10 key points of the Arizona coalition agreement that will impact employment law

Reintroduction of the trial period and impact on the notice period

Despite the general abolition of trial periods since 1 January 2014 - with the exception of clauses for students and temporary agency work - the government will reintroduce this principle for employment contracts by 31 December 2025. In addition, it will allow both parties to terminate the contract by giving one week's notice during the first 6 months of the trial period.

The impacts and considerations of this reintroduction are as follows:

• Before 2014, the trial period varied depending on whether the employee was a white collar or a blue collar employee. It was abolished when the law of 26 December 2013 came into force, reducing the notice period for dismissal. With a one-week notice period, we are returning to our roots in some way;
• This will enable employers to assess the skills and suitability of the employee, while reducing the risks associated with recruitment and giving employees the opportunity to assess the role and ensure a good professional fit before committing themselves for an indefinite period;
• This could encourage employers to offer indefinite employment contracts more quickly. Employees who are currently changing from fixed-term to indefinite employment contracts will benefit from this change;
• The exclusion from the scope of CLA no. 109 in the first 6 months of employment may be strengthened and will no longer be sidelined by the minority case law;
• This trial period will be coordinated with the terms of application of the non-competition clause and the clause for training fees , given that said clauses have no effect during the first 6 months of occupation;
• Before being cancelled, the trial period was suspended in the event of the employment contract being suspended, such as in the event of incapacity for work. It will be interesting to see if this principle is implemented again.

Severance pay 

As with the capping of compensation in lieu of notice at 13 weeks in the event of resignation, a similar mechanism will be introduced for employers in the event of dismissal. Thus, for all employment contracts concluded after the entry into force of this forthcoming reform, the compensation in lieu of notice will be capped at 52 weeks, preventing any increase in compensation beyond 16 to 17 years of length of service. However, it will still be possible to derogate from this cap at company level. It will therefore be important, in new employment contracts in which the parties wish to include a seniority clause, to formulate the clause in such a way as to achieve the result desired by the parties, taking this cap into account.

On the other hand, the current system will continue to apply to current contracts, in which the length of the notice period is calculated according to the length of service and without a cap. This limitation will certainly not apply either to transferred employees under Collective Labour Agreement No. 32bis, since their contract and length of service will be automatically transferred.

In addition, a reduction in the number of special indemnities obtained in the context of redundancy, in particular the protection indemnity, is also under consideration.

Consequences for protected employees: protection against dismissal for elected and non-elected employee representatives

Current system

In the context of the social elections, employee representatives and candidate employee representatives in the Works Council and in the Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work enjoy protection against dismissal or transfer. Such protection aims to ensure that elected employees would be able to perform their duties without interference and that candidates would retain all freedom to stand as candidates.

Start of dismissal protection

Protection against dismissal or transfer starts automatically in light of the election calendar in force in the company. More specifically, the protection begins to run 30 days before the publication of the election date. This also marks the start of the occult period: an employer does not yet know whether the employee is protected or not.

End of dismissal protection

Elected employee representatives are protected against dismissal or transfer until the candidates elected at the next elections are appointed. In principle, this protection is equivalent to about 4 years.

For non-elected candidate employee representatives, the period of protection is different. They benefit from a protection whose the duration varies depending on the number of applications submitted. Moreover, the duration of this protection also varies depending on whether or not it is their first ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy:

• In case of a first ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy: non-elected candidates enjoy in this case the same dismissal protection as elected employee representatives. This basically amounts to about 4 years.
  
  The Supreme Court ruled in the past that the term "first" candidacy refers to the candidacy where the employee was not elected as an effective nor as deputy employee representative.
• In case of a second ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy: non-elected candidates enjoy in this case dismissal protection until 2 years after the results of the social elections are published.

Change of dismissal protection for non-elected candidates

The coalition agreement does not change the dismissal protection for elected employees. Effective and deputy elected employees can therefore continue to enjoy full dismissal protection.

However, the coalition agreement does foresee a notable change in terms of dismissal protection for non-elected candidates.

The coalition agreement provides that where non-elected candidates enjoy the same protection as elected employees for 2 years, the protection for non-elected employees will be reduced to 6 months.

The question arises how exactly the text of the coalition agreement should be interpreted. Do the Arizona parties only envisage a change of the protection period in case of a second consecutive ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy where a protection until 2 years applies or will the protection period in case of a first ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy of 4 years also be revised?

On the basis of the sentence in the coalition agreement: "where non-elected candidates currently enjoy the same protection as effectively elected employees for a period of 2 years, this will be adjusted to 6 months", it cannot be deduced with certainty that the first ‘unsuccessful’ candidacy will also be envisaged. Further clarification and interpretation by the legislator seem necessary in this context, although we defend that this reading is the only meaningful reading.

Illustrative example

Anna stood as a candidate for social elections in 2024. She was not elected. Consequently, based on the current legislation, she enjoys a dismissal protection as a non-elected candidate equal to 4 years.

