To make it possible to check both the collection of the contributions and the payment of the allowances provided for, the workers must be in possession of a removal card in accordance with the model in the appendix throughout their employment, depending on whether they have been hired for an indefinite period (P) or for a specific job or for a definite period (S).

Only the holders of a movers card P (both full time and half time in fixed employment registered) are entitled to the foreseen benefits. This card will be given to them by their employer when they take up their duties, after their registration in Dimona.

They must return the card on departure. In case of loss or failure to return the card, it will be declared worthless. The removal cards are issued to the employers by the Belgian Removal Chamber. The P cards must be renewed annually for all workers registered in the personnel register, the S cards every month.

The application for reimbursement of the benefits provided for must be addressed to the Social Fund for Removals, Furniture Storage and Associated Activities within three months of the expiry of the period concerned, otherwise the Social Fund may refuse to make the reimbursement.

Beneficiaries

Supplementary unemployment benefits

Supplementary sickness benefit

Severance pay in case of retirement or early retirement

Reimbursement in the event of death

Syndicated premium

Intervention medical and fiscal costs "certificate of fitness to drive

Intervention costs driving licence C and or CE

End-of-year bonus

Seniority premium

Financial intervention Syndicated training

Intervention costs driver card for digital tachograph

Beneficiaries

To enable control of both the collection of contributions and the payment of the allowances provided for, the workers must be in possession of a removal card in accordance with the model in the appendix throughout their employment, depending on whether they have been recruited for an indefinite period (P) or for a specific job or for a fixed period (S).

Only the holders of a movers card P (both full time and half time in fixed employment registered) are entitled to the benefits provided for. This card is issued by their employer when they take up their duties, after being entered in the staff register.

The application for reimbursement of the benefits provided for must be addressed to the Social Fund for removals, furniture storage and related activities within six months of the end of the calendar year concerned, otherwise the Social Fund may refuse to make the reimbursement.

Supplementary unemployment benefits

Form F1

A blue-collar worker who is part-time unemployed for economic reasons is entitled to a supplementary allowance from the employer for all unemployed days.

From 01-06-2009 the additional unemployment allowance is made up as follows:

€ 6,00/day in the 5-day week
€ 5,00/day in the 6-day week

Award conditions:

are temporarily unemployed due to lack of work for economic reasons;
are entitled to unemployment benefits in application of the legislation on unemployment insurance.

What must the employee do?

have the F1 form filled in by his paying agent;
complete and sign the box reserved for the employee on the same form;
hand over the form to the employer upon receipt of the additional benefits.

What must the employer do?

provide the employee with a form F1 for each part-time unemployment for economic reasons;
upon return by the employee of the form filled in accurately by him and by his paying agent, the employer shall pay to the employee the additional allowances to which he is entitled;
the employer, for his part, fills in the F1 form and sends it to the Social Fund in order to obtain the reimbursement of 100 % of the supplementary allowances charged to the Social Fund. (The reimbursement is limited to 60 days per employee per year and per company maximum 12 % of the days declared to the NSSO of the previous year).
Complete the employment certificate (F3) and return it to the Social Fund.

Important: Even if the number of supplementary benefits reimbursed by the Social Fund is limited, the employer's employee is entitled to a supplementary benefit for any day he was temporarily unemployed for economic reasons.

TEMPORARY UNEMPLOYMENT DUE TO FORCE MAJEURE CORONA

Temporary unemployment from September 2020

On this moment all employers have the possibility to make use of the simplified system of temporary unemployment for reasons of force majeure "COVID19". From 1 September 2020 only, certain companies/sectors will continue to be able to make use of the simplified system of corona unemployment.

The companies that have been hit exceptionally hard by the corona crisis are the employers who during the second quarter of 2020 had a number of days of temporary unemployment for economic reasons and force majeure corona of at least 20 % of the total number of days declared to the National Social Security Office. This is more than likely the case for most moving companies.

