Education leader in effect of lung covid on WIA applications
In education, long covid had the greatest effect on long-term sick leave of employees last year. With a share of 7,7 percent in the number of WIA applications, the impact of corona on the education sector was significant. With this percentage, education is ahead of healthcare.
According to the UWV benefits agency, care and education stand out when it comes to the effects of lung covid on disability. That appears from the report 'Post-covid syndrome in WIA applications in 2022' by the UWV. The figures were published today. The AOb wants financial compensation for employees who suffer from lung covid.
New cause
In the report, the researchers took a closer look at the differences between the industries and zoomed in on WIA applications as a result of lung covid. This concerns employees who can no longer perform their work or only partly due to long-term corona complaints such as shortness of breath, concentration problems and fatigue. These employees ultimately submit a WIA application if they have been ill for two years. 'The coronavirus has led to a new cause of WIA applications', the UWV researchers write in the report.
These are employees who can no longer perform their work
On average in the Netherlands, long covid accounted for a share of just over 4 percent of the total share of WIA applications. Last year it went from 63.790 WIA applications to 2610 people with lung covid. This share is considerably higher in education at 7,7 percent.
The fact that education is at the top of the share of WIA applications due to lung covid does not mean that healthcare was less affected by corona. The risk was considerably higher in this sector at 0,93 percent versus 0,56 percent in education. 'Although the risk of lung covid is smaller in the education sector than in care & welfare, the share of lung covid in WIA applications is actually much higher,' the researchers write. 'That's because the total WIA risk in education is much smaller than in care & welfare.'
Underestimation
Researcher Carla van Deursen of the UWV says that the numbers could be even higher than now included in the report. This is partly due to backlogs in the processing of WIA applications at the UWV. “The figures are underestimated,” says Van Deursen. In addition, the researchers could not link 22 percent of the total number of WIA applications to a diagnosis. “That is quite a large share.” So in education, but also in all other industries, more WIA applications may have been made due to lung covid.
The figures are underestimated
These figures do suggest that teaching staff had to work in a 'more dangerous environment' and were therefore more often infected with corona. “That is the only logical explanation for the high share,” says Van Deursen. “Although you can never say this with 100 percent certainty.”
Financial compensation
De AOb wants financial compensation for employees who suffer from long covid. “It concerns hundreds of colleagues. There is still no safety net for these people,” says AObdirector Douwe van der Zweep. “They did stick their necks out, especially staff in basic education ran a lot more risk in the first wave.”
This concerns hundreds of colleagues. There is still no safety net for these people. They stuck their necks out
Insurance
De AOb has been arguing for financial compensation for some time. “An affordable insurance has been developed that offers income protection for employees who fall ill. The people who have already been rejected with lung covid can also fall under this. We have already been able to make agreements about that.” Still, it's not resolved yet. “The minister and the employers now want the bill don't pick up. But this problem is not going away. We keep coming back to this.”
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