At the next social elections in 2028, Anna again stood as a candidate. Again, she was not elected. Based on the current legislation, she enjoys dismissal protection as a non-elected candidate equal to 2 years. This would be reduced to 6 months.

It is not entirely clear whether the 2024 candidates also risk losing their protection sooner. As long as this protection is not taken away retroactively, we believe this is defensible.

Practical implications

Further elaboration by the legislator is needed to assess the impact of the change. The scope of the revision measure is currently open to interpretation.

However, it is clear that the number of protected employee representatives in a company will be reduced after 6 months.

Moreover, this measure shows that social consultation remains guaranteed in terms of effectively elected employee representatives. Again, we would have preferred otherwise, but in any case this solution is already a great step for many companies.

In the event of resignation

The federal coalition agreement stipulates that in the future, once per career, employees with at least 10 years of length of service with years of actual work may resign while still being eligible for unemployment benefits for a period of 6 months (extendable by 6 months under certain conditions).

This exception should help to ease certain employment relations. In some cases, employees who are no longer motivated sometimes push their employer to dismiss them with the sole aim of not losing their eligibility for unemployment benefits. This exception should therefore help to ease these situations, which can sometimes be complicated to deal with in practice, both on the side of employees and employers.

Phasing out of the company-supplemented unemployment scheme (RCC/SWT)

The coalition agreement also provides for greater activation and reintegration of employees into the labour market. As a result, early retirement schemes such as the RCC/SWT (formerly known as "pre-pensions") will be abolished.

From 31 January 2025, the RCC/SWT will no longer be available to new beneficiaries. Only employees made redundant before 31 January 2025, including those still serving their notice period, and those not made redundant but working in a company that has signed a declaration of intent to restructure or to make collective redundancies before 31 January 2025, will still be able to benefit from the RCC/SWT.

Abolition of principle ban on night work: consequences

Until now, a prohibition in principle on night work was stipulated by law. This prohibition could only be deviated from in cases recognised by the law (e.g., work in successive shifts, logistics, supervision, loading and unloading activities, etc.). At present, night work is deemed to exist as soon as work is performed between 8 p.m.and 6 a.m. with work performed between midnight and 5 a.m.

This prohibition in principle will be abolished so that night work will thereby become possible in every sector and every sector will in principle be able to introduce a working regime with night work. Moreover, the agreement specifies that it is also intended to ease the procedure for introducing these working arrangements, particularly for the distribution sector and related sectors. To facilitate these sectors in Belgium, night work will only begin at midnight instead of 8 p.m. as is currently the case.

It follows that employers' obligations regarding night work will be made more flexible because:

• Night work will be allowed in an unlimited number of sectors;
• In the key sector of distribution,night work will only be authorized at a later date, giving employers more flexibility to adjust the working schedules.

It is explicitly specified that premiums currently granted will still have to be granted. The benefit of the exemption from the withholding tax transfer will therefore remain in place, until as long as the current provisional arrangement remains in place. Afterwards, the parties will negotiate a new arrangement with the aim of maximising the benefits of the current arrangement.

Overtime

Under Social Agreement 23-24, the number of tax-favoured overtime hours was increased from 130 to 180 overtime hours through 30 June 2025. This increase will continue beyond this date and is one of the new measures related to overtime.

In addition, other major changes to the overtime system are imminent. The maximum amount of voluntary overtime will be increased to 360 hours (or 450 hours in the hotel and restaurant sector), where it was previously 220 hours.

New features include:

• Up to f 240 hours, voluntary overtime does not entitle the employee to overtime pay. Now, from the first overtime hour worked, voluntary overtime entitles the employee to overtime pay at 50% or, in the case of overtime work on Sunday/holiday/replacement day, 100%;
• Compensatory rest will no longer have to be granted.

The voluntary overtime system will be applicable on the basis of a written agreement between the employer and employee with the possibility of termination at any time. Currently, a written agreement valid for 6 months is also already required before voluntary overtime can be invoked. It is not yet clear to what extent the formalities of this agreement will remain similar to the current one.

In addition, it is not yet clear whether there will be an increase in the internal limit of 143 hours. This internal limit means that at no time during the one-year reference period may the total duration of work performed exceed: weekly working hours (40 hours) x number of weeks in the reference period (52) + 143 hours. Since the number of voluntary overtime hours allowed will increase, that probability seems likely.

Minimum weekly working hours

Currently, a weekly part-time hourly schedule may never be less than 1/3rd of a weekly full-time hourly schedule. This requirement will be eliminated, with the absolute minimum weekly hourly schedule to be performed never being less than 3 hours. The purpose of this is again to create more flexibility.

Student work: increase from 475 to 650 hours

In addition, the number of allowable hours students may work on an annual basis will be increased to 650 hours instead of the limitation to 475 hours as has been the case again since 2025. This has responded to calls from the hospitality and retail industries, among others, to increase the number of allowable hours in order to address (i) the competitive labour market and (ii) the high costs associated with weekend labour absorbed by job students.

