While Belgium is getting ready for a big electoral shake-up in June, the start of a new month kicks off a series of changes to existing rules, while several new ones will be taking effect.
The most important ones can be found below.
Higher wages
Belgian workers in the public sector will see a 2% increase in their incomes in June, due to a rise in inflation in April. The smoothed health index (a four-month average which is used as the basis for indexation of pensions, social security benefits and some salaries and wages) reached 128.32 points, exceeding the threshold required to trigger automatic salary and benefit hikes.
Because this index was surpassed in April, social benefits such as pensions and unemployment income already went up by 2% in May. Now, public sector wages are following suit.
Better public transport reimbursement for commuters
Employees who take the train to work and are not entitled to a third-party payment scheme will have to pay less for their train subscription from this month. Monthly subscriptions for De Lijn and STIB will also become cheaper for employees.
Some 100,000 commuters will be able to count on their employer reimbursing at least 71.8% of their train passes, compared to 56% until now. Additionally, the Federal Government will now contribute 7.5% of the price, said Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). Employees who currently pay 44% themselves will see their personal contribution reduced to just over 20%.
Guillemins train station in Liege. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
Additionally, the government also provides for an automatic adjustment if SNCB were to implement a price increase in the years 2025 to 2029 (if the price hike does not exceed 2.5%).
Minimum intervention from the employer is now also provided for Flex Passes, which are important for those who telework often.
Anyone who benefits from the third-party payer system can travel by train for free: their employer bears 80% of the cost of their season ticket, and the Federal Government covers the remaining 20%.
New rules for tying home loans to insurance
Bankers sometimes offer a better interest rate for home loans if clients also take out fire and/or outstanding balance insurance from the bank. While this initially looks like a good deal, it can turn sour when clients find cheaper insurance elsewhere.
The new rules coming into effect this month will now allow clients to save money, as they will have more freedom in choosing their insurance after one-third of the term of their loan.
New RSV drug for babies will be reimbursed
Beyfortus, the new preventive RSV drug for babies that reduces the risk of hospitalisation after an infection by 80%, will be reimbursed from now on, Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) announced.
RSV infection is the leading cause of respiratory infections in babies, who are mainly affected by it in their first year of life. The chance that they get severely seriously ill from the virus is high, and an infection often leads to pneumonia or bronchiolitis.
Credit: Belga / Jasper Jacobs
Beyfortus is not a vaccine, but an antibody that is administered through an injection. "That antibody ensures that children develop more resistance, so that the consequences of an RSV destination are less serious," Vandenbroucke said.
While the reimbursement will be a fact from 1 June, the medicine will only be available from September as the company will only then proceed with delivery, to prevent the vaccination from happening too early. Young children should be vaccinated shortly before the start of the RSV season in October.
Requesting career breaks must now be done online
Anyone who wants to apply for a career break will have to do so online from now on – a paper or mixed application at the National Employment Office (RVA) is being phased out.
To allow everyone to get to know the online application, the platform permits a transition period of three months before the paper procedure will disappear completely, for the employer as well as the employee part. An exception is made for career break applications within the education sector or for military personnel as these are not yet possible online, the RVA website states.
Credit: Pixabay
Additionally, applications for career breaks and time credits for the regional, provincial or municipal administrations that depend on the Walloon and Brussels Regions also still have to be made on paper – only thematic leaves can already be submitted online.
More information about the process can be found on the Break@work platform.
Reimbursement for hearing aids
More people will be eligible for a refund for their hearing aid from June: a refund will be possible for people with at least 35 decibels of hearing loss (down from 40 decibels) whose hearing aid gives them at least 5 decibels of hearing gain.
Thanks to this relaxation, thousands of people in Belgium are now eligible for a fixed amount reimbursement for their hearing aid for the first time. Up until now, the conditions in Belgium were stricter than in Germany or France, for example, and there were fewer people with an adapted hearing aid than in the rest of Europe.
Additionally, the period in which people can try out a new hearing aid before making a decision is expanding from 14 days to 28 days
No more permanent appointments for Flemish civil servants
As part of the modernisation of Flemish personnel policy, permanent appointments in the Flemish Government will (largely) be a thing of the past as new employees will only be employed contractually. Only people in positions of authority will still have a chance of getting a permanent appointment statute.
In recent years, the end of the permanent appointment was one of the highlights of the so-called "five-track policy" of former Flemish Minister of Administrative Affairs Bart Somers (Open VLD). The reform involved long and difficult negotiations with the trade unions.
Credit: Belga
Today, approximately 70% of the 29,000 Flemish civil servants are permanently appointed. The other 30% work with a temporary or indefinite contract.
Contractual employees enjoy fewer benefits than their permanently appointed colleagues: their wages increase less quickly, they can be fired more easily, their pension is lower and if they are ill, they fall back to 60% of their salary after one month. Employees with a permanent appointment statute continue to receive 100% of their salary until retirement.
"We are turning the government into an efficient and competitive employer. Those who work well are rewarded, those who don't are not. That is how it should be in government. This historic reform has taken time, but it heralds a new era forever."
Ceilings for public procurement contractors go up
The threshold amounts applicable to work contractors as part of a public contract will be increased by almost 20%, on the basis of a royal decree published in mid-April. This adaptation of the law of March 1991 will take into account the evolution of costs and prices in the construction sector, mainly since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
From now on, the maximum amount of a public procurement contract that can be entrusted to a class 1 contractor will increase from €135,000 to €162,000. For class 2, this maximum amount will increase from €275,000 to €330,000, and from €500,000 to €600,000 for class 3.
The amount will go up from €900,000 to €1.08 million for class 4, from €1.81 to €2.172 million for class 5, from €3.225 to €3.87 million for class 6, and lastly from €5.33 million to €6.396 million for class 7.
