New Flemish hiring incentive for long-term job-seekers

A hiring premium in the Flemish Region will replace the former Activaplan for long-term job-seekers.

Background

Since 1 January 2017, long-term job-seekers on the Flemish labour market are available at the full cost price. The Activaplan was abolished which means potential employers are no longer able to rely on a reduction of the employer's contributions and/or an activation of the allowance. The 25 to 54 age category may completely miss out because they do not confer an entitlement to the new Flemish reduction for young or senior employees either. To compensate this somewhat there will be a hiring incentive for this group in the form of a fixed premium paid out to the employer.

Conditions

The Flemish Region pays a hiring incentive for every employee who:

• is hired on 1 January 2017 at the earliest;
• is at least 25 and at most 54 at the end of the hiring quarter;
• has been registered with the VDAB for at least two years as a non-working job-seeker;
• works at a place of business in the Flemish Region;
• has a contract for an indefinite period, or consecutive contracts for a definite period if that is usual in the company;
• has not been hired as a temporary worker, in a flexi-job or with the cheap status of occasional worker in the catering sector or agriculture and horticulture;
• has not replaced an employee who was made redundant to make room for a person who is entitled to this incentive.

Amount of the hiring incentive

The incentive is paid out in two instalments: € 1,250.00 after 3 months of employment and € 3,000.00 after twelve months of employment. In case of part-time employment the basic amounts are modified:

Follow-up and monitoring

On requesting the incentive, the employer must certify certain information.

Afterwards the conditions, such as duration and volume of employment are electronically followed up through an exchange of data with the National Social Security Office (dimona and dmfa).

Premature termination of the contract of employment

When the contract of employment ends within the first three or twelve months respectively, the instalment of the incentive can still be paid out if the company proves that the contract was terminated:

• by the employee himself/herself;
• by the employer for a compelling reason or at least for a reason beyond his/her control;
• due to force majeure.

Exceptions

For the same employee, the incentive cannot be accumulated with certain other Flemish support measures. Companies in difficulties and companies that are the subject of recovering proceedings of government support are excluded. There is also an annual budget which, once it has been used up, means other requests shall not receive any incentives.

How do I request the incentive?

The employer must request the incentive within three months after hiring (expiry period!) a potential entitled party, via the online application of the VDAB.

Attention!

The online application will only be operational after the final approval of the Government of Flanders Decree, and provided the underlying data flows have been efficiently established. To counterbalance the effect of delay in the start-up phase, the request period of three months will start on 1 March 2017 for hirings inJanuary and February 2017.

We will keep you updated.

Source: Government of Flanders Decree to award hiring incentives for long-term job-seekers, adapted version approved by the Flemish government on 03.02.2017.

Author: Els Poelman

14/02/2017