Introduction of an « accordion »

The introduction of an "accordion" hourly schedule will become possible, subject to the agreement of the employee. Such an hourly schedule means that maximum working hours will no longer be assessed on a weekly basis, but on an annual basis. This will allow for more flexibility in sectors where there is fluctuation in workload. At busier times, it will be possible to work more.

It is not yet clear whether more than 40 hours will then be allowed to be worked during certain weeks, but limited to 45 hours without using the small flexibility regulations.

Abolish mandatory closing day: impact on retail sales

Under current law, a retailer is required to be closed for a continuous 24-hour period, beginning on Sunday at 5 a.m. or at 1 p.m..

It follows that retailers who were open on Sunday under one of the exception regimes where Sunday work was still permitted will no longer be required to close during a weekday. Others will also have the opportunity to open on Sundays, provided, of course, that the legislation provides for the exclusion of any sectoral restrictions.

In addition, we also note that the fact that night work only begins at midnight means that in retail it will become possible to be open after 8 p.m., which is currently not the case.

Generalisation of flexi-jobs

The concept of flexi-jobs – which allows individuals already employed by one employer to earn additional income with another one – will be expanded to all sectors while respecting the access rules for certain protected professions. Currently only a total of 12 specific sectors can utilize this form of employment. 

Not only will flexi-jobs become accessible across sectors, but the maximum annual earnings limit will also increase from € 12,000 to € 18,000, while the maximum hourly wage will rise from € 17 to € 21. These amounts will be subject to annual indexation. The government will grant the sectors the autonomy to opt out and to regulate flexi-jobs according to their specific needs.

Flexi-jobs, since their creation, have been met with both support and criticism, and this broader implementation is likely to further fuel this debate. The hospitality sector – who pushed for the increase of the annual earnings limit – will be happy with the change as for them flexi-jobs form a crucial part of their workforce. The generalisation might encourage further cross-pollination between sectors enabling employees to seize opportunities in before unknown sectors, as well as reduce the open vacancies in various sectors. 

Part-time employment

Various changes concerning part-time employment will be introduced. Certain part-time employees will become eligible to perform voluntary overtime. To qualify, part-time employees must have been with their employer for at least 3 year and this opportunity will only be available in case there is a temporary increase in work hours, otherwise, we could be dealing with involuntary part-time.

At the same time, the government will evaluate the rules on involuntary part-time employment – situations where employees work part-time but would prefer full-time positions. This issue is particularly prevalent in sectors such as retail and hospitality. While increasing flexibility in scheduling and working time, the government also aims to ensure that part-time employment remains a choice rather than a necessity for those seeking full-time work. The most prominent rules to combat this form of underemployment are currently:

• the part-time employment with preserving of rights – the famous C131A-document or the income guarantee benefit;
• the current priority scheme for part-time employees – i.e. to bid for the vacancy in the company or receive additional hours; and
• the potential sanctions applicable to employers who do not offer available additional hours.

The administrative burden of employing part-time employees will be reduced without compromising their protection or increasing involuntary part-time employment. One example of this burden is the requirement to include all applicable hourly schedules in the work regulations, which will be abolished. This change will allow for greater flexibility in work schedules, enabling businesses to adapt shifts to their needs. However, the coalition agreement explicitly emphasizes the importance of maintaining sufficient safeguards, ensuring predictability, and guaranteeing minimum notice periods. The latter referring to for example employees working under a variable part-time employment regime, as they must still be informed of their schedules at least 7 days – legal minimum, or 3 days depending of the applicable sectoral rules – in advance through a written notification in a reliable, appropriate, and accessible manner.

In addition, the administrative burdens currently weighing on employers will be further reduced, but it is not yet clear exactly how.

To provide a comprehensive overview of part-time employment, it is important to note that end-of-career employment arrangements will also change. Such arrangements allow senior employees to reduce their working time by either 1/5 or 50% as they approach the end of their careers.

Starting in 2025, the career requirement for such end-of-career employment arrangements for employees aged 55 will be set at 30 years. This requirement will gradually increase by one year annually, reaching 35 years by 2030. Additionally, employees must have worked at least 156 days per year during each of those 30 years.

Tele – Train - Work

The government has announced its intention to explore whether and how working time can be incorporated into employees' commuting time. The government agreement specifically references "tele-train-work" -– unsurprising, as this appears to be the only viable option to have an ad hoc workstation.

In theory, this approach could be an excellent way to optimize commuting time, effectively killing two birds with one stone: encouraging employees to use public transport instead of the congested roads and highways, while allowing them to work during what would otherwise be unproductive travel time.

However –, many train commuters are likely to ask the same question – how does the government plan to implement this idea? Given the current state of train infrastructure, it will have to be developed quickly! Furthermore, any employer who would like to implement it could already do so on the basis of existing legal tools.

