The employment premium in the Walloon Region: retroactive changes

The employment premium is an incentive for very small enterprises based in the Walloon Region to hire workers. One of the conditions to obtain this premium is net job creation. The employer will receive the premium if the net job creation remains during the 8 quarters after the quarter of hiring. The Walloon Region has now introduced changes to these regulations, with retroactive effect from 1 January 2014.

1. Amount of the premium

The amount of the premium is set at € 3,250 per created job and at € 5,000 for the 1st worker, i.e. the person who was hired under a binding employment contract with the very small enterprise[1], calculated as a work unit.

What has changed?

The amount of the premium for the 1st worker (which remains set at € 5,000) is reduced to € 2,000 if the very small enterprise is unable to create a full-time work unit, but manages to create 0.6 work units.

This is therefore more advantageous for employers who were unable to create a full-time work unit (but 0.6). They will receive a premium of € 2,000 instead of no premium at all.

The average of the personnel employed in full-time equivalents by the very small enterprise after each job creation is at least equal to the number of employment premiums obtained during the last 5 years.

2. Maximum number of premiums

The number of employment premiums will be limited to the additional staff that increases the total staff employed with less than 10 jobs.

What has changed?

Over a period of 5 years, the enterprise benefits from maximum 5 employment premiums, with a maximum of one premium per job creation.

The rule according to which the number of employment premiums is limited to the additional staff that increases the total staff employed with less than 10 jobs, no longer exists for new hirings since the 1st quarter of 2014.

This new restriction is less advantageous for certain employers who will, from now on, benefit from less employment premiums.

3. Excluded sectors

This measure does not apply to a number of sectors, determined on the basis of their NACE code, and to companies in difficulty.

What has changed?

The number of excluded sectors has been extended. From the first quarter of 2014, the following sectors are excluded from the measure:

• 69: legal and accounting activities
• 70: activities of the registered offices, board of directors
• 71: activities of architecture and engineering, control activities and technical analysis activities (including the activities of surveyors)
• 72: scientific research and development
• 73: publicity and market research
• 74: other specialized, scientific and technical activities.

From the 1st quarter of 2014, the measure applies to companies in difficulty.

4. New obligation

The employment premium will only be paid if the very small enterprise is identified at the NSSO:

• at the time of the submission of the application for the employment premium
• and at the time of the payment of the employment premium.

5. Merger & demerger of companies

The Walloon Region clarifies the conditions to be fulfilled by a new legal entity created following a merger or demerger of companies, contribution or transfer of universality of assets or branch of activity, or in the case of a judicial reorganization of the company by transfer under judicial authority.

The new legal entity must meet the following conditions to benefit from the employment premium:

• the economic activity of the enterprise must be continued in the Walloon Region;
• the subsidised jobs are to be transferred to the new legal entity;
• the new legal entity must be a very small enterprise during the quarter of reference (= the quarter of hiring).

6. Entry into force

These changes enter into force the 1st quarter of 2014.

Source: Order of the Walloon Government of 14 January 2016 amending the Order of the Walloon Government of 6 May 2004 implementing the Decree of 11 March 2004 on the regional incentives in favour of the small and medium-sized enterprises, Belgian Official Gazette 25.01.2016.

[1] A very small enterprise is an enterprise that employs fewer than 10 workers and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed € 2 million.

Author: Anne Ghysels

09/02/2016