Benefits agency UWV cancels over 700 fines for unlawful investigation methods

The UWV benefits agency is reversing 703 penalties that were imposed based on unlawfully obtained data. These are penalties imposed by the organization based on a controversial 'risk scan' to detect unemployment benefit fraud by people residing abroad. This system itself was shut down in February. The Authority for Personal Data (AP) found, among other things, that this method did not comply with European data protection regulations.

The 'risk scan for residences outside the Netherlands' consisted of an algorithm to identify people with unemployment benefits who were abroad because to be entitled to such benefits, you must in principle live in the Netherlands. But the UWV went way too far. For example, the service collected data on IP addresses and the location where people had logged in, in a way that is prohibited by law, as the UWV confirmed in July following a report by NOS. Visitors to the UWV websites were also unaware that they were being tracked.

The UWV must now reverse hundreds of fines, as all cases of benefit fraud must be treated equally. There was one group whose case had already been closed and who had received a penalty, but there was also a group whose case had not yet been closed at the time the UWV discontinued the prosecution. To comply with this principle of equal treatment, all decisions based on the prohibited risk scan were reversed.

In addition to repaying fines, the UWV can also restore suspended benefits. Furthermore, warnings are also reversed by the benefits agency. The decision was taken on the advice of UWV’s own lawyers, the law firm Pels Rijcken, and the AP.

The AP says it will ensure that the UWV takes remedial action. The Data Protection Authority also requires the benefits agency to report on this regularly.

The UWV is currently examining the possibility of using legally approved "enforcement instruments" that signal when a beneficiary is abroad without permission. According to a spokesperson, this does not necessarily have to be a new risk scan.