Compulsory test for foreign employees

From 25 December 2020, there is a new obligation for employers in the construction, cleaning, agriculture, horticulture and meat processing sectors who temporarily call upon an employee or self-employed person residing or living abroad. If these employees or self-employed people return from a red area, they may only be employed if they can submit a negative test result.

This obligation is in addition to the existing obligations on the registration of foreign employees, which were already discussed in a previous Infoflash.

For whom?

An employee or self-employed person living or residing abroad must provide proof of a negative test result. This test must be carried out at the earliest 72 hours prior to the beginning of his work or activities in Belgium when travelling to Belgium from a red area. This obligation applies to temporary employment in the construction, cleaning, agriculture, horticulture and meat processing sectors.

In the absence of a negative result, the employer or user cannot call upon the employee or self-employed person to work in Belgium and the latter must place himself in quarantine until a negative result can be submitted.

Natural persons hiring a third party for work for personal purposes are excluded from this obligation.

These measures enter into force on 25 December 2020.

More information

Source:

- Ministerial Decree of 24 December 2020 amending the Ministerial Decree of 28 October 2020 on urgent measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, Belgian Official Gazette of 24 December 2020.

- Ministerial Decree of 19 December 2020 amending the Ministerial Decree of 28 October 2020 on urgent measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, Belgian Official Gazette of 20 December 2020.