Adjusting timetables to suit school life

Similar to the tele – train – work, the government will explore ways to introduce flexibility for employees to organize their workday around school schedules. It will be interesting to see how this accommodation will be transposed. Will it be simply by introducing a new work regime, inspired by sliding work schedules, or will it be the inclusion of specific holidays?

No specific measures were mentioned or referred to.

Sharing of family credit

A system of family credit will be introduced in coordination with the social partners to give parents greater flexibility in caring for their children. It functions like a “backpack”, bundling all the rights into which existing leave linked to the birth and subsequent care of the child is integrated, which can be used as the parents wish.

If one parent wishes to take on a greater caregiving role while the other focuses on their career, this can be arranged without the career-focused parent’s entitlements going to waste. This ensures that no rights are lost – or at least minimized – due to (unforeseen) circumstances and that child’s care remains the focus of the rights, as intended.

In cases where a child has only one parent, the backpack will naturally include only that parent’s rights. Additionally, grandparents are explicitly mentioned in the family credit system, as outlined in the coalition agreement, ensuring that any new or amended options for utilizing these rights are not wasted.

Ultimately, the family credit will allow parents to use their rights in the way that best suits their needs, providing greater flexibility in both their rights and childcare arrangements.

Training

The individual right to training will also be supplemented by greater flexibility and partial collectivisation.

In consultation with the social partners, it will be decided that:

• Greater concentration will be given to the employees who need it most;
• The administrative burden will be limited by the exclusion of flexi-jobs, seasonal employees and students;
• The Federal Learning Account will be abolished. Consideration will then be given to introducing a less administratively burdensome system.

The administrative burden of training has become far too great for companies, and we hope that these measures will ease their obligations in this area. 

Practical implications

The specifics of these measures remain to be seen in legislative initiatives. What is clear, however, is that employers will have more flexibility to schedule employees' working time.

In a 24-hour economy, more and more flexibility is required. It seems that this signal has been picked up.

The question is to what extent this flexibility will also be accompanied by fewer formal requirements that must be met in order to invoke this flexibility.

In addition, several measures will be proposed by 30 June 2025 with the aim of modernising administrative management and reducing constraints for employers, including:

• Abolition of first job obligations, thus facilitating the hiring of young employees;
• Simplification of the reporting of salary data and working hours;
• Simplification of administrative obligations for part-time work, while guaranteeing the continued protection of employees (see point 4.8 above);
• Reduction of existing or new reporting obligations, particularly for SMEs, in order to limit the administrative burden;
• Limitation of the retention period for certain documents;
• Abolition of the obligation to renew certain agreements, including the four-day week, every six months, and replacement by an open-ended agreement with a right to withdraw every six months; and
• Easing of the obligations regarding risk assessment in companies, which will no longer be annual except in the event of a change in working conditions.

Redesign of remuneration policy

The coalition agreement shows a desire to reform pay policies in order to make remuneration more attractive and clearer, by favouring direct remuneration over benefits in kind.

Indexation and salary standard mechanisms maintained 

The coalition wishes to maintain automatic indexation of wages and the wage standard, thereby ensuring the purchasing power of employees and the competitiveness of Belgian businesses in relation to neighbouring countries.

The social partners have until 31 December 2026 to submit a comprehensive reform of the wage framework, taking into account both labour costs and the competitiveness of the Belgian market.

Increased purchasing power 

To improve purchasing power, especially for the lowest paid employees, our new government aims to:

• Increase the tax-free allowance for those who work;
• Reduce the special social security contribution;
• Reinforce the employment bonus.

There are also plans to cap employers' contributions to the NSSO for salaries in excess of EUR 250,000 gross per annum.

Controlling and simplifying benefits in kind

Mobility budget 

The current mobility budget allows employees to exchange their company car (or their eligibility for a company car) for a budget corresponding to the total cost of the car to the employer. This budget can be allocated to the following three pillars: (i) another more environmentally-friendly company car, (ii) sustainable means of transport and accommodation costs or (iii) if the budget has not been fully spent by the end of the year, the balance is paid in cash.

The mobility budget will be reformed as follows:

• It will become accessible to all employees. It will no longer be limited to employees entitled to a company car;
• The car, as well as other means of transport and budget spending options, will be based on their real value;
• With the aim of simplifying the current system, the new budget will replace the existing employer assistance schemes for commuting and private travel;
• To ensure the attractiveness of the new system, the new regime will be treated in an advantageous (para)fiscal manner;
• Appropriate transitional measures will be taken when this reform is drawn up.

Meal vouchers

At present, meal vouchers granted by an employer to an employee are tax-exempt provided that (i) the employer's contribution does not exceed 6.91 euros, and (ii) the employee's personal contribution amounts to at least 1.09 euros per meal voucher.

The current maximum value of €8 may be increased by a further €2 over the course of the legislature.

