Some 1,200 people accidentally got double welfare benefits

In 2019 and last year, benefits agency UWV accidentally paid too high benefits to about 1,200 people. This came up in a sample check. The recipients do not have to repay the money received in excess, the UWV reported.

This concerns people who got concurrent unemployment (WW) and sick leave (ZW) or maternity leave (WAZO) benefits. The ZW or WAZO benefit should be deducted from the unemployment benefit. Investigation showed that this did not happen for approximately 1,200 people in 2020.

If it is "reasonably clear" to someone that the benefit they received was too high, the UWV would normally reclaim the excess amount received. "Because the concurrence of different benefits can be complex, this is difficult to determine here," the UWV wrote. 

It also emerged that some people who reported the excess payment did not receive and adequate response. "These people can therefore not be blamed for this," according to the UWV. "In addition, the impact on clients can be significant due to tax consequences and the possible consequences for the healthcare and housing benefit. The period in which too high benefits were received is also one or two years in the past. For these reasons, the UWV decided not to collect a repayment."