General rules
- The employer must ensure a healthy and safe working situation. He must give you protective clothing if the work is dangerous.
- If you have an accident at your work, or on the way to or from work, this is deemed an accident at work.
- Even if the accident was caused by your own fault (for example, you were careless), you must be compensated. But not if you deliberately caused an accident!
What am I entitled to?
If the accident at work is proven, the insurance company or Fedris will pay you the following:
- All your medical bills. Benefits for the period of time you are unable to work because of the accident.
- If the accident results in you being entirely unable to work for the rest of your life, you will continue to receive benefits even if you move to another country or stay in Belgium without legal residence.
- If an employee dies, their partner and any minors will receive an allowance.
What should I do?
In Belgium, employers are obliged to hold insurance for accidents at work, even for employees without legal residence. There is a special government department that monitors this: Fedris. If your employer has no insurance, Fedris may step in and reimburse the necessary costs following an accident at work. Fedris will then claim those costs from your employer.
- Your employer must report an accident at work to the insurance company within 8 days.
- If your employer has not reported it, you can report it yourself. Preferably as soon as possible, however at the least within 3 years.
- When you report the accident, you must be able to prove that the accident happened while you were working for your employer. So gather all documentary evidence before anything happens.
- If you don’t know your employer’s insurance company, you can report the accident to Fedris.
- In the case of fatal accidents, the family must report the incident. The family is then entitled to compensation.