This would enable the employer, in a first phrase, to grant a tax-exempt meal voucher worth 10 euros per working day (i.e. an employer or company contribution of 8.91 euros and a personal contribution from the employee or company director of 1.09 euros) and, in a second phase, a meal voucher worth 12 euros (i.e. an employer or company contribution of 10.91 euros and a personal contribution from the employee or company director of 1.09 euros).

Other vouchers (eco-cheques, culture vouchers, etc.) will be phased out in consultation with the social partners. In return, the scope for using meal vouchers will be extended.

Employer's own costs 

The new government wishes to introduce a legal framework defining the amount of the employer's own expenses on a flat-rate basis.

Flexible remuneration plan (cafeteria plan) 

Flexible pay schemes, commonly known as "cafeteria plans", which allow employees to exchange part of their pay "à la carte" for other benefits corresponding to their needs and preferences, were not yet really regulated or defined.

Our new government will aim to limit the proportion of pay that can be exchanged for benefits under a pay-as-you-go scheme to a maximum of 20% of gross annual pay. Additional bonuses can always be granted on top of salary. One of the main objectives will be to ensure simplicity of administration for both employer and employee.

Bonus and warrant

As with cafeteria plans, the granting of warrants and bonuses will remain possible, but limited to 20% of the gross annual salary.

Non-recurring bonus (CCT 90) and profit bonus

The system of non-recurring bonuses linked to results and the profit bonus will be made more attractive by simplifying and harmonising their scope, without these changes leading to an increase in the tax burden for either the employer or the employee.

Stimulating the reintegration of employees on (long-term) sick leave

The Arizona government is proposing an ambitious action plan to effectively reintegrate employees who are on long term sickness leave.

The government agreement assigns responsibility for successful reintegration to various players and emphasises the importance of coherent cooperation in this area. Three main objectives are at the heart of this policy: preventing illness, limiting loss of work due to health problems and promoting a rapid return to work for the long-term sick. Below we detail the specific measures by player in the context of the reintegration policy and the fight against absenteeism under the government agreement.

The role of the employer

 Under the government agreement, employers have an important responsibility in preventing long-term illness and promoting the reintegration of sick employees. The government therefore encourages employers to pursue active absenteeism policies, creating a working environment that seeks to prevent sickness absence. In addition, employers must maintain sufficient contact with sick employees to facilitate their return to work.

Reinstatement and force majeure 

A new obligation for employers is that after 8 weeks of incapacity for work, they must have an assessment of their employee’s  work potential drawn up by the external occupational health and safety service. This obligation has been imposed in order to be able to begin the process of reintegrating employees in good time.

For employers with more than 20 employees, there is even a penalty if the integration process is not started in time by the employer, i.e. within 6 months of the onset of the illness, if the employee has work potential.

Employers are also encouraged to start reinstatement processes earlier, for example from the first day of illness, provided that the employee agrees. Under current regulations, this is not possible because there is a mandatory 3-month waiting period before a reinstatement process can be started.

The expanded role of the employer in active reintegration policy is also demonstrated by the employer's ability not only to carry out internal investigations with a view to finding suitable work, but also to analyse employment opportunities with other employers.

For the employer, there will therefore be administrative and monitoring obligations, but these measures should make it possible to reduce the risk of long-term disability. If no other solution is possible, the medical force majeure procedure is the logical consequence. The waiting period for this procedure will be reduced from 9 to 6 months.

Contribution paid by the RIZIV

Employers are also being asked to invest more in the reintegration of their long-term sick employees aged between 18 and 54. During the first 2 months of primary incapacity for work following the guaranteed salary period, employers (who are not SMEs) will have to pay a contribution of 30% of the compensation payable by the RIZIV for this group. For them, this replaces the current penalties imposed on companies with a relatively high number of long-term sickemployees.

Employee responsibilities

The importance of job potential is also emphasised on the employee's side. If an employee with job potential does not cooperate sufficiently with the reintegration process, he or she may be penalised.

The coalition agreement provides for:

• a 10% reduction in benefits in the event of failure to comply with an administrative obligation (such as not completing a questionnaire);
• In addition, if an employee refuses, without valid justification, the invitation of a doctor (occupational physician or medical adviser) as part of the reintegration process, a suspension of entitlement to benefits/guaranteed pay may be imposed. This is a much harsher sanction than the one currently applied, i.e. the daily amount of the allowance is reduced by 2.5% in such cases.
• Finally, a 10% reduction in sick pay has also been introduced as a penalty for refusing to accept an invitation from a back-to-work coordinator or an employment service mediator without a valid reason.

An employee may also request a preventive reintegration programme (before taking sick leave).

Limited exemption from the medical certificate requirement 

Among the general changes is the modification of the rule, dating from 28 November 2022, which allowed an employee to be absent from work, without the need for a medical certificate, for the first day of incapacity for work, up to a maximum of 3 times per calendar year. This right will be limited to 2 times per year.

Relapse

Similarly, the right to the guaranteed salary will not be reopened after a 14-day return to work. From now on, an employee will have to be at work for 8 weeks before recovering the right to the guaranteed salary.

