The new ‘responsibilisation contribution’

Author: Author: Els Poelman
Read time: 2min
Publication date: 23/01/2018 - 13:00
Latest update: 10/05/2019 - 09:22

Employers who do not first offer their vacancies to their part-time employees earning an income guarantee allowance shall now be obliged to pay a ‘responsibilisation contribution’.

Which employees are concerned?

The contribution can be imposed for employment contracts:

  • closed not earlier than 01.01.2018
  • for a part-time employment
  • and under which the employee is entitled to an income guarantee allowance paid by the ONEm/RVA for the inactive hours.

When must the contribution be paid?

In general the employer must first offer vacant work hours to part-time employees. This obligation is not new and the procedure is as follows:

  1. the part-time employee provides the employer with a written request for a full-time employment or a part-time employment with a higher weekly working time
  2. in a written confirmation of receipt the employer agrees to offer all vacancies to the employee concerned
  3. the employer is then obliged to communicate to the part-time employee every full-time/part-time vacancy that corresponds to his current job and/or his qualifications
  4. an appropriate vacancy must first be filled by the part-time employee so that he reaches a full-time employment or a part-time employment with a higher weekly working time.

The employer who does not observe this priority rule vis-à-vis a part-time employee with an income guarantee allowance will be obliged to pay a responsibilisation contribution.

In two scenarios the responsibilisation contribution is not due:

  • since one year as from the first application for an income guarantee allowance to the ONEm/RVA, no extra hours have become available for the part-time worker’s position
  • the employer offers the extra hours to another employee because they fall in the normal working time of the part-time worker

Amount of the contribution

The contribution is collected by the NSSO and is declared via the DmfA.

The contribution is a flat-rate amount of €25.00:

  • per part-time employee earning an income guarantee allowance
  • per month for which the vacant hours were not offered to the employee

The contribution shall by no means be prorated.

Source: Programme Act of 25 December 2017 (Belgian Official Gazette of 29 December 2017).

Author: Els Poelman

23/01/2018

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