Local vs. Seconded Employees In Belgium: The Single Permit Process And Other Legalities

Published date24 May 2022
Subject MatterCorporate/Commercial Law, Employment and HR, Immigration, Corporate and Company Law, Contract of Employment, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Work Visas, Investment Immigration
Law FirmInnovation Park
AuthorMs Julia Vorontsova

Corporate immigration in Belgium isn't a cut-and-dried issue. It's quite complex, reflecting the different circumstances, legal obligations, and tax implications of foreign employees and their employers.

Local vs. seconded or posted workers in Belgium is just one major distinction.

But it's a crucial one when your Belgium-based or multinational company needs foreign employees on Belgian soil for an extended period.

Getting the right work authorization for the specific circumstances is vital for business continuity-be it the completion of a project, training, research, or other corporate dealings.

Whether you're a foreign employee or employer, it helps to understand which legal route applies when it comes to getting a long-term work permit in Belgium.

Read on to learn about the differences between local and posted or seconded foreign employees in Belgium, and:

  • Social security requirements
  • The Single Permit application process
  • Criteria and required documents
  • Exemptions and exceptions
  • And possible alternatives

Local vs. Seconded Employees: What's the Difference?

Before we get to the crux of the issue, you must know the difference between a local and seconded or posted employee-in the context of international employment and for the sake of this article.

A Local Employee

A local employee is a foreign individual working for a local employer in Belgium. The foreign worker is gainfully employed by a Belgian company (either short- or long-term) and must adhere to the applicable visa, employment, tax, residency, and social contribution requirements.

A Seconded or Posted Employee

A seconded employee also referred to as a "posted employee," is a foreign worker employed by their home country employer but temporarily deployed to Belgium.

In other words, when a company based abroad posts its employees to Belgium temporarily, such workers are seconded or posted employees. The foreign employer must comply with certain working conditions under Belgian law, including minimum salary thresholds.

The employment relationship between the posted worker and the foreign company must exist before and during the posting to Belgium.

Employee Lending in Belgium

"Employee lending" is defined under Belgian employment law as a situation where:

  • An employer (e.g., the foreign company) allows a third-party (e.g., a local Belgian company) to use the services of its worker(s);
  • and
  • The third-party company partly exercises authority normally vested in the employer over such worker(s).

However, the Belgian Employee Lending Act prohibits any instructions qualifying as "exercising part of the authority vested in the employer" to be used or given to a third-party company.

As such, when a foreign company posts its employee(s) to Belgium, there's often a risk of illegal employee lending without the foreign company even knowing.

Factual aspects such as the following count as the third-party company exercising part of the authority vested in the employer:

  • A posted worker obtaining approval from the third-party company to take leave for holidays, etc.
  • A posted worker obligated to report absences to the third-party company.
  • A third-party company conducting appraisals, etc.

That said, there are exceptions such as interim work and intra-group employee lending.

Moreover, you can usually mitigate "illegal employee lending" by virtue of a service agreement. The foreign company is the service provider, while the third-party company in Belgium is the service user.

The written service agreement must clearly define the precise functional and operational instructions related to the services provided that the user company can give to posted workers. Such instructions mustn't undermine the legal employer's authority, though.

While the service user company has health and safety legal obligations to such posted workers, the foreign employer's vested authority must remain intact.

Sounds tricky, right? It is, but there may be alternatives depending on your specific circumstances. It's best to consult with experts on Belgian law and business immigration to be safe.

Tax Residency Status

Foreign employees legally living and working in Belgium are...

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