This measure should meet the concerns of parents, schools etc. in order to provide additional care now that economic activities will be restarted in phases from Monday the 4th of  May as well.

Additional favour

The corona parental leave comes on top of the existing parental leave. It therefore does not affect the credit for ordinary parental leave.

As a reminder, ‘ordinary’ parental leave is a right which exists for employees with at least one year’s seniority which can be exercised until their child reaches the age of 12 (21 years in the case of a disabled child). When parental leave is taken in one period, it may not exceed four months.

Prior consent of the employer required

The corona parental leave can only be taken in consultation with the employer. An application for corona parental leave must therefore always be approved in advance by the employer. An employer can thus refuse such a request, albeit substantiated. After the corona-paternity leave has been approved, an employee can submit his application to the NEO.

Although the government decision has not yet been published in the Belgian Official Gazette, since 1 May 2020 an employee can try to reach an agreement with his employer on taking this corona parental leave. If an agreement is reached, parental leave can, in principle, also start immediately. As long as the decision is not published, an application for ‘ordinary parental leave’ will have to be submitted to the RVA (which will then be converted into corona parental leave).

For whom?

Each parent who has at least one month of seniority with their employer and has at least one dependent child under the age of 12. For parents with a disabled child, the age limit is 21 years. Foster parents can also make use of the corona parental leave.

Modalities

For full-time employees, the corona parental leave can be taken in the form of a 1/5th break (1 day per week). For employees who work at least 75%, this can be taken in the form of a half-time break.

Period

The corona parental leave can be taken between 1 May and 30 June 2020 (either in a continuous period or in several periods of one month / one week).

Benefits from NEO

During parental leave, the employee does not receive any pay from his/her employer. However, he does receive an interruption benefit from the National Employment Office which – according to the Minister of Labour – would be 25% higher than the benefits within the framework of the ordinary parental leave.

Would you like to know more?

Contact the Racine employment team.

Would you like to receive updates? Follow us on LinkedIn!

The post EMPLOYMENT FLASH COVID-19: CORONA PARENTAL LEAVE first appeared on Racine.

In principle (and hopefully) phase 1A of the COVID 19 exit strategy will start soon. The start date for this is currently scheduled for Monday 4 May 2020.

Industrial and B2B companies will be able to resume their activities from this date, regardless of their size and/or sector. Below you will find the most important points of attention with a view to restarting these activities:

• Prior to the restart, each employer must implement strict safety standards regarding hygiene and social distance.  Please note that teleworking remains the norm – wherever possible.
  In a generic guide (FR /NL) , the Minister of Work has bundled the minimum protection measures that each employer must take. This guide must be a source of inspiration for every employer to be able to restart safely. The joint committees are currently working on additional specific sector-specific measures.
• The consultative bodies in undertakings, as well as the internal or external prevention adviser, should be consulted in due time and as much as possible in the choice and concrete implementation of the safety measures.
• Communicate the date of the restart to your employees in a timely manner.
• After the restart, each employer will have to ensure that the measures taken are respected at all times on the work floor. Controls by the competent authorities can be expected in this context.

Would you like to know more?

Contact the Racine employment team.

The post Guidelines for the restart of industry and B2B services first appeared on Racine.

NEWSFLASH EMPLOYMENT – COVID-19

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on social elections: suspension of electoral procedure legally confirmed

In a previous Newsflash, we informed you that the social partners in the National Labour Council reached an agreement on the suspension of the election procedure because of the COVID-19 crisis. This has now also been legally confirmed. Yesterday an act regulating the suspension of the social elections procedure of the year 2020 due to the COVID-19 corona crisis pandemic was voted in Parliament. This act will soon be published in the Belgian Official Gazette (with retroactive effect from 17 March).

This act puts an end to the uncertainties that existed with regard to the current electoral procedures and the actions that still had to be taken in this context.