Partial return to work

The government agreement not only discourages certain behaviours to combat (long-term) absenteeism, it also introduces incentives to encourage people to return to work.

This will make it easier to combine disability benefits with a partial income from work. By lowering the administrative hurdles for this partial return to work, this procedure will become more accessible to all stakeholders, although it remains to be seen what this means exactly. Finally, the tax and social security rules relating to the gradual return to work will also be reviewed, in line with the idea that the difference between (gradual) work and non-work should be higher.

Streamlining the role of doctor(s)

On the administrative side, a new platform (TRIO) will be created to which the attending physician, the prevention consultant/occupational physician, the consulting physician and others will have access. This should make it easier to monitor illnesses within the company.

From now on, general practitioners s will always have to consider the possibility of suitable work when drawing up sickness certificates. The government agreement aims to gradually transform the sickness certificate into a "certificate of aptitude", where the emphasis is not on what an employees can no longer do, but rather on what he or she can still do. This will give employers the opportunity to consider alternative work opportunities for long-term sick employees earlier in the illness process, increasing the chances that they will return to work in an appropriate role sooner.

One month's incapacity for work is considered an anchor point in the government agreement. From this point onwards, the prevention consultant must take steps to take a proactive approach to absenteeism. This includes organising a meeting with the employee, etc.

Finally, anti-fraud measures will also be introduced. The introduction of a digital hotline for suspicious sickness certificates will enable employers to quickly identify questionable certificates and doctors to be encouraged to check their own prescribing behaviour against that of other doctors, which could lead to financial liability.

Risk analysis 

Under the new government, the risk analyses required under welfare legislation will no longer have to be repeated every year if working circumstances have not changed.

We will see how this change is implemented in the legislation.

With a view to guaranteeing the competitiveness of Belgian companies and ensuring fair competition, the new government will step up its fight against social fraud, undeclared work and social dumping. Various measures will be taken after consultation with the social partners, including:

• Belgian users will be obliged to check whether the foreign service provider has authorisation before working with it;
• The tax authorities and the NSSO will examine how tax audits on the 183-day rule can be improved using the data available from the NSSO;
• Development of cross-border collection of social security contributions through a European mechanism;
• The fight against bogus self-employed employees and bogus employees will be stepped up;
• The government is seeking to toughen penalties for social fraud. For example, in the event of an aggravated breach of the Social Criminal Code, it is planned that:
  • the amount of the criminal (or administrative) fine may not be less than 50% of the maximum amount prescribed;
  • In view of price trends in recent years, the amounts of the fines have been adjusted by increasing the increases from 70 to 90;
  • Social fraudsters lose the right to future ONSS reductions for a given number of quarters;
  • Employers who practice social dumping and do not contribute to the system cannot benefit from the same advantages as employers who respect the rules;
  • In this context, we will be looking at ways of making foreign companies more accountable.
• In order to ensure that seasonal employees are able to assert and fulfil their fiscal and social rights and obligations, these employees will have to register with the local council in order to register a home address in the country of origin, independently of the registration provided for in article 1 of the law of 19 July 1991 relating to population registers. The details of how this will be done have yet to be determined.
• Increase in the number of checks on undeclared work by the fully or part-time unemployed who, in their previous or current occupation, were/are employed in sectors in short supply (e.g. construction, catering, cleaning, ....).
• Increased checks on collaborative economy platforms and digital platforms that award assignments, as well as on employees on these platforms, ...

Greater attention will therefore be required of all employers who post employees to Belgium.

Digital nomads and teleworking

In light of the European Commission's recent efforts to further digitise and coordinate social security, the government wants to ensure that forms of work such as digital nomads, cross-border teleworking and seasonal employees remain as flexible, if not more so, while complying with and respecting European standards. Could this alleviate the administrative obligations of employers and employees in terms of social security? Only time will tell.

Professional migration

The government agreement also provides for the development of migration policy, particularly on the following points:

• In order to achieve the target of 80% of foreign nationals in employment by 2030, target measures will be adopted to better integrate foreign nationals into the labour market.
• Simplification of the single permit procedure and measures to protect employees holding single permits who are victims of social offences by their employer.
• Processing times for single permits will be further reduced by maintaining staffing levels, continuing to give priority to the single permit module as part of the eMigration digitisation process, and examining the possibility parallel processing of admissible applications by the Aliens Office and the Region.
• Stepping up the fight against bogus arrangements and the exploitation of migrant employees through the posting of employees, and stepping up controls. In addition to European cooperation on working conditions such as social security, periodic in-depth and strict checks will be carried out.
• Tougher policy towards economic migrants who, if they no longer meet the entry conditions, will have to return to their country of origin. The 3-month retention period for holders of single permits has been generalised. For holders of combined permits who are victims of social offences committed by their employer, a period of 6 months is granted to maintain their right of residence.

On the basis of some of these measures, we hope that it will be easier and quicker to bring an employee into a Belgian company who has to obtain a single permit.

