COVID-19 - vaccination leave enters into force

09 Apr 2021

The Act of 28 March 2021 holding the introduction of the entitlement to leave of absence for employees, with the aim of getting vaccinated against COVID-19, was published in today’s Belgian Official Gazette. 

This Act introduces the entitlement for employees to be absent from work to be able to get vaccinated, while retaining their normal salary. This absence from work - so-called vaccination leave - constitutes a form of short leave of absence (“klein verlet” / “petit chomâge”). 

In order to be entitled to this paid vaccination leave, the employee must notify his or her employer up front, i.e. as soon as possible once the moment of vaccination is known. In addition, the employee is only entitled to be absent with pay for the actual time it takes to get vaccinated. The employee is required to use this paid leave to be vaccinated and no other activities are therefore allowed during this vaccination leave.

If an employee invokes the application of vaccination leave, the employer is allowed to ask for underlying proof. In principle, presenting the confirmation of the employee’s appointment to be vaccinated is sufficient in this respect. If this confirmation, however, does not mention the time of vaccination, the vaccination invite itself must be presented. The employer can only use the received information for the purpose of organising the work and ensuring a correct payroll administration. Therefore, the employer is not allowed to take a copy of the appointment confirmation or to manually transcribe its content, with the exception of the time of the appointment. The absence of the employee can only be registered as paid leave of absence (“klein verlet”/”petit chômage”) and the employer is not allowed to register the reason for the leave of absence and/or register that the employee suffers from health problems.

The rules on vaccination leave entered into force on 9 April 2021 and will remain in effect up until and including 31 December 2021.

If you have any questions in this respect, do not hesitate to contact us.

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Pascale Moreau

Pascale Moreau

Lawyer - Partner, PwC Legal BV/SRL

Tel: +32 479 90 02 76

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