To be able to make use of it, must You can make a preliminary application using a new Form "CoronaC106A- Corona".! (https://www.rva.be/nl/documentatie/formulieren/c106a-corona-hgo)

It is not yet clear how and within what time frame this must be submitted. BUT UNIZO reported that "When an employer only submits his application on 1/9, and the NEO effectively decides after 14 days (to which they commit themselves), then this employer can in the period 1/9 to 14/9 no appeal do on temporary unemployment !!!"

The simple procedure can be continued be applied, which means that:

There is no need to apply for benefits (ASR unemployment scenario 2);
No control card C3.2A needs to be issued and no validation book needs to be kept;
Only a monthly declaration of the days of temporary unemployment (ASR Unemployment Scenario 5) should be made;

The employee has to apply for benefits only once(C.3.2 EMPLOYEE-CORONA)

Quid with the additional intervention of the Social Fund for Removals?

The Board of Directors of the Social Fund decided at the beginning of the Corona crisis to until 31/8/2020 !!!:

To grant the supplementary intervention of the Fund in case of economic unemployment ALSO in case of temporary unemployment due to force majeure corona.
And NOT to apply the limits applicable to these applications. As a reminder: - the reimbursement in case of economic unemployment is limited up to 60 days per employee per year and per company maximum 12 % of the days declared to the NSSO of the previous year. - and, if the limit of the number of reimbursed supplementary allowances is reached, the employee still retains the right to a supplementary allowance for any day that he was temporarily unemployed for economic reasons. - In other words, the employer must continue to pay the supplementary allowance in the event of economic unemployment, but can no longer claim anything back from the Fund!

Until now, this rule has been NOT applied in case of temporary unemployment due to force majeure corona. The Board of Directors of the SF Removals of 25/08/2020 has decided that as of September 2020 the existing limits in case of temporary unemployment for economic reasons ALSO apply in the event of temporary unemployment due to force majeure caused by Covid-19.

It was also recalled that the applications for reimbursement were need to be done within three months after the end of the period concerned (Application form: see section "Forms").

CONCLUSIONS:

If you still want to make use of the RVA intervention for temporary unemployment due to force majeure from 1/9/2020, submit an application to the RVA before 1/9/2020.
If, as an employer, you still want to use the extra intervention of the FUND for temporary unemployment due to force majeure corona as from 1/9/2020, ask the FUND in advance about the limits, otherwise you might have paid them to your employees, but the FUND will not pay anything back. The Board of Directors will reassess this situation at its meeting on 22/09/2020.
Please submit your applications relating to the months before 1/9/2020 to the FUND in time.

Supplementary sickness benefit

Form F2

From 01-01-2006 the supplementary allowance for illness or accident (different from work-related accident or accident on the way to and from work) is composed as follows:

for the 23 calendar days following the first week of incapacity:
€1,20/working day in the 5-day week
€1,00/working day in the 6-day week
from the 2^the calendar month and until the end of the sixth month for an incapacity for work for one and the same illness:
€ 2,40/working day in the 5-day week
€ 2,00/working day in the 6-day week

Who is entitled:

the employee who is unable to work due to illness or accident (excluding occupational disease or work accident) and is entitled to sickness and invalidity insurance benefits in application of the legislation.

Awarded benefits:

after the first seven calendar days (guaranteed weekly pay), the employee is entitled to a supplementary sickness benefit at the expense of the Social Fund during an uninterrupted period from the eighth day of incapacity for work until the end of the sixth month, counting from the beginning of the incapacity for work. relapsing into the same illness within the first twelve days following the end of this period of incapacity for work must be considered as an integral part of the previous incapacity.

What must the employee do?

have the F2 form filled in by his mutual insurance company;
complete and sign the box reserved for the employee on the same form;
hand over the form to his employer upon receipt of the additional benefits.

What must the employer do?

provide the employee with an F2 form in case of each illness;
upon return of the form filled in accurately by the employee and by the mutual insurance company, the employer shall pay to the employee the additional benefits to which he is entitled;
the employer in turn fills in form F2 and sends it to the Social Fund in order to obtain the reimbursement of the supplementary allowances charged to the Social Fund.

