Paid educational leave: applications for reimbursement to be submitted before 30 June 2014

Workers on paid educational leave are paid their normal wage during the hours/days of paid educational leave (limited to € 2,760 gross/month).

The employer can apply for reimbursement of wages and social security contributions relating to these hours/days of paid educational leave. Applications for reimbursement can be made once a year.

The employer must submit the required set of documents to the Paid Educational Leave Directorate of the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue.

This set of records should contain the following:

• The individual index cards for each worker who has been on paid educational leave. These index cards must be arranged in alphabetical order;
• A collective declaration of claim: the employer draws up a collective declaration for all workers involved. On this declaration, he mentions in alphabetical order all workers for whom an individual index card was drawn up.
• The certificate of regular enrolment for each worker who has been on paid educational leave;
• The quarterly certificate of regular attendance for each worker who has been on paid educational leave;
• NEW: a summary list of the addresses of the various establishment units and the number of workers who have been on paid educational leave for every establishment unit. 

The sixth state reform has provided that the competence for paid educational leave is transferred to the regions from 1 July 2014. Applications for reimbursement for the academic year 2013-2014 will therefore have to be submitted to the regions. This will have to be carried out separately for each individual establishment unit that the employer has registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) (we will come back on this matter in due time).

In preparation for this regionalization, the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue requires a summary list (see above) if the employer has more than one establishment unit registered in the CBE. This goes for applications for reimbursement relating to the academic year 2012-2013, to be submitted before 30 June 2014.

The employer may also enclose other relevant documents (e.g. resit certificate, a copy of the employment contract if the worker works part-time on the basis of a variable work schedule, ... ).

Models of the individual index card and the declaration of claim are available on the website www.emploi.belgique.be, section 'Congés' ('Leaves'), 'Congé-éducation payé' ('Paid educational leave').

The employer has 1.5 years to submit the documents. This period commences on 1 January of the year in which the claim arises.

Applications for reimbursement for the academic year 2012-2013 must therefore be submitted before 30 June 2014. 

For the academic year 2012-2013, the employer is entitled to a reimbursement of € 21.65/hour of paid educational leave.

If you wish, Partena may submit your documents to the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue. Please send an email to our administrative unit: administrationteam@partena.be or call your Payroll consultant.

If you prefer to submit your own documents, then use the address below:

SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation Sociale

Direction Congé-éducation payé

Rue Ernest Blérot, 1

1070 Bruxelles

Author: Anne Ghysels

20/08/2015