The most important principles in this act can be summarised as follows:

The period in which the new election dates will take place has not (yet) been determined. Earlier, the NLC had proposed the period from 16 to 29 November 2020 in this context, but so far this has not been confirmed by the government. We may have to wait and see how the pandemic will evolve and how long its consequences will last.

1)    The period in which the new election dates will take place has not (yet) been determined. Earlier, the NLC had proposed the period from 16 to 29 November 2020 in this context, but so far this has not been confirmed by the government. We may have to wait and see how the pandemic will evolve and how long its consequences will last.

2)    All electoral acts up to and including X + 35 had to be carried out according to the initial calendar. In concrete terms, this means that the candidate lists had to be submitted no later than day X + 35 (i.e. in principle no later than 30 March according to the initial calendar, except for companies that start the election procedure later, or were delayed due to legal proceedings).

The candidates who appear on these candidate lists from day X + 35 will benefit from special protection against dismissal.

3)    All further electoral acts shall be suspended for an indefinite period of time as of day X + 36. This means that all actions from day X + 36, such as, for example, the posting of the candidate lists or the phase of complaint and appeal against these candidate lists, cannot be continued. If this should nevertheless happen, the act explicitly stipulates that these acts are null and void.

All further electoral acts shall be suspended for an indefinite period of time as of day X + 36. This means that all actions from day X + 36, such as, for example, the posting of the candidate lists or the phase of complaint and appeal against these candidate lists, cannot be continued. If this should nevertheless happen, the act explicitly stipulates that these acts are null and void.

Only when no single candidate list has been submitted (and this for none of the personnel categories), the procedure may be terminated since the original day X + 36. For this purpose, the ordinary termination procedure must be followed.

As mentioned above, the date on which the election procedure can be resumed from X + 36 has not yet been determined.

4)    Compliance with the eligibility conditions will be assessed for all candidates in relation to the initial election date Y (and not in relation to the new election date yet to be determined).

5)    The existing consultative bodies (Works Council and/or Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work) will continue to function until the newly elected bodies are in place (i.e. at the latest on the new day Y + 45). On the basis of the election period proposed by the NLC, this date would be situated between the 31st of December 2020 and the 13th of January 2021.

6)    Consequently, all candidates, all non-elected candidates and all members of the existing consultative bodies remain subject to the special protection against dismissal until the new day Y + 45 – and this also during the period of suspension.

This special dismissal protection consists of a fixed part (in function of the seniority on the date of dismissal) and a variable part if the employee requests his reintegration and the employer does not agree to this.

However, for all candidates in 2016 who no longer appear in 2020, there is a special arrangement for the variable part of the special protection against dismissal:

• For those who were already dismissed before the 17th of March 2020, the calculation of the variable protection indemnity will be limited in function of the initially foreseen day Y + 45 (normally June 2020);
• For those who are dismissed after the 17th of March 2020, the normal calculation of the variable protection indemnity continues to apply, more specifically as a function of the deferred day Y + 45 (possibly at the end of 2020 – beginning of 2021).

7)    The occult period of protection against dismissal is closed at X + 35 for the candidates who were effectively nominated as candidates on this day.

For the substitutes of these candidates, who will only be nominated after the period of suspension, the occult period does not run for the moment. This occult period will only start for them from the 36th day prior to the new day X + 36 to be determined within the new election calendar.

As soon as the new election dates are confirmed by Royal Decree, a new election calendar can be drawn up. We will of course keep you further informed and remain at your disposal for further questions in this respect.

Would you like to know more?

Contact the Racine employment team.

Would you like to stay informed? Follow us on LinkedIn!

The post Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on social elections: suspension of electoral procedure legally confirmed first appeared on Racine.

Whether your company complies with these measures, you can check for yourself on the basis of a specific prevention checklist COVID-19:

• CHECKLIST IN FRENCH
• CHECKLIST IN DUTCH

However, this possibility of self-monitoring is now also used by the inspection services of Supervision Welfare at Work to check by telephone / e-mail whether the coronary measures within your company are being complied with.

