Who is who in the system?
Employer An employer is the company or agency that is officially recognised and authorised by the Federal Labour Ministry to employ housekeeping staff and have them perform household tasks in the framework of the service voucher system. If the agency has been officially recognised, it will be registered in the list of recognised companies. Voucher […]
What can FAIRWORK Belgium do for you?
FAIRWORK Belgium is an organisation with more than 20 years of experience defending the employment rights of labour migrants, documented and undocumented, domestic workers and young au pairs in Belgium. Our services are completely free and our mission is to support victims of exploitation.
What can FAIRWORK Belgium do for you?
FAIRWORK Belgium is an organisation with more than 20 years of experience defending the employment rights of labour migrants, documented and undocumented, domestic workers and young au pairs in Belgium. Our services are completely free and our mission is to support victims of exploitation.
What happens if you become ill?
If you are ill, you should stay at home and rest. If you are registered with social security, your wages will be paid during this period by your employer and the national health service. If you have no legal residence, you will not receive any pay from the national health service but you can always […]
Holidays and national holidays
Holidays All housekeepers are entitled to paid holiday days from the second year that they are in work. The number of days depends on the number of days (and hours) that you actually worked in the past year. The general rule is: If you worked the whole of the past year, you receive: If you […]
How many hours a week are you allowed to work?
Unfortunately, Belgian legislation does not state anything regarding paying for extra hours. So if your weekly hours exceed the maximum number of hours, the following rules apply: If you haven’t worked for a whole year for the same employer, you will receive one or two unpaid compensatory days for each 2 month period you have […]
Social security
Social security is a system that ensures you have an income in certain situations. Social security enables you to accumulate certain social rights, such as unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, pension or child allowance. The total contributions to be paid differ from person to person but a minimum of 13.07% is always deducted from your gross […]
Work clothing & travel expenses
Work clothing Tools, work clothing and all necessary materials (and maintenance) must be provided by the employer. If your employer does not provide you with work clothing and you have to provide it yourself, the employer must pay you an allowance of €2.04 per working day. If you wash your work clothing yourself, an allowance […]
How much should you earn?
Sectoral minimum wages The official minimum wages provide for an increase in wages according to the level of seniority. The minimum wage must therefore be increased each year. Wages should be paid in euros (€) (not in a foreign currency) and the amount the employee is entitled to depends on the sub-category they belong to. […]
Approval by the Protocol Directorate
Conditions for approval You will find all the information about the administrative procedure for employment approval in the Protocol Guide, put together by the Protocol Directorate. We list the most relevant points here.