Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure BE-2011-1/2621 – measures in Belgium
Country | Belgium , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 01 January 2011 |
Context | Restructuring Support Instruments |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Employment protection and retention
– Income support for people in employment (e.g., short-time work) |
Author | Dries Van Herreweghe (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 23 June 2022 (updated 23 October 2024) |
The guarantee was implemented in the event of employer insolvency. Via the measure, the employee benefits from a guarantee through the Closure Fund ("Fund to compensate employees made redundant in the event of enterprise closure"). The Fund can then recover the amounts paid out from the guarantee from the employer.
In the case of collective layoffs as a result of bankruptcy or insolvency of a company, workers receive a closing-down indemnity paid by a closing fund managed by the public employment services.
The employment contract must be terminated 12 months before to 13 months after the closing in order to receive guarantees in case of employer’s insolvency.
The measure applies in case of collective dismissals (at least 10 in companies with 20–99 employees, 10% in companies with 100–299 employees, at least 30 in companies with 300 or more employees) caused by bankruptcy or insolvency of the employer.
There are no exclusions of part-time or fixed-term workers.
The fund will intervene in the payment of wages due and indemnities and benefits that are due.
For companies closing after 1 May 2024, the redundancy amounts to €198.95 for each year of seniority in the company. In order to take into account the personal situation of the employees, an additional premium is available for employees over 45 years old. For each year above the age of 45 that they were active in the current company, they will receive an additional €198.95.
The fund is financed through social security contributions by the employer levied on the gross salary of employees.
Payment will be realised also if the employer does not contribute.
Funding is provided by the national government.
2011 25,477 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2012 27,529 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2013 30,073 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2014 28,534 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2015 25,340 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2016 22,704 employees received a closing-down indemnity 2017 21,772 employees received a closing-down indemnity
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Unemployed
|
Applies to all businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Public employment service |
Companies
National funds |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Unknown | Unknown |
Form | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
Unknown
Unknown
Citation
Eurofound (2022), Wage guarantee in case of employer insolvency, measure BE-2011-1/2621 (measures in Belgium), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/BE-2011-1_2621.html
Share
30 January 2023
Governments across the EU continue to implement policies to support citizens and businesses in the face of rising food and energy prices caused by the COVID-19 crisis and intensified by the war in Ukraine. This article summarises the policy responses as reported in Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch database from January to September 2022.
Article12 September 2022
Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Article12 September 2022
This article summarises the first policy responses that governments across the EU have started to implement to support companies affected by the rising prices, and those with commercial ties to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus.
Article5 July 2022
This article summarises the first policy responses of EU Member States, including those of the social partners and other civil society actors, enabling refugees to exercise their rights under the Temporary Protection Directive.
ArticleDisclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.