Flexi-jobs – Dimona

Working in a flexi-job implies that a correct Dimona must be submitted on time.

Key role for the Dimona

The Dimona is the electronic declaration of employment which is compulsory for all workers.

In the case of a flexi-job the Dimona is of crucial importance: some conditions are evaluated by the NSSO at the time of registration of the Dimona and the employer immediately receives the evaluation results. A positive response is required in order to actually declare the employment as a flexi-job.

Two types of Dimona

There are two types of Dimona for a flexi-job, depending on the type of employment contract:

• when the employment contract is concluded orally (which is allowed for flexi-jobs), the contracts are daily contracts by definition and each day worked a new Dimona must be submitted (daily Dimona);
• when the employment contract is concluded in writing, one Dimona for the complete period covered by the contract must be submitted at least once per quarter since the conditions are checked each quarter (quarterly Dimona).

Example

Flexi-job employment from 20 March until 5 April.

When no written employment contract is concluded, the contracts are (oral) daily contracts: for each day worked a new daily Dimona must be submitted.

When the period is covered by a written employment contract, there are two Dimona’s: a first one for the period from 20 to 31 March and a second one for the period from 1 to 5 April. From 1 April the reference quarter for the evaluation of the principal activity shifts.

Daily Dimona

A daily Dimona is compulsory when the flexi-job is not covered by a written employment contract. This Dimona must be submitted for each day worked in a flexi-job.

The daily Dimona contains the following information:

• the details of the employer and the worker
• the flexi-job code (FLX)
• the starting time of work (hours and minutes)
• the end time of work (hours and minutes)

When is a daily Dimona on time?

In the daily Dimona the starting time is expressed in hours and minutes.

A daily Dimona is ‘on time’ when it is registered at the NSSO not later than the starting time.

Example

A daily Dimona FLX for work performed on 15 May and starting at 19h15’ must be registered on 15 May at 19h15’ at the latest.

Evaluation of a daily Dimona and response of the NSSO

First it is checked whether the Dimona is submitted on time vis-à-vis the starting time of work.

When not on time, the employer is immediately informed that the Dimona is ‘not OK’.

When on time the pensioner’s statute and the principal activity will be checked, in that order.

When the Dimona is on time AND the flexi-job worker is pensioned, the response will be ‘OK’:

• either the concerned person is at least 65 years of age at the day of the Dimona;
• or the concerned person is registered in the second preceding quarter as an early pensioner in the pension register.

When the Dimona is on time AND the flexi-job worker is not pensioned, it will be checked whether the concerned worker has a principal activity, via the career database of the second quarter preceding the Dimona.

When the worker is employed for at least 4/5 in that quarter with one or more employers, the response will be ‘OK’.

When no 4/5 employment can be justified, the response will be ‘not OK’.

Impact of the response

‘OK’ means that the flexi-job is given the go-ahead for the day covered by the Dimona.

‘Not OK’ means that the flexi-job is NOT allowed for that day and that the worker must be declared as a regular worker.

… but please mind! ‘OK’ does not necessarily mean that the conditions are observed in the current quarter. A flexi-job cannot be combined with an employment of at least 4/5, a pay in lieu of notice or a notice period with the same employer. When the NSSO finds such a combination on the basis of the dmfa, the flexi-job will be regularized later on.

Quarterly Dimona

A quarterly Dimona is compulsory when the flexi-job is covered by a written employment contract. This Dimona covers the period of the contract with a maximum of one quarter.

The quarterly Dimona contains the following information:

• the details of the employer and the worker
• the flexi-job code (FLX)
• the start date of work
• the end date of work (situated in the same quarter as the start date)

When is a quarterly Dimona on time?

The quarterly Dimona contains the start date of work. A quarterly Dimona is ‘on time’ when it is registered with the NSSO at that day at the latest.

Example

The FLX quarterly Dimona for the period from 15 May until 20 May must be registered at the latest on 15 May at 11:59’ pm.

Evaluation of a daily Dimona and response of the NSSO

The same checking is done as for a daily Dimona. To check whether the Dimona is on time, the start date of work is taken into account.

Impact of the response

The impact is the same as for a daily Dimona, but here the ‘OK or ‘not OK’ response applies for the complete period (maximum one quarter) covered by the Dimona. The remark with regard to the conditions in the current contract does also apply.

Source: Act of 16 November 2015 establishing various social provisions, as amended by the Programme Act of 25 December 2017 (Belgian Official Gazette of 29 December 2017).

Author: Els Poelman

13/02/2018