Newsflash
Mobility and immigration

Yesterday, a decree of the Walloon Government, which had been definitively approved on 16 May 2019, was published in the Belgian State Gazette. The decree reforms the substantive rules regarding the employment of foreign employees who are neither nationals of the European Economic Area nor of Switzerland retroactively as from 1 June 2019.

In our newsflash of 14 December, we informed you that the Flemish Region had radically reformed the rules on the employment of foreign employees. This is now also the case in the Walloon Region, but note that the new Walloon rules are not exactly the same as those adopted in the Flemish Region.

The key points of this reform are the following:

  • As in Flanders, the Walloon decree now facilitates the employment of persons exercising an occupation in which there is a labour shortage.

The list of occupations for which there is a “structural shortage of labour in the French-speaking Region” will be drawn up each year by the Walloon Minister of Labour. The list for 2019 has yet to be published. For these occupations, it will be necessary to conclude an employment contract that includes the same information as that of a model annexed to the decree.

  • The salary thresholds for highly qualified employees will now be based on the average gross monthly salary of employees in Belgium. Unlike in Flanders, where a reduction of the salary threshold applies for employees up to the age of 30 and nurses, there are no exceptions to the salary thresholds in Wallonia. In addition, from now on the salary of highly qualified employees cannot be lower than that of comparable positions in accordance with the applicable laws, collective agreements or practices.

For the rest, the new rules are quite similar to those applicable in the Flemish Region since 1 January:

  • An authorisation to work can be granted for a renewable period of 3 years for certain profiles of employees, in particular for highly qualified employees.
  • The decree also amends the rules determining the categories of employees who are exempt from obtaining an authorisation to work: new categories are added, while others are modified or even deleted. As a result, some previously exempted persons will now have to apply for a ‘Single Permit’. Some categories of the employees exempted before 1 June 2019 will continue to be admitted to work until their right of residence expires.
  • In addition, the decree also introduces some new particular categories of employees, transposing various European directives (‘European’ categories). For example, a specific category is introduced for intra-group secondments from a company outside the European Economic Area to a company belonging to the same group in the Walloon Region. Obtaining a Single Permit will also be possible under certain conditions – for seasonal workers in the hotel and catering industry and in the agricultural and horticultural sectors. In addition, the existing regimes for researchers, volunteers, trainees (limited to maximum 6 months) and the ‘European Blue Card’ have been thoroughly adapted.
  • The Walloon decree also lays down new obligations for employers. For example, the Walloon authorities must be informed if the foreign employee's employment contract has been suspended.
  • Finally, the Walloon decree introduces new grounds for refusing or withdrawing an authorisation to work. The authorisation to work in Belgium in particular will be refused if, during a period of six months preceding the application, the employer has discontinued a full-time position in order to create the vacant post he wishes to fill by his application.

This new regulation enters into force retroactively from 1 June 2019 with the exception of the ‘European’ categories, which will only enter into force on the date the executive cooperative agreement of 6 December 2018 enters into force. However, work permits and work authorisations granted under the old regime remain valid until they expire. Applications submitted before 1 June 2019 remain subject to the provisions in force before that date, unless those provisions are less favourable to the relevant person.

> Key message

From 1 June 2019, new rules apply in Wallonia to engage foreign employees.