Joint committees

The new government is asking the social partners to reduce the number of joint committees by 1 January 2027.

Right to strike

By 31 December 2025, the social partners are asked to clarify the exercise of the right to strike. The right to strike must be guaranteed while respecting the rights and freedoms of others and public order. The government is committed to respecting this agreement.

As announced, the new De Wever government plans to make extensive changes to pension systems with a number of important reforms. According to the coalition agreement, all measures coming into effect during this legislature will be approved in 2025. This ambitious schedule means that in the coming months we can expect a large number of new regulatory initiatives The most important ones are highlighted below.

Statutory pensions 

Early retirement

No changes are being made to the legal retirement age. This is currently at 66 and will increase to 67 as planned. If you meet certain age and career conditions, you can also retire early before reaching the legal retirement age. The current conditions are:

Since the introduction of compulsory education until the age of 18, it is very rare that someone can retire at the age of 60 with a career spanning 44 years. From 2027, employees could also take early retirement from the age of 60, provided they have built up a career of at least 42 years in which they have actually worked for at least 234 days each year. This corresponds to 42 calendar years with a minimum employment rate of 75%.

Under the current legislation, a career year is taken into account for access to early statutory retirement only if it comprises at least 104 days worked or equivalent. This corresponds to 1/3^rd of a full-time equivalent. This career condition is particularly important for an employee's first and last years of employment.

An employee who works full-time from January to April is currently credited with one year of service and can retire on May 1^st if the age requirement is met. Anyone who started working full-time in September is also credited with one year of service.

As of 2027, this threshold would be raised: only calendar years with at least 156 days worked or equivalent (so 50% of a full-time equivalent) would then count toward meeting the career condition. A transitional measure would be provided for the first year of service (which currently counts in case of full-time employment as of September. For those relatively close to early retirement, the earliest possible retirement date would only be postponed to a limited extent:

• Those who could take early retirement in 2025 can still do so after the pension reform.
• Those who are 60 at the time of the pension reform will have to work a maximum of one year longer.
• Those who are 53 at the time of the pension reform will have to work a maximum of two years longer.

In exchange for the intended tightening of access to early retirement, it is the government's intention to explore the possibility of introducing the half-time pension, whereby workers aged 60 or older, who meet the conditions for early or statutory retirement, can receive half of their pension while continuing to work half-time.

Malus and bonus scheme

The pension bonus has only recently made its re-entry, but would already be reformed and accompanied by a malus scheme during the new legislature. Persons who meet the conditions for early retirement, but who do not have 35 career years with at least 156 effectively worked days and 7020 effectively worked days in total, would see their statutory pension reduced by 2% until 2030, 4% until 2040 and 5% from 2040 for each year of early retirement.

On the other hand, there is a renewed pension bonus in which the pension amount per year of withdrawal after the statutory retirement age (currently 66 and 67 as of 2030) would be increased by an identical bonus rate, provided the more stringent career requirements of 35 career years with at least 156 effective days worked per year and a total of 7020 effective days worked are met.

This would mean a significant change in the philosophy regarding the pension bonus: the current pension bonus is accrued from the earliest possible retirement date, which depending on the personal situation can occur from the age of 60 to 65; according to the text of the coalition agreement, in the future one would only be entitled to a pension bonus if one continues to work beyond the legal retirement age, which is currently 66. In addition, the coalition agreement talks about a bonus per year of withdrawal after the legal retirement age. This differs from the current pension bonus that accrues on a daily basis. Finally, the pension bonus would consist of a percentage increase in the statutory pension, as opposed to the current pension bonus that provides for the payment of a separate bonus amount that is in principle paid out in the form of a lump sum. The payment of the pension bonus in the form of a capital upon retirement has the advantage of granting the full, financial reward for working longer immediately upon retirement, whereas the new pension bonus merely results in a increase in the monthly pension amount. Since someone who has reached retirement age can accumulate his or her income indefinitely with the statutory pension, the question arises as to whether the new pension bonus will provide an incentive to postpone taking up the statutory pension after that date. The loss of statutory pension due to the postponement does not seem to outweigh the limited increase from 2% to 4%.

Equivalent periods

According to the coalition agreement, today about one-third of pension rights for employees are based on periods of inactivity that are regarded as equivalent to periods worked for the pension calculation. To strengthen the link between time worked and pension accrual, some restrictions are envisaged.

Periods of maternity leave, career breaks, reductions with a care motive and birth leave will continue to fully count toward the pension calculation. The pension accrual for periods of unemployment, SWT ("bridge pension") and end of career-measures will be based on the limited notional wage (instead of the differentiated pension ceiling).

The maximum accrual for an active professional is currently 1.073 euros gross per year of employment. And equalisation based on the limited notional wage results in a pension accrual of only 437 euros gross.