Severance pay in case of retirement or early retirement

Form F4

€ 24,79/year of service - maximum 16 years of service

Award conditions:

have left the company at legal retirement or conventional early retirement age;
have been continuously employed in the sector for the last five years.

What must the employee do?

complete and sign the box reserved for the employee on form F4;
hand the form over to his employer upon receipt of the premium.

What must the employer do?

hand over a form F4 to the employee;
if the employee returns the accurately completed form, the employer shall pay the employee the premium to which he is entitled;
the employer in turn fills in the F4 form and sends it back to the Social Fund in order to obtain the reimbursement of the premium to be paid by the Social Fund.

Reimbursement in the event of death

The sector pension regulations provide that in the event of premature death the built-up reserve is paid out to the deceased's beneficiary or beneficiaries.

In addition, the following is provided for in the solidarity regulations :

In the event of death from the entry into force of the solidarity scheme of a member of the sectoral pension scheme during the professional career, and apart from legally provided exclusions, a additional payment in interest provided the worker is still employed by an employer as defined in Article 1 of the Pension Rules at the time of death. This interest is equal to the amount obtained by converting a capital of € 1,239 or € 2,478 in the event that the death is due to an accident, according to the terms stipulated in Article 28 of the WAP (Law on supplementary pensions). However, if the interest thus obtained is less than € 500, indexed in accordance with the arrangements described in Article 28, §2 of the WAP, the following rates are applied instead of the interest the capital of € 1,239 or € 2,478 is paid once.

death due to

an illness or accident other than an accident at work or an accident on the way to and from work:
€ 1239
an accident at work or on the way to work: € 2478

The entitled party has the right, if the interest is > 500€, to request the conversion of the capital into an interest.

What must the beneficiary do?

The beneficiary will provide an extract of the death certificate to the insurance company Integrale which will take care of the further payment modalities (address: Integrale - Attn: Mrs Carine Veneziano - Place Saint-Jacques 11, Bte 101 - 4000 Liège.

What must the employer do?

It is sufficient for the employer to inform the beneficiary. Payment is made directly by the insurer.

Syndicated premium

The trade union premium 2019, charged to the Social Fund, is € 135.00 and will be € 140.00 from the trade union premium 2020.

This premium is paid by the inter-professional representative employees' organisations affiliated at national level to all the affiliated members, holders of a P-movers' card.

Who is entitled:

be a member for at least one year of one of the interprofessional representative employee organisations;
be registered with an employer from the sector on 30 September of the current year.

Intervention medical and fiscal costs "certificate of fitness to drive

Medical fitness requirements for obtaining or renewing a driving licence according to the European model. Financial interventions from the Social Fund

The European directive of 29 July 1991 (91/439/EEC) on adapting the national driving licence to the European model was only transposed into Belgian legislation in 1998 (R.D. 23-3-1998). For the sake of clarity, here is an overview of the vehicle categories and driving licences used in professional transport. Categories D, D+E, D1 and D1+E (passenger transport) are not included.

Category B
Motor vehicles with a MTM not exceeding 3 500 kg and with not more than 8 seats (excluding the driver); they can be combined with a trailer with a MTM not exceeding 750 kg.
A combination consisting of a tractor vehicle of category cat. B and a trailer, where the MTM of the combination does not exceed 3 500 kg and the MTM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the tractor vehicle.
Category B+E
Combinations of vehicles consisting of a tractor vehicle of category B (max 3 500 kg) and a trailer with a MTM of more than 750 kg (combination not covered by category B). B (max 3 500 kg) and a trailer with a MTM of more than 750 kg (combination not covered by cat. B).
Category C
Motor vehicles with a MTM exceeding 3 500 kg; motor vehicles in this category may be combined with a trailer having a MTM not exceeding 750 kg.
Category C+E
combinations of vehicles consisting of a tractor vehicle in category C and a trailer with a MTM exceeding 750 kg.
Subcategory C1
Motor vehicles with a MTM exceeding 3 500 kg but not exceeding 7 500 kg; motor vehicles in this subcategory may be combined with a trailer having a maximum MTM of 750 kg.
Subcategory C1+E
combinations of vehicles where the tractor vehicle is in subcategory C1 and its trailer has a MTM of more than 750 kg, provided that the MTM of the combination thus formed does not exceed 12 000 kg, and that the MTM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the tractor vehicle.