Therefore, prepare yourself now by discussing this checklist with your internal or external prevention service so that you can give clear answers in case of a check by the inspection authorities. In addition, it is advisable to already gather evidence, for example by taking some pictures of the adapted workplaces and listing the concrete measures that have been taken to secure the workplace.

Penalties for employers in the context of well-being at work are severe, ranging from administrative to criminal fines, and even imprisonment. If the inspection authorities consider that the health or safety of workers is endangered, a decision may be taken to stop the activity of your company or to seal the workplace.

Attention, your employees can also contact the inspection services directly if they are of the opinion that you, as an employer, do not comply with the mandatory coronary measures. They can also report infringements via a specific website. Such a complaint naturally increases the risk of an inspection. It is therefore absolutely advisable to organise the work in accordance with the coronation measures and to communicate transparently with your employees in this respect.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 virus in the workplace, don’t hesitate. We will be happy to assist you in these very unusual circumstances.

The post Is your company prepared for a corona compliance check? first appeared on Racine.

Below you will find an overview of the measures recently adopted by the Flemish government in relation to obtaining permits.

Exemption from the requirement for a permit in case of a civil emergency relating to public health

The COVID-19 virus is having a major impact on existing health infrastructure and the need for additional healthcare facilities, while the production of drugs and medical equipment is increasing.

That is why, by the emergency decree of 20 March 2020, the Flemish government has granted an exemption from the authorisation requirement for the construction and operation of additional hospitals, care facilities, production facilities for medicines and medical equipment and laboratories.

No environmental permit or environmental notification is required if all the following conditions are met :

1. The Flemish government confirms the civil emergency in relation to public health and determines its duration and commencement date;
2. The derogation is valid for a period of maximum 120 consecutive days which comes into force on the commencement date. The Flemish government may extend this period once for a maximum of 120 consecutive days;
3. The derogation is only valid for constructions, modifications in function and operations with the aim of manufacturing medicines and medical equipment, or of extending or improving the capacity of hospitals and other care facilities, care institutions or research units, in order to prevent or manage the effects of the civil emergency on public health;
4. The general and sectoral environmental conditions and obligations and the regulations for their application, notified by or relating to the decree of 5 April 1995 containing general provisions on environmental policy, are complied with.

Measures relating to procedural deadlines or procedural obligations

Furthermore, with the emergency decree of 20 March 2020, it was decided that the Flemish government may suspend or extend certain binding procedural deadlines or temporarily adapt certain procedural obligations.

This additional measure was introduced in case the coronavirus crisis would take on (even) greater proportions and the Flemish and local administrations would lose crucial functions and consequently the deadlines or procedures could not be met.

Among other things, this measure prevents a permit from being automatically refused if the application is not processed within the set time limits. It also provides a solution in the event that it is no longer practically possible to organise public inquiries, to have files consulted, to take advice, etc.

By decree of 24 March 2020, the specific measures mentioned below were adopted by the Flemish government.

• Scope of the measures

The measures listed below apply to the time limits or procedural obligations set out in the Environmental Permits Decree and its execution decree and the EER (Environmental Effect Reporting)-Procedural Decree, but only to the following permit applications and administrative appeals:

1. all permit applications and administrative appeals lodged before 24 March 2020 which, as of 24 March 2020, are pending before the competent licensing authority and in which, at that time, no explicit or tacit decision has yet been taken by the competent licensing authority as the final administrative instance;
2. permit applications and administrative appeals lodged between 24 March 2020 and 24 April 2020, renewable where appropriate.

