Teachers more often sick at home for long periods
In 2016 and 2017, teachers more often ended up sick at home for a long time on wia benefit. This is evident from figures and research by the benefits agency UWV that was recently sent to the Lower House.
Picture: Type tank
The UWV benefits agency keeps track of how many people enter the wia, the Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act. This benefit is intended for people who have been ill for two years or more.
In 2015, more than 1200 education employees received this benefit from education. The following year, it concerned almost 1500 disabled people. An increase of 22 percent. Last year, 1592 new education employees received wia benefits. Again an increase, but at 6,6 percent a smaller increase than in 2016.
Total
The total inflow into the wia benefit increased in 2016 compared to the previous year by 12 percent. In total, more than 2016 thousand people became incapacitated for work in 40. According to the UWV, this was the largest increase since 2010. In the report that was published last week, the UWV went into more detail about this unexpected increase. “It was completely unexpected that the influx of the wia increased in 2016,” says Ed Berendsen, employee of the UWV and involved in the investigation.
Groups
Berendsen explains that the UWV looks at three groups when it comes to wia benefit. These are employees with a permanent contract, people who are on the unemployment benefit law and people who enter from a flexible job. In 2016, the increase was mainly in the first two groups.
When it comes to sick employees with a permanent contract, the UWV looks at two factors: how large is the size of the group of people and what is the chance of becoming incapacitated for work. "If the inflow probability increases, under the same circumstances, two years later it will also lead to a proportionally equal increase in the influx of sick employees," the UWV said in the report.
Young people
Education is one of the sectors where the chances of employees ending up at home increased significantly. In 2016, the intake probability rose by 26 percent. In 2017, this is an 8 percent increase in the intake probability. In his letter to the House of Representatives, Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs writes that in addition to the usual increase among employees aged 60-65, in the education sector there is also younger employees in this sector.
Researcher Berendsen also confirms this: “You can see that the entire curve of the education sector has risen in all age categories. Young people also end up in the wia relatively more often as a result. ” In the report, the UWV writes that the increase in 2016 is mainly due to psychological diseases. 'If we look at the syndromes, we mainly see an increase in the share of employees with mental illnesses in 2016. They represent more than 70 percent of the increase in 2016 ', according to the UWV. The picture is confirmed by the UWV in the National Labor Conditions Survey.
It is impossible to say why stress-related illnesses lead to an increase in the probability of entry in 2016. 'We note that stress-related illnesses are often associated with reorganisations and / or increasing work pressure. But it is unclear why this will lead to an increase in the intake probability in 2016. After all, complaints about the workload in education have been around for years. '
