Work resumption bonus of €1,000 for employers hiring a disabled employee

To encourage long-term incapacitated employees to resume work, the Programme Act of 26 December 2022 provides for the granting of a work resumption bonus of €1,000 to the employer.

A Royal Decree specifies the conditions under which this bonus may be granted.

Conditions for granting the bonus

Period of disability and authorised work

This measure applies to disabled employees, i.e., employees who have been incapacitated for work for more than one year. These may be employees who already had an employment contract with the employer at the start of their incapacity for work or new employees hired by the employer.

These incapacitated employees must resume work adapted to their state of health with the authorisation of the health insurance fund's medical adviser.

Both the authorisation of the health insurance fund's medical adviser and the employment by the employer based on this authorisation must take place between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2025.

This only applies to new authorisations to work by the health insurance fund as of 1 April 2023. Extensions of authorised work granted after 1 April 2023 are therefore not taken into account.

Condition of employment with the employer:

• An employment contract for an indefinite period;
• A fixed-term employment contract that has an anticipated duration of at least 3 months, from date to date, at the start of the authorised work;
• A contract within the framework of a work-linked training that has an anticipated duration of at least 3 months, from date to date, at the start of the authorised work.

Duration of employment

To qualify for the work resumption bonus, the employer must have employed the employee for at least 3 months before 1 October 2025.

This 3-month period is extended by the months or calendar days during which no work was performed.

Exclusions:

The work resumption bonus is not granted to the employer in case of employment:

• of a flexi-job worker;
• of an occasional worker;
• exercised, outside the normal employment circuit, in a company that comes under Joint Committee 327 for sheltered workshops, social workshops and "maatwerkbedrijven” (adapted work companies).
• as a volunteer firefighter, volunteer ambulance driver or civil protection volunteer.

Bonus application procedure

When should the application be submitted?

The employer may submit an application at the earliest after 3 months of authorised work.

The application must be submitted no later than 2 years after the end of the 3 calendar months during which the authorised work was performed.

To whom and how should the application be submitted?

The application must be submitted electronically or, if this is not possible, on a paper form to the Collège Intermutualiste National.

Partena Professional is not involved in this procedure.

On-line application: website of the Collège Intermutualiste National

Paper application:

Collège Intermutualiste National

Manhattan Center - étage 7

Avenue du Boulevard 21 Boîte 7

1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.

When is the bonus paid?

If the application is complete and the conditions are met, the bonus will be paid no later than the last day of the second calendar month following the calendar month in which the 3-month period of authorised work ended.

Entry into force 

These provisions enter into force on 1 April 2023.

Source: Programme Act of 26 December 2022, articles 154-161, Belgian Official Gazette of 30.12.2022; Royal Decree of 17 July 2023 establishing the conditions for granting the work resumption bonus payable by the benefit insurance, Belgian Official Gazette of 31.07.2023.