diff --git a/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.spec.ts b/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.spec.ts
index 9799845..202953b 100644
--- a/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.spec.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { of, throwError } from 'rxjs';
 import { BffApiV1Service, type WerkbakItem } from 'api-client';
 import { AuthService } from 'auth';
 import { axe } from 'vitest-axe';
-import { WerkbakPage } from './werkbak-page';
+import { WERKBAK_REFRESH_MS, WerkbakPage } from './werkbak-page';
 
 const sample: WerkbakItem[] = [
   { registrationId: 'reg-1', bsn: '123456782', status: 'InBehandeling' },
@@ -81,6 +81,70 @@ describe('WerkbakPage', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('picks up a newly submitted registration without a reload', async () => {
+    // S-26 (#162): a registration reaches Beoordelen asynchronously, after the citizen supplies
+    // documents — so the werkbak must refresh itself rather than wait for the behandelaar to reload.
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    try {
+      const getBehandelWerkbak = vi
+        .fn()
+        .mockReturnValueOnce(of([sample[0]]))
+        .mockReturnValue(of(sample));
+      const { providers } = setup({ getBehandelWerkbak });
+      const { detectChanges } = await render(WerkbakPage, { providers });
+
+      expect(screen.getByText('reg-1')).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(screen.queryByText('reg-2')).toBeNull();
+
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(WERKBAK_REFRESH_MS);
+      detectChanges();
+
+      expect(getBehandelWerkbak).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+      expect(screen.getByText('reg-2')).toBeTruthy();
+      // A background refresh must not flash the loading state over the rows the behandelaar is reading.
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/bezig met laden/i)).toBeNull();
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the rows on screen when a background refresh fails', async () => {
+    // A blip on a background poll must not replace the list with the load-failure alert; the next
+    // tick recovers. Only the first load speaks for whether the werkbak is readable at all.
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    try {
+      const getBehandelWerkbak = vi
+        .fn()
+        .mockReturnValueOnce(of(sample))
+        .mockReturnValue(throwError(() => new Error('503')));
+      const { providers } = setup({ getBehandelWerkbak });
+      const { detectChanges } = await render(WerkbakPage, { providers });
+
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(WERKBAK_REFRESH_MS);
+      detectChanges();
+
+      expect(screen.getByText('reg-1')).toBeTruthy();
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/kon de werkbak niet laden/i)).toBeNull();
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('stops refreshing once the page is destroyed', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    try {
+      const { getBehandelWerkbak, providers } = setup();
+      const { fixture } = await render(WerkbakPage, { providers });
+
+      fixture.destroy();
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(WERKBAK_REFRESH_MS * 3);
+
+      expect(getBehandelWerkbak).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
   it('shows an empty state when the werkbak has no items', async () => {
     const { providers } = setup({ getBehandelWerkbak: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(of([])) });
     await render(WerkbakPage, { providers });
diff --git a/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.ts b/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.ts
index cc5b8e4..d7af7d4 100644
--- a/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.ts
+++ b/apps/behandel/src/app/werkbak/werkbak-page.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@ import { Component, inject, signal } from '@angular/core';
 import { BffApiV1Service, type WerkbakItem } from 'api-client';
 import { UtrechtComponentsModule } from 'ui';
 
+/**
+ * How often an open werkbak re-reads itself (S-26/#162, ADR-0032). Exported so the spec advances the
+ * clock by exactly one interval instead of hard-coding the number.
+ */
+export const WERKBAK_REFRESH_MS = 5_000;
+
 /** The two decisions a behandelaar can make; the BFF validates these exact values (ADR-0013). */
 type Besluit = 'goedkeuren' | 'afwijzen';
 
diff --git a/tests/e2e/registration.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/registration.spec.ts
index a7a9c0e..bb88e78 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/registration.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/registration.spec.ts
@@ -82,17 +82,14 @@ test('DigiD submit → public INGEDIEND → documenten → behandelaar goedkeurt
 
   await expect(staff.getByRole('heading', { name: /Werkbak/i })).toBeVisible();
 
-  // The registration reaches the Beoordelen user task only after its documents are provided (above), so
-  // it appears in the werkbak asynchronously — reload until this reference's row shows up. Target the
-  // decide button by reference (not a generic "Goedkeuren"): the shared verify stack holds other open
-  // tasks, so a positional match could act on someone else's registration.
+  // The registration reaches the Beoordelen user task only after its documents are provided (above),
+  // so it appears in the werkbak asynchronously. Since S-26 (#162) the werkbak refreshes itself, so
+  // this waits on the row WITHOUT reloading the page — the reload here is what the slice removes, and
+  // its absence is the live-refresh assertion. Target the decide button by reference (not a generic
+  // "Goedkeuren"): the shared verify stack holds other open tasks, so a positional match could act on
+  // someone else's registration.
   const goedkeuren = staff.getByRole('button', { name: `Goedkeuren ${reference}` });
-  await expect
-    .poll(async () => {
-      await staff.reload();
-      return goedkeuren.count();
-    }, { timeout: 30_000, intervals: [1_000, 2_000, 3_000, 5_000] })
-    .toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  await expect(goedkeuren).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30_000 });
 
   // Click and wait for the decide POST to finish (204) BEFORE leaving the page. `click()` only
   // dispatches the request; navigating away immediately cancels it in flight (nginx logs a 499) and