintegration) is primarily required in the first year, while other arrangements may be possible in the second year. Only a brief excerpt is available from this source.
- Mares claimed that if an employee still cannot return after two years and the employer has not made sufficient efforts to support their reintegration, the employer must pay wages for one more year and cannot dismiss the employee during that time. This is fully stated only in the full text captured in the TheQoo post. Two X captures are cut off after “sufficiently…”. (Confirmed only by this source)
- An article dated December 23, 2025, from a Dutch newspaper group outlet (DPG Media) stated in its headline that the Netherlands’ policy of paying wages during two years of sick leave is unusual. The article body could not be accessed, so only the headline is confirmed. (Confirmed only by this source)

## Points of dispute

- The tweet’s date is shown as October 29, 2026, in the capture in the TheQoo post, and as October 28 in captures of X quote posts. The difference appears to be due to time zones; the month is the same.
- Mares and his critics view the system as placing an excessive burden on employers and discouraging hiring. Some European responses view it as protecting workers’ rights and argue that the United States is harsh. Neither position can be verified from these sources alone.
- Dutch user burck (@burckmeister), whose post is captured in the TheQoo post, claimed that average stress-related absences last more than 250 days and that returning to work for four weeks while on sick leave resets the two-year period. This information does not appear in the government guidance and is unverified.