Viva Amsterdam!

Okay, non-Dutch cancer patients. Prepare to be jealous.

I had my arbo doctor appointment this morning.

A few weeks ago, a letter arrived in the post, written in Dutch, requesting that I meet with the arbo doctor and notify my company if I cannot attend. Then a woman from Human Resources called me to ask if I received the letter. I asked her what it was all about, because we have nothing like this in the States.

Apparently, by law, all employees who are absent from work for more than 5 days meet with an arbo doctor. I didn't need to bring or prepare anything for the meeting, and Human Resources insisted that I take a taxi to the meeting and back.

I asked a long term resident about the arbo doctor and she said not to worry; the company is absolutely not checking up on me. In fact, the arbo doctor will typically take sides with the patient over the company. They are there to ensure that the employee is not overworked during his/her illness and to ease the transition back to work. Sometimes they insist, for example, that an employee on maternity leave only work half-days for the first week they are back in the office.

The arbo doctor asked me a few questions about my diagnosis, treatment, and its side effects. He also explained that I could not legally lose my job for up to two years. The first year, I would continue to receive 100% of my salary. The second year, I would receive 70%. The doctor showed me the form he was completing to send to my company, which legally could not mention my diagnosis or specific side effects; mostly it just stated that I had been working approximately 20 hours a week due to problems with fatigue and concentration, resulting from my treatment. He was careful to tell me that stating this number in the letter was by no means binding me to work 20 hours a week. Also as required by law, we will continue to meet every 6 weeks by telephone or email throughout my treatment.

Wow. While I've never been sick for more than 5 days in the U.S., I'm pretty sure that's not how it works there. My former company combined sick and vacation days, and we had 20 days in total. I know I had short-term and long-term disability benefits, but I never bothered to look at the fine print, so I have no idea whether it is anywhere near as simple or comprehensive as the Dutch system.

My cousin just sent me a link to an article in the New York Times that goes on quite a bit about the 52% tax rate in the Netherlands. The article mentions some of the benefits citizens get as a result, but not this one. I am feeling truly thankful that I am here at this moment...and also a little bit guilty, as I don't even pay the 52% tax rate. As an expat, I get a big tax break called the 30% ruling, which means that I don't get taxed on the first 30% of my income. Oh well: one doesn't turn down free money!