• Extensions of time limits
  • The time limit for taking a decision on an application for authorisation in the first administrative instance shall be extended by 30 or 60 days respectively, depending on whether the application is dealt with under the simplified authorisation procedure or the normal authorisation procedure.
  • The time limit for taking a decision relating to an administrative appeal shall be extended by 60 days.
  • The time limit for lodging an administrative appeal against decisions taken in first administrative instance or against decisions on an application or official initiative to update the single permit is extended by 30 days.
  • The time limits determining when a single permit granted from 24 March 2020 to 24 April 2020 (period may be extended, if necessary) may be used, shall be extended by 30 days.
  • The Minister may further extend the above-mentioned periods.
• Adjustments to the procedure for public inquiries
  • The public inquiries in progress on March 24, 2020 will be suspended and continued after April 24, 2020.
  • Objections submitted during the period of suspension will be considered admissible.
  • New public inquiries may only be held after 24 April 2020.
  • On the website of the municipality, information on the start and end dates of the public inquiries shall be kept up to date. If, in accordance with Article 67 of the Environmental Permits Decree (Omgevingsvergunningsdecreet), the municipality has been commissioned to conduct a public inquiry, it will keep the competent authority informed of this information regarding the start and end dates of the public inquiries.
  • The Minister may further extend the above-mentioned deadlines.
• Adjustments to the procedure for processing applications for authorisation or administrative appeals
  • Where appropriate, the competent authority, the provincial or regional environmental officer or the chairman of the Environmental Permits Committee may decide to hold the hearings only in writing, by teleconference or by videoconference.
  • Where appropriate, the chairman of the Environmental Permits Committee may decide to hold meetings by teleconference or videoconference when considering permit applications or administrative appeals.
• Amendments to the advisory procedure
  • For administrative applications or appeals, late or unissued advices are not considered tacitly favourable, but the obligation to give advice may be disregarded. However, the possibility of appeal referred to in Article 53, 3° of the Decree on Environmental Permits is maintained, even if an advice is late or has not been issued.
  • Contrary to Article 12 of the EER-procedural Decree, late or non-issued advices are not considered tacitly favourable. However, the obligation to give an advice may be disregarded.

Procedural deadlines for the ‘Raad voor Vergunningenbetwistingen’ (Council for Permit Disputes) and the ‘Handhavingcollege’ (Environmental Protection College)

In addition, the decree of 27 March 2020 also issues specific measures for the procedural deadlines for the ‘Raad voor Vergunningenbetwistingen’ (Council for Permit Disputes) and the ‘Handhavingscollege’ (Environmental Protection College).

• Extensions of time limits
  • Expiry periods referred to in the ‘DBRC’ Decree (decreet van 9 december 2016 houdende wijziging van diverse decreten, wat de optimalisatie van de organisatie en de rechtspleging van de Vlaamse bestuursrechtcolleges betreft) and its execution decree (besluit van de Vlaamse regering van 21 april 2017 tot wijziging van het besluit van de Vlaamse Regering van 16 mei 2014 houdende de rechtspleging voor sommige Vlaamse bestuursrechtscolleges, wat betreft de optimalisatie van de organisatie en de rechtspleging van de Vlaamse bestuursrechtscolleges) which run on or between 27 March 2020 and 24 April 2020 inclusive will be extended by 30 days, with the exception of the expiry periods for requests for suspension of extreme urgency.
  • The time limits for appeals to the ‘RVVB’ and the ‘Handhavingscollege’, which run from 27 March 2020 or which start from 27 March 2020 to 24 April 2020, are extended by 30 days.
  • The Minister may decide to extend the above-mentioned periods by 30 days.
• The processing of the request for suspension of extreme urgency
  • The submission of an application and the exchange of procedural documents can take place from 27 March 2020 up to and including 24 April 2020 by means of an e-mail to the Permit Disputes Board: udn.vergunningsbetwistingen@vlaanderen.be.
  • Notifications by the Council for Permit Disputes (RVVB) are possible from 27 March 2020 to 24 April 2020 by means of an e-mail addressed to the parties concerned.
  • From 27 March 2020 to 24 April 2020 inclusive, the chairman of the chamber may decide to organise the hearing digitally or may immediately take the case into consideration if the parties, in mutual agreement, refrain from handling the case at the hearing. Contrary to Section 40, §4, 2nd paragraph of the DBRC Decree, the application will not be rejected if, in such event, the applicant does not appear or is not represented at the hearing.

