The waiting time for a WIA inspection at the UWV can be up to a year or longer in Central and East Brabant. This is evident from research by AD and EenVandaag. Due to a shortage of insurance doctors at the UWV office in Den Bosch, waiting times in this region are much longer than in other places in the country.
The WIA (Capacity for Work Income Act) is for people who have been ill for more than two years and can no longer work partially or completely. From a letter from the UWV office in Den Bosch, which is owned by AD and EenVandaagit appears that it can take an average of twelve months before a decision on the WIA application is made.
Formally, an assessment must take place within eight weeks, but that period has already been doubled with the permission of the minister. The UWV communicated at the beginning of this year that it tries to respond within sixteen weeks, but that a waiting period of six months is not unusual. That period has increased even further in Central and East Brabant.
Shortage of doctors
Waiting times in this region are a lot longer than in other places in the country, due to a very serious shortage of insurance doctors. Moreover, the influx in Central and East Brabant is higher. It is not immediately possible to explain how this is possible, according to a spokesperson for the UWV.
However, it does not stop at the outlier in Brabant. According to the research by AD and EenVandaag waiting times in Groningen and Leeuwarden have now increased from a year to even fifteen months.
As long as an application has not been approved, an employee who has dropped out will receive an advance payment. This does not have to be repaid if the application is rejected.
Measures
To limit waiting times, the authority decided that objections will only be dealt with to a very limited extent this year. The same applies to people who request a reassessment, for example because the complaints have become worse. Only people in financial difficulties are re-examined. This is to have more insurance doctors available for the WIA assessment.
However, according to the UWV, people who are now waiting for an assessment will not notice much of the prioritization in the short term. According to the agency, additional measures are also needed in the system to cope with the growing number of applications. In addition, according to a spokesperson, the UWV itself must also do something to better organize the regional centers.