New provisions for information obligations for Belgian employers

Up until now, employers who made use of the regime of temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic barely had any formalities to complete or obligations to comply with. The Belgian legislator has now introduced an information obligation to be complied with by employers making use of the regime of temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We have provided a summary of these obligations below:

Information to be provided to the employee(s)

What?

• The period for which the notification is made (ie the period of temporary unemployment);
• The days or the number of days the employee will be temporarily unemployed and - in case of partial temporary unemployment - the days or number of days the employee must work;
• The formalities the employee needs to complete in order to receive an unemployment benefit from the National Employment Office (RVA/ONEM).

When?

At the latest the day before the start of the temporary unemployment and in any case before the employee makes his way to work.

How should the notification be made?

Each employee must be notified individually or - if temporary unemployment is applied for in respect of several employees at the same time - the notification can be done collectively, as long as it is clear for each employee what work arrangements apply to him or her. It is not obligatory to make the notification in writing, but for evidence reasons we advise you to do so (eg via email).

Information to be provided to the Works Council or trade union delegation

Employers who make use of the regime of temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic must also inform the Works Council or - if there is no Works Council - the trade union delegation. However, the legislator did not specify when and how this notification must be made, nor what the Works Council or trade union delegation should exactly be informed of.

In principle, the Works Council has monthly meetings. Employers are advised to inform the Works Council at the first monthly meeting that follows the decision to apply the regime of temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or the decision to make changes to an existing system of temporary unemployment (eg the number of days of partial temporary unemployment will be increased, or the number of employees who are temporarily unemployed increases). Preferably, this is done before the effective start of (the changes to) the temporary unemployment.

Sanction for non-compliance?

Employers who fail to properly inform their employees are liable to pay their employees their normal salaries until the notification obligation is actually met. The penalty is thus quite severe, making it important to include this information obligation in your processes going forward.

See our coronavirus (COVID-19) feature for more information generally on the possible legal implications of COVID-19.