In addition, a new limit will be introduced: from 2027, equivalent periods that represent more than 40% of the total career will no longer count for the pension calculation of employees and self-employed workers. This 40% limit will fall by 5 percentage points each year to 20% in 2031, as is already the case today for civil servants. Periods of sickness and care leave are excluded from this.

Civil service pension

The government aims to further harmonize civil service pensions with those of employees and self-employed workers through a whole series of intended measures.

The calculation basis would be adjusted: whereas the pension of employees and the self-employed is calculated on the basis of wages of each year of employment, in the case of civil servants it is in principle on the basis of the average reference salary of the last 10 years. The government is moving toward an average-pay scheme where the civil service pension is calculated over the entire career. This may lead to a reduction in the pension amount, as salary scales tend to increase as the career progresses.

In addition, current civil service pensions would be reformed. The welfare link via perequation, whereby civil servants' current pensions increase automatically with the wages of active civil servants, would be abolished from 2026 and integrated into the general welfare envelope. At the same time, a capping of indexation would be implemented and the Wijninckx ceiling would temporarily cease to be indexed.

The remaining preferential tantièmes, which did not require some categories of civil servants to work less than 45 years to accumulate a full civil service pension, would be abolished. For teaching staff and active services, a 1.05 coefficient of increase would remain (making one career year count for 1.05), which would be gradually reduced from 2027 to 1.025 in 2032. In addition, the retirement age for certain categories of civil servants, such as military and NMBS personnel, would be increased by one year each year from 2027 to eventually reach parity with the statutory retirement age of employees and other civil servants. The NAVAP system, which allows early retirement for police, would also be phased out over time.

In line with the already decided reform of sickness pensions for statutory civil servants in the "Temporary Disability for Civil Servants" (TAVA), new inflows into this system will be stopped as of January 1, 2026, so that the system would eventually be completely extinguished at the federal, regional and local levels. In the future, civil servants would also no longer be able to accumulate sick days. For federal civil servants, the government aims to move to a system of disability and incapacity insurance similar to the private sector scheme.

Occupational pensions 

3% target vs. wage standard

Like previous governments, the Arizona coalition aims to further expand the occupational pension with a minimum employer contribution of 3% of gross pay by 2035. Industries which do not provide this yet need to act first.

The question arises whether the intended increase of the occupational pension will fall within the scope of the wage standard or not, knowing that little to no wage margin is expected in the coming years. The proposal included in the De Wever ‘supernota’ to be able to expand the occupational pension on top of the wage standard was not included in the coalition agreement.

(Para)fiscal standstill

The government indicates its intention to respect the fiscal and parafiscal standstill for occupational pensions, as agreed within the National Labor Council in 2023.

Some of the announced measures do not seem to be in line with the agreed standstill.

When the sum of the statutory and supplementary pension exceeds certain limit amounts, a solidarity contribution of 0 to 2% is due on the statutory and supplementary pension. A first measure of the De Wever government concerns an increased solidarity contribution on the part of occupational pension capitals higher than 150,000 euros. The level of the additional contribution has not been specified.

Contributions for building up an occupational pension are subject to a social security contribution of 8.86%. More generous occupational pension plans may also be subject to an additional Wijninckx contribution, which is calculated by Sigedis. The Wijninckx contribution is currently 3% and the previous government had already decided to raise it to 6% from January 2028. The coalition agreement talks about increasing the contribution without specifying whether this means a further increase compared to the already planned increase. In addition, the actual pension amounts as they are known to Sigedis are taken into account for monitoring compliance with the Wijninckx ceiling.

The government also aims to adjust the calculation of the 80% limit: from now on, identifiable and updated parameters that take into account the career already accomplished would be taken into account, thus bringing the application of the tax limit closer to reality. The parameters for calculating the new limit will be based on the information available in government databases such as My Pension, My Career and the database of the FPS Finance, thus enabling efficient monitoring. A clarification of the application method would be worthwhile to reduce the number of discussions and the diverging case law regarding the application of the 80% limit.

Changes for self-employed persons

In addition to clarifying the 80% limit, the government wants to harmonise and simplify the various systems under which the self-employed can build up an occupational pension (‘POZ’, ‘VAPZ’ or ‘IPT via a company’). The maximum contribution percentage of the traditional Volutary Occupational Pension for the Self-Employed (‘VAPZ’) will increase from 8.17% to 8.5% from 2026. The maximum contribution rate for the social ‘VAPZ’ will be adjusted accordingly. Self-employed people with a secondary occupation would also be eligible to contribute to a ‘VAPZ’.

Insured benefits

In a judgement open to serious criticism, the Labour Court of Antwerp ruled at the end of 2023 that a time limit provided on occupational disability insurance for psychological illnesses violated the Anti-Discrimination Act because this time limit does not apply to physical illnesses. The Labour Court declared the time limit on the benefit null and void.

This ruling has caused quite a stir within the insurance industry, as such limitations are included as standard clause in insurance contracts.

Given the uncertainty this jurisprudence creates for current market practices, the government intends to analyse this issue together with the stakeholders.