From 1 April 2024 Employers Are Obliged To Pay A Contribution To The Back To Work Fund In The Case Of Medical Force Majeure

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Law Firm: Altius
• Author: Philippe De Wulf and Esther Soetens

From 1 April 2024, an employer establishing the termination of an employment contract for 'medical force majeure' will have to notify a new 'Back to Work Fund' (Fund) set up within the National Institute for Sickness and Disability Insurance (RIZIV/INAMI) and pay a contribution of EUR 1,800 to this Fund. The incapacitated ex-employee can then call upon the Fund to receive a 'voucher' for specialised and customised services (e.g. career guidance or personalised coaching) from a recognised service provider for his/her reintegration into the labour market. This new system replaces the special outplacement scheme for medical force majeure.

The former outplacement scheme for medical force majeure

When an employee is permanently unfit to perform the agreed work, 'medical force majeure' may be established to terminate the employment contract without notice or compensation. However, to do so a medical force majeure procedure must first be...