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Temporary unemployment after 31 August 2020

Newsflash
Collective employment relations

Both the NEO and the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue have published the necessary documents to apply for the use of temporary unemployment after 31 August 2020.

As explained in our previous newsflash (see our newsflash of 3 July 2020 ), the conditions for Corona unemployment will be adapted from 1 September 2020. In addition, there will be a transitional scheme for temporary economic unemployment for white-collar workers. In the meantime, the NEO and the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue have published the necessary documents enabling companies to submit their applications.

The first form published by the NEO, the C106A-corona-HGO form, is available for employers who want to use the simplified procedure for Corona unemployment.

In order to be able to do this, the employer has to prove that:

  • either he belongs to a sector that suffers from the restrictive measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
  • or there were at least 20% days of temporary unemployment in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the total number of days declared to the NSSO.

An employer who meets one of these conditions should forward this form by e-mail to the NEO competent for his registered office. Consequently, he can continue to use this simplified procedure from 1 September until 31 December 2020.

The second form, the C106A corona transitional scheme, can be used in order to benefit from the transitional measures when relying on the system of temporary unemployment for economic reasons for white-collar workers.

The employer has to prove that there was a decrease in production or turnover during the quarter preceding the introduction of the temporary unemployment. The decrease should be at least 10% compared to the same quarter in 2019. The employer should send this form by registered mail to the NEO competent for his registered office. 

Please note, however, that in order to benefit from this transitional scheme, the company needs to be bound by a collective labour agreement at sectoral level or at company level. In the absence of such a collective labour agreement, the company needs to draw up a business plan. The modified business plan for this transitional scheme has now also been published on the website of the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue.

Action point

 If you wish to continue using temporary unemployment after 31 August 2020, it will be necessary to check whether the company meets the conditions and to submit the necessary documents in time.