Coronavirus: artists' unemployment benefit

The measures relating to the freeze of decreasing of unemployment benefits of artists are extended until 30 June 2021.

Two new measures on artists' unemployment benefits take effect retroactively on 1 January 2021, and will cease to apply on 1 July 2021:

• Cultural sector workers may invoke the hours that may have been worked during the period from 14 March 2020 up to 30 June 2021, in order to acquire temporary entitlement to unemployment benefits;
• The minimum unemployment benefit for unemployed people belonging to the group of intermittent workers in the artistic sector is temporarily increased between 1 January and 1 July 2021. This increase of the minimum benefit is intended for these unemployed persons, irrespective of the date on which they became unemployed.

Sources:

• Royal Decree extending various unemployment measures as part of the fight against the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 and amending the Royal Decree of 20 January 2021 on the granting of a supplement for workers made temporarily unemployed in 2020, articles 11 to 14, Belgian Official Gazette of 07.05.2021;
• Royal Decree supplementing the measures provided for in the Act of 15 July 2020 to improve the situation of workers in the cultural sector and temporarily increasing the minimum benefits for certain workers employed in the artistic sector, Belgian Official Gazette of 07.05.2021; 
• Our Infoflashes of 30 July 2020 and of 25 January 2021.