Only for employees
Reorganization at the UWV
Is the reorganization affecting your role at the UWV, or is there a departure proposal on the table?
This page explains your position under Dutch employment law, which applies to everyone working in the Netherlands, including highly skilled migrants and international staff. The UWV pays out employee insurance benefits, such as unemployment (WW) and disability (WIA) benefit, and, on behalf of the government, tests requests for dismissal on economic grounds. If you work at the UWV yourself and a reorganization affects your role, you are in an unusual situation: the body that normally assesses such matters is then your own employer. No major round of dismissals has been announced at present, but the UWV has started a broad reorganization of its organization. Precisely because the usual outside party here is your employer, it pays to have your own position assessed independently.
Does this apply to you?
- Your role is changing through the reorganization at the UWV
- Your team or division is being restructured or merged
- You are declared redundant or enter a Work-to-Work track
- You work in a scarce role and want to know your position
- There is a departure proposal or a settlement agreement
Why employees come to ReorgLegal
ReorgLegal specializes in reorganizations and works exclusively for employees, never for employers. We assess your proposal and stand beside you.
Do not wait too long. Reorganizations often come with short response deadlines. Have a proposal assessed before you agree to it.
The situation at the UWV
At the UWV it is not about shrinking but about change. The organization is reshuffling itself, while demand for many of its services is actually rising.
A reorganization, not a round of dismissals
The UWV has started a broad reorganization of its organization, in phases, to arrange its services differently. That is not the same as an announced round of dismissals. Even so, roles may change, teams may be merged and ways of working may shift, and that can affect you personally.
More work, not less
At the same time, demand for the UWV's work is growing: more benefits and more reorganizations in the business world mean more assessments and support. For some roles there is a shortage rather than a surplus. What the change means for your role therefore differs per unit.
A reorganization often unfolds in phases. This page dates from July 2026; the approach may still change after that.
In brief
- The UWV is an independent administrative body under the Ministry of SZW
- Your employer is the UWV itself, not the ministry
- More than 22,000 staff, spread across the country
- A broad reorganization is running in phases
- The UWV has its own collective agreement and social plan
- For some roles there is actually a large shortage
Your employer is also the assessor
What makes your situation unique is the UWV's dual role. Normally the UWV is the outside party that tests a dismissal on economic grounds; for you, that same organization is the employer.
On both sides of the same system
If an employer wants to dismiss someone on economic grounds, it applies to the UWV for permission. If you become redundant at the UWV yourself, the body that assesses such an application is at the same time your employer. The roles are formally separated, but this situation makes an independent view of your own position all the more valuable.
Why that matters for you
An independent assessment shows whether the case for your redundancy holds up, whether the reflection principle was correctly applied and whether the offer you receive is reasonable. That is exactly what you would expect from an outside party, and it is something you can arrange for yourself here.
Do you want your position looked at independently? Have it assessed.
Find this out
- Whether your role is eliminated, changed or relocated
- How the redundancy has been substantiated
- Whether the reflection principle was correctly applied
- What your social plan and the Work-to-Work track offer
- Whether an offered arrangement is reasonable
The UWV's own collective agreement and social plan
Unlike central-government civil servants at a ministry, you fall under a collective agreement of the UWV itself, with its own social plan. That helps determine what applies to you in a reorganization.
The CAO UWV
Your terms of employment are set out in the CAO UWV, which the UWV concludes with the unions. That agreement is separate from the CAO Rijk, so your terms and arrangements may differ from those at a ministry. Knowing which arrangements apply to your role is the starting point.
Social plan and Work-to-Work
If a social plan applies to the reorganization, it usually sets out arrangements on support towards other work, a Work-to-Work track and provisions on departure. Whether a social plan applies depends on the arrangements made for this reorganization and on its term. So ask whether a social plan applies, which version it is and until when it runs.
Is it unclear which social plan applies to you? Have it clarified.
What often plays a role at the UWV
- Its own CAO UWV, separate from the CAO Rijk
- Its own social plan with a Work-to-Work track
- Scarce roles, such as insurance physicians, stand stronger
- Roles change more often than they disappear
- The works council advises on the change
How a reorganization at the UWV unfolds
At an independent administrative body too, a dismissal on economic grounds goes through fixed steps. Each of those steps deserves a check.
