Temporary unemployment due to economic reasons – measures for energy-intensive companies

Principles of Temporary Unemployment Energy

A company that wants to make use of the Temporary Unemployment Energy scheme can – taking into account their specific needs – fully or partially suspend the employment agreements of some of their blue-collar and white-collar workers.

The maximum duration for a continuous period of temporary unemployment is set at four weeks for total suspension of the employment agreement and three months for partial suspension. 

It’s important to point out that employers can start a new period of temporary unemployment for the employee in question immediately following this period of four weeks or three months. Employers are thus not required to introduce a full working week between periods of temporary unemployment. This is contrary to the more burdensome general rules on temporary unemployment due to lack of work for economic reasons.

This specific scheme will be applicable from 1 October 2022 up until and including 31 December 2022 and may be extended by Royal Decree.

A simplified procedure for employers

According to the National Employment Office (NEO - ‘RVA’/’ONEM’) instructions, if a company wants to use the Temporary Unemployment Energy scheme it must file form C106A-ENERGIE/C106A-ÉNERGIE with the NEO’s unemployment office in the place where the company has its registered seat. Note that this form must be sent electronically or via registered letter to the unemployment office at least five days before the first notification of the anticipated temporary unemployment towards the NEO.

With this form, a company declares that it meets the criteria to qualify as exercising an energy-intensive activity. No supporting documents need be provided to the NEO; however, the company must be able to present such documentation upon the NEO’s request. 

Additionally, companies must comply with several notification requirements before the temporary unemployment can actually start:

• The employer must notify the individual employees and the NEO of the planned temporary unemployment, at least three calendar days prior to the first day of temporary unemployment;

• In addition – and within the same time frame – the employer must communicate the economic reasons warranting the temporary unemployment to the works council or union delegation.

Reminder – transitional measures for temporary unemployment

It is also worth bearing in mind that, in June 2022, the government decided not to further extend the simplified procedure for temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine. The end of that simplified procedure means that in principle, as of 1 July 2022, the general – and more burdensome –  rules on temporary unemployment for economic reasons and temporary unemployment due to force majeure would be fully applicable. To allow for a more gradual shift back to these general temporary unemployment rules, the government introduced a set of transitional measures as of 1 July 2022, temporarily relaxing some of the rules’ more stringent conditions. For further details in this respect, please refer to one of our previous newsletters.

Although these transitional measures had already been decided in June, the act that was passed containing several of the provisions on temporary unemployment was only published in the Belgian Official Gazette recently. This act also gives the NEO the opportunity to reclaim any unlawfully paid (gross) unemployment benefits from employers who placed their employees in temporary unemployment without fulfilling all the necessary conditions.

Employers can in turn deduct the net amount of these unemployment benefits – which they will have to pay to the NEO – from the employee's net salary. However, employers will have to pay the employee’s normal salary for the days on which their employment agreement was unlawfully suspended.

The above transitional measures will be applicable until 31 December 2022.