(MTM = maximum permitted mass)

The minimum age limits for obtaining a driving licence are set at:

18 years for categories B, B+E and for subcategories C1 and C1+E;
21 years for categories C, C+E. However, any candidate aged at least 18 may obtain driving licences C and C+E, provided that he holds a certificate of professional competence for goods transport as referred to in Art. 59.2 of the Royal Decree of 01.12.1975

A direct consequence of this European harmonisation of driving licences in all EU Member States are the new procedures for the medical selection of candidates to obtain or retain a driving licence. In essence, the "medical examination certificate" as a separate attestation was abolished and replaced by a certificate of fitness to drive.

Both applicants and holders of driving licences C, C+E, C1 or C1+E must have a driving suitability certificate model XI. This model is issued by the doctor of the medical examination services and its content is affixed to the driving licence by the competent services of the municipality. This driving licence then has a limited validity period of 5 years (3 years for drivers who are 50 or older).

Once the period of validity indicated on the driving licence has expired, it is no longer valid: anyone who still drives a vehicle is not insured, even if the insurance certificate is valid. Moreover, there is a real risk of imprisonment, heavy fines, definitive withdrawal of the driving licence... Hence the need to initiate the renewal procedure in due time, at least three months before the expiry date.

Simplified, the following situations occur for holders of driving licences C and/or C+E:

until 30 March 2004

Holders of a driving licence issued before 1 January 1989 are exempted from a certificate of medical examination for the category for which they hold the licence until 30 March 2004;
Drivers still in possession of a separate medical examination certificate, obtained between 1995 and 1998: driving licence valid until expiry date of the medical examination certificate (in any case no later than 30.3.2004);
Drivers in possession of a driving licence, obtained on the basis of a certificate of fitness to drive, issued from 1998 and valid for 5 or 3 years.

as of 31 March 2004
All drivers in possession of a driving licence coupled with a certificate of fitness to drive that must be renewed after 5 or 3 years depending on age.

The candidate for a driving licence valid for category C, C+E (or for the subcategories C1, C1+E) must undergo a general medical and an eye examination that determines whether he fulfils the prescribed standards. These examinations are carried out before a doctor

of a medical centre of the National Social-Medical Service;
of a recognised occupational health service;
of the "Office communautaire et Régional de la Formation professionnelle et de l'Emploi", of the VDAB or of the "Institut bruxellois francophone pour la formation professionnelle";
of the army medical service;
of a psycho-medical-social centre;
of the medical service of the federal police.

The applicant shall submit to the examining doctor a declaration in which he certifies on his word of honour that, to the best of his knowledge, he is not suffering from any condition which would prevent or hinder him from driving a vehicle normally and shall indicate the result of any previous medical examination he has undergone. He shall also submit the prescribed report of an ophthalmologist.
The doctor in question issues the applicant (or not) with a driving suitability certificate model XI which then forms the basis for the application or renewal of the driving licence.

According to art. 43 of the R.D. of 23-03-93 this certificate of driving suitability is also required for drivers (even if they hold a driving licence B and/or B+E!) who are mainly responsible for the transport of personnel organised and operated by an employer with their own, rented or leased equipment and on their own responsibility. In other words: drivers who also transport colleagues on behalf of their removal company, for example, with a vehicle of less than 3 500 kg MTM, must have a certificate of driving suitability in order to renew their B and/or B+E driving licence.

In the sector for removal companies, furniture storage and their related activities, the employer must pay the costs of the prescribed medical examination and eye examination or reimburse the employee.