Justification and advice
As the employer, the UWV must make it plausible that your role is disappearing and put the intention to the works council. That power of the council derives from the Works Councils Act. If it concerns many roles at once, the rules on collective redundancy may come into view; they only require notification and consultation with the unions once the statutory conditions and threshold are met.
Selection and the reflection principle
The UWV does not decide at its own discretion who becomes redundant. Where roles are interchangeable, the reflection principle essentially determines the order, subject to the statutory exceptions. The unit on which the reflection is applied follows from the organizational structure and the Dismissal Regulation; at an organization with several divisions, that is a point of attention in itself.
Reassignment and the social plan
Before dismissal is at issue, it must be examined whether there is a suitable role for you, if necessary after training and within a reasonable period. What matters is whether those other positions belong to the company or group for which your employer has a reassignment obligation under Article 7:669 of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dismissal Regulation. In addition, the UWV's social plan may provide extra support through a Work-to-Work track.
At each step there is something to do
- Ask whether your role disappears or only changes
- Keep your employment contract, payslips and the proposal together
- Have someone check how the reflection was carried out
- Ask what the Work-to-Work track specifically offers you
- Do not decide finally before your position is assessed
What does this mean for you?
A reorganization at the UWV follows the statutory rules for economic dismissal, supplemented by its own collective agreement and social plan. On each of those points you can have more checked than you would think.
An independent view
Because your employer here is also the body that tests such matters, an independent assessment of your own position is all the more valuable. We check whether the justification, the selection and the offer hold up.
A selection that can be checked
Within interchangeable roles, the reflection principle essentially determines who becomes redundant, subject to the statutory exceptions. Which unit applies depends on how the UWV is divided into divisions and teams, and that can set your place.
Your compensation
If your employment ends on the UWV's initiative and reassignment is not possible, there is in principle a right to the statutory transition payment, unless a statutory exception applies. If the social plan offers an additional or different provision, that is generally on top of it.
The settlement agreement
If your departure is arranged by mutual consent, you set it down in a settlement agreement. It records, among other things, your end date, your compensation and the mutual discharge. The wording helps determine whether you keep your unemployment benefit, so have the document checked.
What you can do now
If the reorganization at the UWV affects your role, map out your position before you agree to a change or a departure. Those who know early where they stand can choose more calmly.
- Find out whether your role disappears, changes or moves to another unit
- Collect your employment contract, recent payslips and the offer
- Have the reflection checked if redundancy threatens
- Ask which social plan applies and what the Work-to-Work track offers
- If you work in a scarce role, factor in that you may stand stronger
- With many roles affected, check whether collective redundancy is at issue
- Have a settlement agreement checked before you put your name to it
Have you received a change of role, a proposal or a settlement agreement? Put it to us before you sign.
When should you involve us?
- The UWV offers you another role or a departure
- Your team or division is being eliminated or merged
- You want an independent check of your redundancy
- You doubt whether the compensation or the offer is correct
- Your response deadline is running and you first want to know where you stand
Frequently asked questions
These are questions UWV employees put to us in practice.
Do you have an offer for another role or a settlement agreement from the UWV? Have us review it.
Will the UWV assess my own dismissal?
If the UWV wants to dismiss you on economic grounds, that runs through a dismissal application which the UWV assesses. Employer and assessor are then the same organization, with formally separated roles. That is precisely why an independent assessment of your position is wise.
Will I be forcibly dismissed through the reorganization?
The change is first of all a restructuring, not an announced round of dismissals. If your role changes or disappears, the ordinary rules apply, with reassignment and a Work-to-Work track as the first step. Forced dismissal is not the first route, but it is not ruled out.
I am an insurance physician. Do I stand stronger in a reorganization?
For some roles, such as insurance physicians and labour experts, there is a shortage. That makes forced dismissal less likely and the chance of reassignment greater. It is never certain, so have your own situation assessed as soon as something changes.
I fall under the CAO UWV and not the CAO Rijk. What does that mean?
The UWV has its own collective agreement and its own social plan. Your terms and your rights in a reorganization may therefore differ from those at a ministry. Ask which arrangements apply to you and have them explained if needed.
Received a settlement agreement? Get a free review.
Upload your agreement and we will assess your situation, free and without obligation. On business days we respond within 1 hour. Your legal fees are usually covered by your employer.
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