Employees returning from a trip abroad: what should be done?

Even though travel abroad is strongly discouraged due to the health crisis, some of your employees will take advantage of the Christmas holidays to take a few days of leave outside Belgium.

These trips abroad may not be without consequences for returning to work. Indeed, your employees may be forced to quarantine on their return.

This is a look at the rules applicable at the start of the holiday period.

A red, orange and green world

The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs (https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en) updates the list of countries/regions in the red, orange or green zones on a daily basis.

What do these colour codes actually mean?

Red zone

• travel is strictly discouraged by the Belgian authorities; or
• the authorities in this country prohibit non-essential travel from Belgium.

Orange zone

• the Belgian authorities are urging increased caution; or
• travel is possible, but the authorities in this country require travellers from Belgium to undergo a COVID test and/or quarantine -> light orange.

Green zone

Travel is possible. Hygiene measures and physical distancing rules remain applicable.

It should be noted that the majority of European countries are currently classified as a red zone…

What should your employees returning from abroad do?

On their return to Belgium after a stay abroad and regardless of the colour of the area assigned to the country of destination, your employees must complete the Passenger Locator Form within 48 hours before his or her arrival in Belgium, in the following two situations:

• if they return to Belgium by plane or boat,
• in any case, if they have stayed abroad for more than 48 hours.

They must also complete a self-assessment questionnaire on the conditions of their travel and/or stay abroad.

If, following examination of the Passenger Locator Form and of the self-assessment questionnaire, any of your employees are considered to be a “high-risk contact” (which should generally be the case if they are returning from a red zone), they must get a test and comply with a seven-day quarantine.

What if one of your employees has to quarantine himself/herself?

The quarantined employee must immediately inform you of this. If you so request, he must also present you with a quarantine certificate.

If your employee is unable to perform his work due to his quarantine, his contract will be suspended due to force majeure. He may therefore claim temporary unemployment benefits for “covid-19” force majeure, paid by the ONEM/RVA (National Employment Office).

In this respect, the ONEM/RVA specifies that temporary unemployment benefits will only be granted if your employee is able to produce a quarantine certificate from his doctor.

However, if it is possible for your quarantined employee to perform his work by, for example, using teleworking, he will continue to receive the usual remuneration for you.

Attention! According to the FPS Employment and the ONEM/RVA, if your employee went to a destination that was already classified as a red zone at the time of his departure (strictly discouraged destination), he did not behave as an ordinarily prudent person. Force majeure may not therefore be invoked as a reason for suspending the performance of the employment contract for the period of mandatory quarantine. Your employee may not therefore receive temporary unemployment benefit from the ONEM/RVA. In this case, if the employee cannot perform his employment contract (for example, because teleworking is not possible) or use leave days or compensatory rest days to cover the quarantine period, the performance of his contract will be suspended in the form of authorised absence without compensation payable by you.

The ONEM/RVA also specifies that it will carry out checks and refuse temporary unemployment or subsequently recover benefits if the conditions are not met (for example, when travel is strictly discouraged (red zone) at the time of departure).

What about business travel?

At present, no distinction based on the type of travel (private or business) is made with respect to the formalities to be completed by employees returning from a stay abroad. This means that employees returning from a business trip abroad must also complete the Passenger Locator Form and the self-assessment questionnaire. As a result, they may, if necessary, be required to get a test and quarantine themselves.

Important! The Consultative Committee of 18 December announced that, in early 2021, a new Passenger Locator Form system would be put in place that makes a distinction between business travel and private travel. Business travellers with a certificate from the employer should no longer be quarantined if their Passenger Locator Form shows an absence of risky behaviour. All other travellers must comply with the quarantine in all circumstances.

We will keep you informed.

Sources: FPS Foreign Affairs; Ministerial Order of 28 October 2020 on emergency measures to limit the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, Belgian Official Gazette 28 October 2020;  https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/quarantine-isolation/ ;  ONEM FAQ  ; https://www.belgium.be.