Employment & Immigration, Belgium updates
Dos and don'ts for employers regarding COVID-19 vaccination
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 21 April 2021
The government's vaccination campaign is now progressing well. Employers are eager to have a large number of their workers vaccinated to be able to work in a safe and healthy environment and resume business as usual. However, can employers force their workers to get vaccinated? Can they ask their workers to submit a vaccination certificate? Must they grant their workers paid leave of absence to get vaccinated? This Q&A answers these and other questions.
New monthly online COVID-19 telework registration obligation for employers from April 2021
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 14 April 2021
As many employers either have not been or have been insufficiently respecting compulsory teleworking, the government has enhanced the monitoring of compulsory teleworking by introducing a new online registration obligation for employers. From April 2021, every employer must submit a monthly declaration via the National Social Security Office's online portal by the sixth calendar day of each month.
Social inspection audits in construction sector: what to expect in 2021
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 31 March 2021
The Social Information and Investigation Service (SIOD/SIRS) recently published its 2021 action plan revealing its strategy and top priorities for the year. Similar to recent years, the construction sector remains a target. This article summarises what employers can expect in 2021 and how they can prepare, based on the SIOD/SIRS checklist.
ECJ partially upholds Belgium's docker rules
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 10 March 2021
In a long-awaited court ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that the Belgian rules on dock work, obliging companies to have only recognised dockers carry out dock work in ports, do not necessarily constitute a violation of the free movement of workers, the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. However, the ECJ rejected several parts of the recognition procedure of such dockers. Legislative changes are now inevitable.
New National Labour Council collective labour agreement sets framework for COVID-19 teleworking
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 17 February 2021
Traditionally, Belgian labour law has distinguished between two forms of telework: structural and occasional telework. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a third category has been added: COVID-19 telework, which was previously recommended but has now been made compulsory again by the government. The National Labour Council has now concluded Collective Labour Agreement Number 149, which creates the legal framework for COVID-19 teleworking.
Occupational doctors' enhanced role in combating COVID-19: contact tracing, quarantine certificates and testing
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 10 February 2021
A new royal decree has temporarily extended occupational doctors' role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in the workplace. Occupational doctors will be contact tracers in the workplace and in this context have been given the authority to identify high-risk contacts in the company, issue a quarantine certificate for these workers and refer certain workers to be tested.
Obligations and checks relating to foreign workers and self-employed individuals extended to all sectors and industries
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 03 February 2021
As part of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the government imposed a new record-keeping obligation and compliance check on certain employers and users which temporarily rely on foreign employees or self-employed individuals. The government has extended these obligations to all sectors and industries. In addition, foreign workers and self-employed individuals must, under certain circumstances, provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test.
District cells' social fraud inspection audits focus on construction sector
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 16 December 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has not prevented the Social Information and Investigation Service from proceeding with its inspection audits concerning illegal employment and social fraud. The available (provisional) data reveals that the construction sector has remained a highly targeted sector. This article highlights some interesting recent findings.
Points for retail sector employers to consider when dismissing employees for economic or technical reasons
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 02 December 2020
The retail sector has been one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result employers therein might be considering dismissing employees for economic or technical reasons. Employers must be aware that most joint committees in the retail sector have entered into collective bargaining agreements obliging employers to first take measures to avoid dismissals and, if dismissals cannot be avoided, to comply with a specific procedure.
Employers must provide employees present in workplace with document to certify this fact
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 18 November 2020
The new Ministerial Decree of 1 November 2020 stipulates that, until 13 December 2020, all workers must telework. However, an exception applies when either an employee's role or the continuity of business operations, activities and services does not allow for teleworking. In such cases, employers must provide the worker with a certificate or other supporting document attesting that their presence in the workplace is needed. The minister of internal affairs has already announced that inspections will be organised.
