Leiden University strives to provide a safe and healthy working environment for all its employees. On this page, you'll find information about what to do in case of illness, pregnancy, functional limitations, and mental well-being, as well as the support available to you.

Lecture, Food for Thought

Are you an international researcher working for Leiden University? Please note that you probably are legally obliged to take out health insurance. Here you will find if you need a public or a private health insurance, and how to apply for it.

If you wish, you can take part in the collective health insurance scheme offered by Leiden University and Zorg en Zekerheid. This scheme offers a collective discount, for you and your family.

Knowledge Festival

How can the people of Leiden age as well as possible? And what is needed to reduce health disparities? That is the mission of Leiden Healthy Society Center, a new partnership between the Municipality of Leiden, Leiden University and many other partners in the city.

Leiden University is committed to creating a pleasant working environment for its staff. It may nevertheless happen that you find yourself unable to work due to a temporary or long-term illness or disability. The university occupational health physician can help you reduce health risks and give you…

Leiden University is committed to creating a pleasant working environment for its staff. It may nevertheless happen that you find yourself unable to work due to a temporary or long-term illness or disability. The university occupational health physicians can help you reduce health risks and give you…

The most common problem areas PhD students face are listed below, as well as how one can begin to fix these problems.

At many university locations the health, safety and environment tasks are coordinated by the General Services Department (UFB). The Faculty of Sciene has its own HSE-service. You can contact your health and safety coordinator (HSE coordinator) for advice and information on working conditions. In most…

The University does its best to create a pleasant work environment. It may nevertheless happen that you are unable to work due to a short-term or long-term illness or disability. The occupational health physicians will help you reduce health risks and advise you through your recovery and return to w…

A healthy and happy society. This is what researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences are working towards, together with a selection of partners from different disciplines and regions. To further structure research about Health and Well-being, the faculty has identified three focus area’s. Researchers…

Can kindness training increase political tolerance? And how can we better support children with selective mutism? During the Health@FSW knowledge market and exchange event on 26 May 2025, researchers from all five institutes showcased how their work aligns with the faculty’s research strategy and contributes…

Dr. Anke Klein, head of the Knowledge Center for Anxiety and Stress in Youth (KAS) and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, has been appointed as faculty lead of the Leiden Healthy Society Center (LHSC) on behalf of Leiden University.

The city of Leiden is enriched by a dense infrastructure of knowledge institutes, with a uniquely strong focus on health and well-being. This gives Leiden "an extremely good starting position to become the healthiest city in the Netherlands," according to Fleur Spijker (Alderman for Economy, Knowledge,…

As coordinator and lead promoter respectively of the Leiden Healthy Society Center, psychologists Sandra van Dijk and Anke Klein use interdisciplinary collaboration to resolve the major health problems of the present day. How are they going to do that in the coming period?

The ‘Engagement with Society’ ambition is closely linked to the ‘Employability Enhancement’ and ‘Skills’ ambitions. Introducing students to social issues often gives them immediate insight into the job market they will enter. And working on social issues gives them the opportunity to develop skills…

Should we ban snack bars from neighbourhoods where residents are overweight or have diabetes? At the Common Sense about Health knowledge festival, scientists, civil servants and other professionals discussed how South Holland can become healthier. The Healthy Society Map makes it clear where there are…

Since 2023, Andrea Evers has been the lead for “Health and well-being in a healthy society”, a key theme at FSW and one of the profile areas of the University as a whole. Three new FSW health research themes will shortly be announced at the Faculty’s Health Research Event, where the FSW’s researchers…

It appears from a study conducted by Independer and Q&A Research that at least one in five Dutch people think you can be refused basic health insurance if you have health problems.

The moving boxes are unpacked, the floors are gleaming, and the workshop rooms look fresh and inviting. On Monday 16 June, the renovated Lorentz Center will be officially reopened by dean Jasper Knoester and rector Hester Bijl. Director Roeland Merks: ‘There’s a new energy running through our centre…

In memory of Andrea Evers, Professor of Health Psychology, the Prof. Andrea Evers Fund for Health, Behaviour and Society has been established. With this fund, we aim to honour her deepest wish: to continue research that contributes to health, well-being, and a resilient society.

Better health for all the residents of The Hague region. This is the mission of Health Campus The Hague – formerly LUMC Campus The Hague. Eight partners – the LUMC, Leiden University, the municipality of The Hague and five healthcare institutions (see box) – are collaborating intensively in healthcare…

The Minister has requested urgent advice from Sombroek-van Doorm in relation to the vaccination of children aged between 5 and 12 years against COVID-19.

Mirjam Sombroek, Aart Hendriks and Martine de Vries (LUMC) will work on mapping the ethical and legal aspects of gene therapy. The aim is to establish a best practice of how society can best deal with these therapies. For example with guidelines on how to regulate, reimburse and make these therapies…

Roeland Merks is the new director of the Lorentz Center as of 1 September. He has been appointed for a period of five years. In addition, Merks will remain associated with the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Mathematical Institute (MI) as a professor. Merks succeeds Arjen Doelman, who has…

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

Lecture, Economic and Social History Brown Bag Seminar

How do social science disciplines collaborate in the field of health and well-being? How do we collaborate within our Faculty? And how do we collaborate with our societal partners in Leiden? These are topics that really resonate with many of our researchers, as was clear at the Food for Thought FSW…

Associate Professor Mirjam Sombroek has been asked for advice on account of her expertise in the area of health law and children’s rights.