Terrorist attacks in Brussels: consequences for the performance of the employment contract on Tuesday 22 March 2016

The terrorist attacks in the Brussels Capital Region and Brussels airport on Tuesday 22 May disturb the work relations as commercial centres and enterprises have closed doors, public transport is paralysed or main roads are blocked.
Now, what about the remuneration of the worker who is not able to execute his normal activities on Tuesday 22 March due to these circumstances?

Closing of commercial centres and enterprises

Two assumptions must be distinguished:

• the employer is forced to close his business/store by order of the authorities;
• the employer himself has taken the initiative to close his business/store for the safety of his workers.

The employer is forced to close his business/store by order of the authorities

This is a case of force majeure. The obligation imposed by the authorities to the employer to close his business is indeed a sudden and unpredictable event that is independent of the will of the parties and that makes the performance of the contract temporarily and totally impossible.

Consequently, the employer is not obliged to pay the remuneration.

However, the worker may receive temporary unemployment allowances due to force majeure at the expense of the ONEm (provided that the director of the unemployment office of the ONEm decides that all the conditions are met - http://www.onem.be/fr/documentation/feuille-info/e24).

The employer himself has taken the initiative to clos his business/store for the safety of his workers

The decision to close the business is not made by a third party (the authorities), but by the employer himself. Consequently, the conditions of force majeure are not met as such. The employer is obliged to pay the remuneration.

However, given the exceptional circumstances that have incited the employer to close his business, he may be advised to ask more information from the ONEm on the possible recognition of this situation as a case of force majeure giving the right to temporary unemployment allowances.

Paralysed public traffic and closed main roads

Under article 27, 1° of the act of July 3, 1978 on employment contracts, the full daily remuneration is due to the worker when he, being able to work at the time of arrival at work and travelling normally to his place of work, arrives too late or does not arrive at work, provided that this delay or this absence is due to a cause that has occurred on his way to work and that is independent of his will.

The worker who could not reach his place of work or arrived too late due to paralysed public transport or closed main roads is entitled to his remuneration for the hours not worked.

We will keep you informed about the decisions taken by the official bodies (ONEm and FPS Work) in the context of these exceptional circumstances.

Author: Catherine Legardien

22/03/2016