New teleworking rules to limit further spread of COVID-19
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 28 October 2020
The government recently reinforced the urgent measures to limit the further spread of COVID-19. Teleworking is no longer highly recommended, but has become the standard for all employees whose roles allow for telework. Yet, the new rule is less far-reaching than that in place during the first lockdown, as an exception now applies when the continuity of business operations, activities and services does not allow for teleworking.
Last call to implement electronic voting or voting by letter for COVID-19-proof social elections
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 21 October 2020
In principle, companies should have decided whether to vote electronically in the social elections as early as February 2020. However, companies that did not do so but, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, would like to do so now have been given the opportunity to introduce electronic voting. However, they must reach an agreement on this issue by Day X+56 (ie, between 13 October 2020 and 26 October 2020, depending on the new election date).
COVID-19: new record-keeping obligation and compliance check relating to foreign workers and self-employed individuals
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 30 September 2020
As part of some new measures that aim to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the government has imposed a new record-keeping obligation on certain employers and users which temporarily rely on foreign employees or self-employed individuals. In-scope employers and users must also verify whether the foreign employees and self-employed individuals have duly completed the passenger locator form.
New rules on temporary unemployment from 1 September 2020: start preparing now
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 19 August 2020
From 1 September 2020, new rules on temporary unemployment will enter into force. Companies and sectors that are substantially affected by the COVID-19 crisis can continue to apply the current and simplified COVID-19 force majeure temporary unemployment regime until 31 December 2020. For sectors and companies that are not substantially affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the current COVID-19 force majeure regime can no longer be applied from 1 September 2020.
EU Posted Workers Directive: impact on employers posting workers to Belgium
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 29 July 2020
The Act of 12 June 2020 implemented the EU Posted Workers Directive in Belgium by introducing, among other things, adjustments to the Act of 5 March 2002 Relating to Labour, Salary and Employment Conditions When Posting Workers to Belgium. This article summarises the key changes introduced by the act and its impact on employers.
Share-related benefits granted by foreign parent companies: Esko strengthens view that social security contributions are due
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 15 July 2020
Benefits in general – and shares and restricted stock units in particular – attributed by a third party (eg, a foreign parent company) to employees of a Belgian (group) company will, in principle, be subject to Belgian social security contributions. If followed, the Ghent Labour Court of Appeal's recent decision in Esko will make it even harder, if not impossible, for international groups to avoid the payment of social security contributions.
Reopening your workplace after lockdown: 10 key questions
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 08 July 2020
With the exit from lockdown in full swing, many companies are recalling their staff to the workplace. This article answers 10 FAQs that employers, business managers and HR specialists must consider during their employees' return to work, including what are employers' health and safety obligations, must employers consult staff or employee representatives on their health and safety measures and do fines or penalties for non-compliance exist?
No retroactive suspension of notice period due to COVID-19 temporary unemployment
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 24 June 2020
Until now, there has been no suspension of the notice period served on employees who have been made temporarily unemployed under the specific 'COVID-19 regime'. As employers could dismiss employees 'cheaply', a draft bill to suspend the notice period in the event of COVID-19 temporary unemployment was submitted in Parliament. The Chamber of Representatives has now voted to introduce the law without retroactive effect. But what does this mean for employers?
FAQs: Employment Ministry's and DPA's new positions on checking employees' temperatures
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 17 June 2020
The controversial issue of whether employers can check their employees' temperatures has been much debated. The Employment Ministry and the Data Protection Authority (DPA) have recently changed their positions in this respect. The Employment Ministry allows temperature checks, but only during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided that the decision to introduce such checks is included in the company's work rules. The DPA has also clarified its position regarding the processing of personal data.
Night work in e-commerce companies in 2020: nothing new under the sun?
ALTIUS- Belgium
- 20 May 2020
With e-commerce growing at an unprecedented rate across the globe, in the past few years the Belgian legislature has taken several measures to make Belgium a more attractive hub for e-commerce activities. Among other things, such measures were meant to facilitate the introduction of night work schemes within companies. Some of these measures ended on 31 December 2019. What does this situation mean for companies and the night work schemes introduced in 2018 and 2019?