With regard to the applications for annulment, the Council for Permit Dispute (RVVB) also invites the parties to the proceedings to refrain from handling the case during the hearings planned in March and April 2020, so that the case can be examined immediately with a view of a decision.

In addition, the Registry is temporarily unavailable by telephone. The Registry can still be reached by e-mail:

– for RvVb via info.vergunningsbetwistingen@vlaanderen.be

– for the HHC via info.handhaving@vlaanderen.be

Modification of deadlines and obligations for planning procedures

Finally, the Flemish government adopted an execution decree implementing the decree regulating environmental planning procedures, environmental development plans, complex projects, assessment of the environmental impact of plans, urban planning regulations and planning certificates.

The post COVID-19 – Licensing measures first appeared on Racine.

• Temporary unemployment
• Overview of measures for companies
• Impact of Corona virus on submission deadlines for public tenders
• Corona virus and the execution of public procurement contracts
• Corona virus and its impact on ongoing B2B contracts
• Corona virus and relief measures
• Corona virus and flexibility for HR matters
• Corona virus in Belgium
• Corona – Useful links

The post COVID-19: Racine updates first appeared on Racine.

In the past few days, the different Belgian governments have taken or announced a series of financial support and compensation measures.

In the contributions below we provide you with an overview of these measures:

• Federal measures
• Flemish measures
• Measures Brussels-Capital Region
• Walloon measures

The post Corona – Measures for companies first appeared on Racine.

Until recent two scenarios for temporary unemployment were possible: (i) either temporary employment due to force majeure or, (ii) either temporary employment due to economic reasons (because of the lack of work)

Given the large number of short-term applications and the fact that the conditions and formalities of the aforementioned scenarios differed significantly, the Council of Ministers decided to set up one uniform procedure for temporary unemployment which is the same for blue and white collar workers.

If an employer is faced with temporary unemployment due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (and therefore there is no or a lack or work), this situation will be qualified as a situation of force majeure.

We hereby list the most important changes of the corona procedure:

• All corona related forms of temporary unemployment are now automatically considered as temporary unemployment due to force majeure.
• The competent office of the ONEM should no longer be notified in advance of a situation of temporary unemployment based on force majeure (and their decision should therefore no longer be awaited). This measure applies provisionally until the 5th of April 2020.
• If you have already submitted an application for temporary unemployment due to economic reasons and you already reported the coronavirus when you notified the ONEM, the latter will convert your case into a file for temporary unemployment due to reasons of force majeure without further formalities or requirements. The aforementioned also applies when certain employees are still able to work or work certain days.

Important to note is that the DRS (scenario 5) form “force majeure” already indicates the reason for the temporary unemployment (and this by mentioning the code “nature of the day” 5.4 and with the reason “coronavirus”).

As an employer, you are obliged to submit this form as soon as possible so as the ONEM can use this form to determine the amount of the benefits for the workers wo are temporarily unemployed.

Hence, you do not have to postpone the submission of the DSR (scenario 5) from until the end of the month. As soon as all the data until the end of the moth are given, you will be able to submit the document. As a result of this, your employees to be paid more quickly

The following link refers to the aforementioned DSR (scenario 5) form :

In Dutch: https://www.socialsecurity.be/site_nl/employer/applics/drs/onem/scen5/about.htm

In French: https://www.socialsecurity.be/site_fr/employer/applics/drs/onem/scen5/about.htm