On the basis of the Collective Labour Agreement which came into force on 1 January 2001, the employer can recover all or part of the medical and fiscal costs via the Social Fund for Removals.

The employees concerned must be registered as workers in the NSSO category 084 and are in possession of a P-mover card.

If the employer has paid the costs for the certificate of fitness for driving of his labourers-drivers, he can, on the basis of the duly completed and signed application form (see heading "Forms"), apply for the intervention of the Social Fund provided for by the CLA.

This form should be accompanied by a copy of:

- the invoice or bill of costs concerning the statutory eye examination of a driver with driving licence C/CE

on which the name of the worker concerned is written;

- the invoice or bill of costs concerning the statutory medical research of a driver with driving licence C/CE

on which the name of the worker-driver concerned is listed;

- the certificate of fitness for driving on which the name of the worker-driver concerned is listed;

- the new licence that was delivered to the worker-driver in question.

The financial intervention of the Social Fund is limited to a maximum amount of:

– € 39,66 for the eye examination

– € 42,14 for the medical examination

– € 11,16 for the driving licence application fee (formerly 'tax stamps')

However, if the amount of the invoice or bill of costs for the investigations in question is less than the maximum intervention, the intervention shall be limited to the amount of this invoice or bill of costs.

For the sake of completeness, we may finally add that, with regard to "ordinary", private, new or existing driving licences B and/or B+E, the licence holder himself manages his medical fitness to drive by means of a declaration on honour. This certificate contains a section on general physical and mental fitness and a section on eyesight; he is expected to consult a doctor of his choice if necessary.

B and B+E licences are valid for an indefinite period or, where appropriate, for the period indicated by the medical practitioner.

Intervention costs driving licence C and or CE

PROCEDURE concerning the payment applications and payment modalities of the contribution to the costs of obtaining a C and/or CE driving licence

Introduction:

On 15 June 2009, in replacement of the CLA of 6 March 2007, a CLA was concluded between the social partners regarding the contribution to the cost of obtaining the C and/or CE driving licence for workers

employed by companies belonging to the removal firm, furniture storage and/or related activities sub-sector.

PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING PAYMENT APPLICATIONS

1. The employer shall send the application to the secretariat of the Social Fund

for the employees who are eligible and meet the following conditions

meet:

- be in possession of a P movers card

- be continuously employed by the company for at least one year on the date of the

application

- Be in possession of a driving licence B

2. The application must reach the Social Fund at least 1 month before

the start of training.

3. The Social Fund Secretariat approves or rejects the application

within 14 days of receipt. The approval is subject to the

possibilities of the budget, as laid down in the CLA of 15 June 2009.

4. Each employer without a Safety Committee (-50 employees) may, in the course of

1 calendar year maximum 6 % of its employees who fulfil the conditions

with a guarantee of at least 2 employees.

Any employer with a Safety Committee (+50 employees) may, in the course of 1

calendar year maximum 10 % of his employees who fulfil the conditions

have them trained.

5. In case of doubt, the Secretariat shall submit the file for deliberation to

the Board of Directors of the Social Fund.

DISBURSEMENT MODALITIES

1. The employer shall pay the full training, as well as the salary of the working

taker during training hours.

2. The employer may reimburse part of the training.

claim through the secretariat of the Social Fund.

3. To this end, he shall address an application to the secretariat of the Social Fund containing

following documents:

- copy of the approval by the Social Fund (art. 1.3.)

- copy of the invoice of the training by an accredited driving school

- copy of driving licence obtained

- Declaration by the employee that he received wages during the training hours

4. On the basis of these data, the Social Fund shall reimburse the employer the

incurred for the driving licence with

- a maximum of EUR 750 for a C licence

- a maximum of EUR 900 for a CE licence

End-of-year bonus

Affordable since 2012 :

170 x actual hourly wages paid month Dec. x number of months of work
12

Thirteenth month corresponds to a number of hours defined in a contract.

