Have you wrongfully demanded thousands of euros back? UWV reassesses more than 500 cases | RTL News

If Pascal started training or a part-time job, this could influence the amount of his Wajong benefit – which he receives due to a psychological disability. That is why he passed on those changes to his work coach at the UWV, who called twice a year. With this, he and his parents thought that things were well arranged, but that turned out not to be the case.

They did not have the UWV on the phone, but the UWV work company. “The different departments worked at cross purposes,” says father Richard. As a result, the changes in his salary were never communicated and Pascal had received too much money unsolicited for three years, the UWV calculated. He therefore had to repay almost 15,000 euros. With the help of a legal advisor, Richard filed an objection with the UWV. In vain, the UWV maintained its position.

The dispute was fought all the way to court. Initially, the court ruled in favor of the UWV, but more than a week ago the Central Appeals Board (CRvB) provisionally ruled out the claim in the appeal more than a week ago and ruled that the benefits agency was acting too rigorously. According to the judges, the UWV pays too little attention to its own actions and the financial, social and psychological consequences thereof for those involved.

And that has to change. The UWV has been given six weeks to make a new decision on the case, taking into account its own mistakes. “If they have made mistakes, this may be a reason to refrain from full or partial recovery,” the judges said.

Perform retroactively

The possible errors of the UWV extend beyond Pascal alone. And that’s why the agency has decided to review hundreds of similar cases. “In ongoing objection and appeal cases, we will see whether the ruling gives reason to make a different decision,” says spokesperson Max Schouten. According to him, this concerns ‘more than five hundred’ cases that are ongoing internally at the UWV. That is an estimate, exact numbers cannot be stated.

According to Schouten, the cases were deliberately postponed pending the judge’s decision. If more people come forward, older cases can also be reassessed, he says.

Refund, unless

Anyone who receives too high a benefit from the UWV, such as unemployment benefit, WIA and therefore Wajong benefit, must repay it according to the law, unless there is an urgent reason to refrain from doing so. “Most social insurance laws include such a provision,” says Pascal Besselink, employment law lawyer at DAS. Until now, the law was strictly applied and as a benefit recipient you had little chance of receiving an exception. The excess amount was reclaimed almost as standard.

“Even when the cause of this is an error by UWV,” according to the agency itself. But within the current social context, in which views on government action and the position of the citizen have ‘dramatically’ changed, the exception to the rule must be interpreted more broadly, the CRvB now says.

Benefit agencies such as the UWV must therefore also look into the causes of the fact that too much was paid out. And in particular to one’s own actions. And this applies not only to mistakes made regarding the Wajong benefit, such as Pascal’s, but to all (future) decisions that UWV makes in which a benefit in connection with disability or unemployment is reclaimed. And so, for example, the WW or the WIA.

‘Consequences could be major’

“The consequences of the ruling could be very serious,” says Besselink. In addition to the UWV, the ruling is also important for other payers. The reclaiming of excess benefits is also seen, for example, in the case of social assistance benefits provided by the municipality or via the Social Insurance Bank, such as the AOW and child benefit. “You also regularly see clawback decisions in pension matters,” said the lawyer.

There is work to be done for benefit agencies, the lawyer says. Pascal’s ruling does not give people a firm right to a refund, or the right to reopen a case that has already been closed, but it may give reason to reconsider the case. “It will certainly lead to broader situations in which recoveries have to be (partly) reversed.”

“We hope with this statement that there will be more customization in all matters, that more attention will be paid to the person behind the story,” says Richard, Pascal’s father. “And of course we also hope that the UWV will take a lenient look at Pascal’s case. Pascal has repaid systematically and to the best of his ability in recent years and I hope that the rest will be waived, so that he can continue with a clean slate.”

‘Case by case’

If requested, the UWV will also re-examine completed cases if necessary, says Schouten. According to him, the outcome will have to be viewed on a case-by-case basis. “It is not the case that there are suddenly thousands of complainants at the door, but in theory more people can report,” said the spokesperson, who emphasizes that his agency is particularly happy with the ruling.

It makes room for leniency that was hardly available before and that is to the benefit of the benefit recipient. According to the spokesperson, we are working ‘continuously’ on better services, with an eye for the human dimension. “UWV always tries to prevent mistakes, but unfortunately that is not always possible.”

Call

Did you – like Pascal – also receive too high a Wajong benefit that now has to be repaid, even though you reported training or part-time jobs? Then we would like to hear from you: email the editors.