Potentially complicated situation with Work Permit

Hi again.

I know what would happen if this was a normal situation, but it's not.  In a normal situation, there is sick pay protection for up to 2 years on a minimum of 70% salary, after that, in a normal situation, as long as your employer has met his legal requirements, then your contract would be null and void.

Dutch citizens would then fall to the social services for help.  If you as a 3rd country national can still not work and so became a burden of the social services, they could send you back to where you came from, so that's the worse case scenario, but who knows, perhaps they are thinking of doing something else for Covid victims.  I've not heard if they have or are doing something.

As I said, this is far from normal.  I don't think the relationship of your salary to your HSM visa will matter because your salary will still be your salary, it's just that extraordinary circumstances have reduced how much you are entitled to be paid of that salary.  I'd suggest you speak to your doctor and your employer and try to work out a way ahead that would either keep you in some kind of employment, or enable you to return home to your family in Australia.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thanks very much.

You make a good point actually. My salary is indeed still my salary. It's just that after 1 year of being ill I'm only entitled to be paid 70% of it, but my "official salary" is unchanged.

After I had that viral infection last week I used to get this feeling of doom. Unfortunately that feeling turned out to be correct as I'm much worse 1 year later from what I initially thought was just a upper respiratory infection.

Hi again.

Sorry about your health; assuming you were actually diagnosed as having Covid; there is something called "Long Covid" which you may want to discuss with your doctor.  This link will take you to a web-page in our UK NHS domain that explains the symptoms.  If it fits, perhaps mention it to your GP.

Cynic
Expat Team