AOb: 'Third year of illness for educational staff with lung covid'
People in education who suffer from long-term covid must get a postponement of the WIA examination - the examination for incapacity for work. That writes the AOb in a letter to all education employers.
Image: Pixabay
Education staff, just like healthcare staff, have been at the forefront during corona to keep society going. Unfortunately at the risk of your own health, writes the AOb in a letter to employers, because some teachers and supporters contracted long-term covid. It long covid hotline of AOb and FNV Education & Research has now received more than 1100 responses. The AOb is also organizing a webinar about lung covid.
For the people who became ill at the beginning of the epidemic and now suffer from lung covid, the WIA application - the examination for incapacity for work - is in sight. And that's too early, don't you think? AOb-chairman Tamar van Gelder. "Way too early. Because 'long-term covid' is a new condition about which too little is known at the moment. What is the prognosis? What treatment methods are there, or can still be developed? There is still too much unclear to decide who is or is not incapacitated for work.”
An extra year to reintegrate again, without the sword of Damocles of the WIA test hanging over your head
Therefore, the AOb now in a letter an appeal to all education employers in the Netherlands: give people who have just had a long-term covid a third year of illness. Van Gelder: “An extra year to reintegrate, without having to face the sword of Damocles from the WIA inspection. A year to get better, to pick up life again and get back to work meaningfully.”
Initiating such a third year of illness is not difficult, according to the union. The law offers the possibility to postpone the WIA application in joint consultation between employer and employee. The space is already there: it mainly requires goodwill.
Compensated
And money, because employers have to continue paying people for a year longer. There is also a solution for that, says AObChairman Van Gelder: “Employers in care are already being compensated for keeping their people with long-term covid in service for longer. We believe that a similar arrangement should be made for education.”
Financial
Furthermore, employers should be lenient with their employees' loss of income - the salary reduction of often 30 percent after the first year of illness - and with the financial-medical damage such as extra physiotherapy on the costs of the deductible. Many collective agreements contain minimum provisions: it is then legally possible to deviate from this in favor of the employee.
Furthermore, employers should make an effort to have employees take out supplementary disability insurance.
Drama
“We say to employers and the cabinet: meet people with long-term covid as much as possible,” says Van Gelder. “In the interest of the teachers and support staff themselves, because incapacity for work is a personal drama. And in the interest of education, because the staff shortage is already big enough.”
De AOb organizes a free on Thursday 7 April from 19.30 pm to 21.00 pm webinar about lung covid† There is a general area, accessible to everyone. In front of AObmembers, there will be a session on the employment law consequences of long covid: the rules for absenteeism, salary and imminent incapacity for work.