• Even if the coronavirus was not mentioned in the initial application for temporary unemployment for economic reasons, you can perfectly switch to the corona procedure by specifying “force majeure” as the reason for the temporary unemployment in the DSR (scenario 5) (by entering the code ‘nature of the day’ 5.4 and with ‘corona virus’ as the reason)
• If you have not yet applied for temporary unemployment, it is sufficient to submit a DRS (scenario 5) to the ONEM indicating “force majeure” as the reason for the temporary unemployment (by using code 5.4 and mentioning “coronavirus” as the reason). We advise you to contact your payroll agency as soon as possible in order to complete these formalities.
• During the corona procedure, the obligation of the employer to provide a control form C3.2A to each temporarily unemployed worker on a monthly basis will be expired for the months March, April, May and June 2020. Consequently, employees are no longer obliged to have a C3.2A card for those four months.
• The temporarily unemployed worker must add a simplified form C3.2 – EMPLOYEE – CORONA when submitting his application for his benefit claim to his payment institution. He will have to send this simplified form to his union or, if he is not a member of a union, to the HVW (the auxiliary cash office).
• Every worker who is temporarily unemployed on the basis of the corona procedure will be entitled to unemployment allowances without any specific conditions precedent (such as going through a waiting period). This benefit amounts to 70% of the average capped salary (capped at EUR 2,754.76 per month) provisionally provided until the 30th of June 2020.

On top of that, all workers concerned will receive a supplement of EUR 5.63 gross per day (on top of the daily unemployment allowance) to be paid by the ONEM.

However, a withholding tax of 26,75% on the professional income will be deducted from the unemployment allowance.

In order to accelerate the payment process, the federal government has expressed its intention to pay an advance of EUR 1,450.00 per month to all the employees concerned. The correct amount will only be determined, and, if necessary, regularised at a later stage.

• As part of the corona procedure, workers can alternate days of unemployment with working days. In this event, it is important to note that an unemployed day must contain a full day each time. Therefore, a day where a worker solely works in the morning and is unemployed in the afternoon (or vice versa) will not be qualified as an “unemployed day”.

If you have any further questions and/or require assistance in this respect, the Employment Team of Racine would be glad to assist.

The post Corona – Temporary unemployment first appeared on Racine.

Below is an overview of the financial support and compensation measures that have recently been adopted or announced by the Walloon government.

1. Central information point: The website 1890 went online, publishing all the official information related to the impact of COVID-19 on companies in Wallonia.

2. Walloon Fund COVID:

FOR WHOM:

• A single subvention of EUR 5,000.00 is granted to companies that have been subject to a full shutdown as a result of the measures and that, moreover, belong to the following sectors:
  • Bars and restaurants;
  • Hotels;
  • Travel agencies, booking offices and associated activities;
  • Retail, with the exception of food stores, pet food stores, pharmacies and newsagents;
  • Other personal services, with the exception of hairdressing businesses;
  • Automobile repair and sales
  • Arts, spectacles and recreative activities (gyms, sports& leisure…)
  • real estate mediation and sales and renting of real estate
  • cinema’s

INCENTIVIE

• A single subvention of EUR 5,000 EUR
• A single subvention of EUR 2,500.00 will be made available for hairdressing businesses whose activities are restricted as a result of the measures imposed by the National Security Council.

Applications are open via an online platform: https://indemnitecovid.wallonie.be/#/. where you can verify if you match the criteria based on your VAT number.

3. Corona Compensation

• A one off compensation of EUR 2,500 is available for independant professionals and undertakings that had to suspens their activities substantially in March and April and that bhave benefitted from the transitional rights (see point 5) https://racinebrussels.eu/corona-federal-measures/
• The application forms and conditions will be published on http://www.1890.be,
• You can register for an update on https://indemnitecovid.wallonie.be/#/

4. Corporate cashflow: Aid measures in the form of guarantees and banking loans will be provided by SRIW, SOGEPA and SOWLFIN.

