Belgium: New Registration Tool For Employers Whose Employees Cannot Work From Home

On 24 March 2021, the Belgian government introduced a registration tool for employers to indicate how many employees will work at the company premises, despite the work from home obligation imposed by the government, because they are not able to work from home. The registered data can be used in the event of a social inspection.

The registration obligation was introduced by the Ministerial Decree of 26 March 2021.

For whom?

The registration obligation applies to all employers in the private and public sector. Only employers who are obliged to be completely closed do not have to register.

The obligation only applies to employees who will always work from the company premises as they cannot work from home under any circumstances (not even for specific tasks). Temporary and self-employed workers should also be included.

Employees who can partially or fully work from home do not have to be registered.

The following functions are examples of functions that cannot be performed from home: reception, cleaning, inspection, home care, etc.

How?

The registration tool is available via: https://www.socialsecurity.be/site_nl/employer/applics/coronavirus/index.htm. Registration is possible via e-ID, Itsme or other tools.

The registration must be done in numbers. Employers do not have to submit a nominative list.

In addition to registering the number of employees who cannot work from home, it must also be indicated (i) how many branch units the company has and (ii) the number of people working in the company (per branch unit).

When?

Registration will take place on a monthly basis. The registration concerns the first working day of the month and shall be submitted by the sixth calendar day of the month.

Companies with more than 20 branch units must use a structured excel file, made available by the RSZ.

This article is also available in Dutch and French.

Originally published 29 March 2021

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.