That number of hours is divided by twelve and multiplied by the number of months of work during the year.
Each month in which 14 calendar days of work are performed shall be considered a full month.
The total amount may be increased for each day of unlawful absence by € 1,24 be reduced.
The days of leave and the days of partial unemployment are treated as days of work.
The reference wage for these hours is equal to that actually paid in the month of December of the year concerned.
Payment shall be made no later than the last working day of December.

Who is entitled:

the workers who fulfil the following conditions:

are actually employed in the undertaking on the date of payment;
have at least six months' seniority in the company at the time of payment;

Also have a right:

the workers concerned who during the calendar year in question benefited from the system of unemployment with company allowance for workers or who were retired;
the beneficiaries of the employees concerned died during the calendar year in question;
the employees concerned who were dismissed for any reason other than those mentioned in 2) of Article 6.
the employees concerned whose employment contract is terminated due to force majeure. The reference period and prorata basis shall be the last calendar year in which there has been effective performance.

Who has no right:

the workers:

who left the company voluntarily;
who were dismissed without notice for an urgent reason;
who have been ill for more than six months and have benefited from the full compensation provided by the Social Fund for the same illness.

Seniority premium

As of the service year 2013 (payable in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018), the premium shall be set as follows :

€ 25,00 from 3 years service
€ 48,00 from 5 years service
€ 85,00 from 10 years service
€ 122,00 from 15 years of service
€ 160,00 from 20 years of service

Annually, during the month of January following the relevant year of service, the employer shall pay the seniority premium to the employees.

Employees who have left the company during the year, for other than serious reasons and who are eligible for the seniority premium, retain the right to this premium, pro rata.

The employer can, within a period of 3 months after payment of the seniority premium, reclaim the amounts from the Social Fund, on presentation of a proof of payment and a copy of the P-card of the employee concerned.

Intervention costs driver card for digital tachograph

The protocol of agreement of 26 June 2007 provides for the intervention of the Social Fund in the costs of the driver's card for the digital tachograph for workers who, as worker-driver are employed in the sub-sector for the removal, furniture storage and related activities companies.

The employees concerned must be registered as workers in the NSSO category 084 and are in possession of a P-mover card.

The employer who has paid the cost of the driver card of his labour drivers can, on the basis of the duly completed and signed application form (see section "Forms"), request the intervention of the Social Fund for this purpose. This form should be accompanied by a copy of the invoice from the ITLB ⁽¹⁾ issued in the name of the employer concerning the cost of driver cards and stating the surnames and first names of the employees concerned and the number of their driver card.

In addition, the application for intervention shall a list attached with the following data:

- surname and first name of the worker-drivers involved;

- national registration number of the workers concerned;

- number of their P-movement card;

- number of their driver card;

- validity dates of their driver card.

The financial intervention of the Social Fund amounts to a maximum of the cost price invoiced by the ITLB. ⁽¹⁾ VAT and shall only be made once per validity period. However, if the amount of the invoice is less than the maximum contribution, the contribution shall be limited to the amount of this invoice.

The application for financial compensation for driver cards issued in 2007 must reach the Social Fund before 12 February 2008.

(1) or from the competent authority of the Member State where the driver has his normal residence.

Financial intervention Syndicated training

In implementation of a CLA on this subject, the Social Fund provides a financial contribution to the costs of the trade union training of workers employed in the removal, furniture storage and related activities sub-sector.

Each effective or substitute member of the works councils, of the committees for prevention and protection at work and of the trade union delegations is entitled to two days of absence annually per mandate, paid for by his employer, to participate in the training courses organised by the trade unions.

The workers concerned must be worker are indicated in the NSSO category 084.

The employer can, on the basis of a duly completed and signed application form (see appendix), request the financial intervention of the Social Fund foreseen for this purpose (wages and salary costs - the latter calculated at a flat rate of 50 % of the wages) and which concerns the days of absence for the participation in union training.

This form must be accompanied by a copy of the pay slip concerning the month in which the training was followed and on which the salary that was paid for the trade union training or trade union commitment is stated.

Social benefits

Temporary unemployment from September 2020

Contact

Useful Links