• SME’s will be able to reach out to SOWALFIN, which will grant guarantees on existing credits, the increase of existing credits and new credits in the short term.
  • For existing loans, the instalments for capital and interest of 31 March 2020 will not be claimed. De payment plan for the capital is suspended with a similar period
  • A ‘ricochet’ loan of maximum EUR 45,000 at an interesting rate is available to lend pressing cash flow needs. The loan includes a capital cap of maximum 6 months. This loan cannot be combined with other compensation mechanisms (see point 2 and 3)
• SOPEGA will grant loans to companies in order to meet their short-term payment obligations.
  • Sogepa and Wallonie Santé propose laons with a maximum of EUR 200,000 with a reimbursement franchise of 1 year at a fixed rate of 2%
• Lager companies can call upon SRIW to grant guarantees on existing credits, as well as new crisiscredits in the short term.

Would you like to know more?

The Racine team is at your disposal to answer your specific questions.

The post Corona – Measures by the Walloon government first appeared on Racine.

Below is an overview of the financial support and compensation measures that have recently been adopted or announced by the Brussels government .

1.      Centralisation of information: The Brussels-Capital Region established a central contact point for everything related to the COVID-19, with all the recommendations and decisions made by the Brussels Government regarding the corona virus, namely the website 1819.

2.    One-time incentive for companies:

• A one-time incentive of EUR 4.000 will be provided for companies that have been forced to a shutdown as a result of the National Security Council and which, moreover, belong to one of the following sectors:
  • Bars and restaurants;
  • Hotels;
  • Travel agencies, travel organisations, booking offices and associated activities;
  • Retail, with the exception of food stores, pet food stores, pharmacies, newsagents, petrol stations and fuel suppliers;
  • Recreation and sport activities;
  • Real estate agents,
  • Video rental services
  • Book shops
  • Car wash
• A one-time incentive of EUR 2.000 will be provided for hairdressing businesses whose activities are restricted.

Applications can be made via an online form and should be introduced before 1 June 2020 http://werk-economie-emploi.brussels/fr_FR/prime-covid-19?inheritRedirect=true based on your BCE number.

The incentive is awarded per undertaking, so a single incentive per company even if it has multiple outlets.

3.     Corona compensation

• A one-time incentive of 2.000 EUR will be provided for companies (micro enterprises and small enterprises with a maximum of 5 full time equivalents) that were not force to close but see their turnover impated by the Covid-19 measures
•  The modalities are not set yet so it is unclear whether the incentive will apply per undertaking or per point of sales (For your information the similar Flemish incentive applies per establishment with a maximum of 5 incentives per undertaking).
•  A one-time incentive of 3.000 EUR is provided for taxi companies.

4. City Tax: The Brussels-Capital Region abolishes the payment of the city tax for the first half of the year 2020.

5.      Corporate cashflow: An opportunity will be created to call upon the ‘Brussels Waarborgfonds’ for public guarantees on banking credits. Applications can not yet be made.

6.    Finance&invest.brussels:

• Finance&invest.brussels shall be assigned a delegated mission in order to allow them to grant loans at a reduced rate to:
  • Key suppliers of the hotel and catering industry;
  • Businesses active in the hotel and catering industry and employing more than 50 people;
• Finance&invest.brussels may also grant additional deferments on the repayment of the principal of loans granted to companies in the affected sectors.

7.            Aid for economic expansion: An accelerated treatment of files, authorisation and payment of the subsidy will be provided for businesses active in hotel and catering, tourism, event and cultural industries that already benefited from economic expansion aid from the Brussels-Capital Region.

8.            Increased funding for the Center for Enterprises in Difficulties (CED): Hub.brussels, in collaboration with the Centre for Enterprises in Difficulty (CED), provides enhanced support for companies in difficulty. An additional budget of EUR 200.000 will be made available for this purpose.

9.            Foreign trade: hub.brussels will contact individually the companies from which foreign missions have been cancelled so as to provide further explanations of the consequences and technical details.

10.            LEZ-fines: The Brussels Government decided to change the date on which the transmission of fines in the framework of the Low Emission Zone will start. Hence, the entry into force of the fines will be postponed until the first day after the end date of the measures.

Would you like to know more?

The Racine team is at your disposal to answer your specific questions.

The post Corona – Measures by the Brussels-Capital Region first appeared on Racine.