We are very proud to announce, that GoWork Recruitment had the privilege to become a hiring partner of Belgium’s number one labour agency, Accent Group!
With over 25 years of experience, Accent part of the European HR group, “House of HR”, stands out as a fast growing, dynamic and innovative recruitment partner, connecting people’s talents and dreams with successful operating companies across the country. Accent Jobs, a broad network of more than 260 specialized offices throughout Belgium puts daily over 10 000 people at work. The presence of a “Foreign” niche with a wide range of languages spoken by its consultants, guarantees for smooth communication and the best suitable jobs for people coming from abroad. Accent cooperates with companies, active in a large variety of businesses that offer job openings to skilled workers on a long term basis. All credentials have to be cleared in advance. Our candidates will be offered a proper job, according to Belgian legislation, without any financial or safety risks.
Many different jobs in Belgium in the contruction/building/automotive industry, mechanical engineering, logistics, etc.
What can candidates coming from abroad expect from Accent?
• Thorough preparation in home country.
• Welcome by one of our attendants who will guide your new environment
• Long-term career support and employment in Belgium (option fixed contract)
• Competitive salary.
• Support in formalities such as registering in town hall, opening bank account, affiliating to health insurance,….
• Support in finding accommodation
• Proper completion of employment in case of return
We strongly believe our business has a responsibility to be a positive contributor to societal change and outline these values and principles in our professional and personal behavior and commit to fulfil our mission in an ethical manner. Everything we do, will be measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct.
CONTRACT AND REMUNERATION
The contract you will be signing at Accent will be one of temporary employment.
2.1 Temporary employment:
What is temporary employment?
It’s a sequence, in most cases, of weekly contracts. Nowadays, temporary work is the perfect gateway into the job market. Temporary employment means greater flexibility, not only for the company, but also for you as a temporary employee. It allows you a trial before signing up for a fixed employment. However, at Accent, all our temporary jobs include the option of permanent hire.
What is the employment period?
During the temporary employment period, you are registered via Accent by means of a contract of limited duration. After this period you might get the chance to get a fixed contract from the hiring company. In both cases, both parties can terminate the contract of limited duration in accordance to the legal notice periods.
How does payment work?
You are paid a weekly net salary for hours worked by means of direct deposit. You always receive this amount within 8 working days following the week of performance. Your payslip will be sent to you electronically by email. If you would like to receive your pay-slip by regular mail, please inform your Accent consultant. Part of the gross salary will be withdrawn and forwarded immediately to prepay taxes and social security as stipulated by law. Accent prefers to pay your wages into a Belgian bank account. We advise you to have a bank account before your departure to Belgium. Also possible to pay your wages into a foreign bank account. The costs involved in an international transfer will be at the employee’s expenses. On demand, a one-off compensation to cover travel expenses is paid, after the first week of performance for a maximum of 150€.
2.3 Social Security
A fixed percentage of 13.07% from the gross salary, representing the employer’s social security contribution is weekly deducted from the salary and represents the contribution to the system of pension, unemployment and health care. In addition to the ‘normal’ social security contributions, there is also a special social security contribution also obligatory. The amount of this contribution may vary because calculation is based on the quarterly salary.
2.4. Pay Slip and tax form “Fiscale Fiche 281.10”.
The payslip will be weekly sent by mail and/or available in the MY ACCENT APP. Please don’t hesitate to ask help from our consultants to understand more about your salary. The annual tax form, fiscal fiche 281.10, will be sent by mail and/or available in the MY ACCENT APP as from the months of March & April. This form, you will need to complete your tax return. On this sheet, called fiscal fiche 281.10 you will find the amount of all payments, deductions, interventions, benefits of all kinds and recalculations of the past income year. Depending on you residence in Belgium you will receive these documents in Dutch or in French.
2.5 Pension
When you come to Belgium from an EU member state, your contribution to the pension system from your country can be transferred to Belgium if you plan to enjoy your retirement in Belgium or, the other way around, you can transfer it from Belgium to your own country. For this process you will need to fill in the forms E104 and U1 and to provide them to the institutions which are responsible for the system of pension. In Belgium you can make and consult your pension file on mypesion.be
2.6 Extra-legal benefits
Depending on the sector (joint committee) you are working in, you may receive some extra benefits on top of
your salary.
• mandatory benefits: stipulated by the collective labour agreement in each joint committee. As an employer you can always to give more but never less than foreseen by law.
• others : if not stipulated in the CLA, the proper company can decide to give extra benefits.
However, if the company gives extra benefits such as for example meal vouchers for one employee, they have to give it to everyone. Also they cannot make any distinction between fixed employees and temporary ones.
SERVICES
During your stay in Belgium, Accent Support Team and the consultant of the foreign office will provide you with
information, assistance and various services that will make your transition to your new job and life in Belgium easier.
3.1 Bank account
You have the option to open a Belgian bank account. All you need is a valid ID card or passport.
Is it mandatory to have a Belgian bank account? No, but it will be more practical for you. Think about the payment of your salary, holiday allowance, child benefit, extra-legal benefits, etc. With a Belgian bank account, you will receive payments faster. In addition foreign banks usually impose charges on international bank transfers.
Please contact your Accent consultant in case you need help.
When keeping your bank account in your home country, we advise you to convert it into a Euro account. It would save you quite some transaction costs to convert your salary and it would make the use of your account, bankcard,…, easier.
3.2 Health Insurance
In Belgium a health insurance fund is usually called “mutuality”. Once you start working in Belgium this insurance becomes compulsory and it reimburses a big part from the medical costs that are recognized by the National Institute of Social Insurance. Besides, it pays you in case of disability to work. You can choose one of the funds that are available on the Belgian market. With your consent, the Accent consultant can facilitate f the affiliation by filling out and sending the necessary documents to a the mutuality you chose or to one of our partners. Normally it costs about 10€/month and can be paid once a year or monthly by direct debit.
What if I don’t subscribe?
If you are not insured you will have to cover by yourself all the costs related to medical interventions, medicines, treatments, hospitalization,…. Also, you will not be paid in case of absence due to illness, accidents,…. .
What are the benefits?
Your mutuality will pay you back the costs for your medical examinations, medicines, sick leave,….
Will I be fully refunded?
No. There is an amount of money that will not be refunded. For example an examination at a General Practitioner cost 27€ and you will get back 23,06€. In case you need to be hospitalized your regular insurance may not cover all the costs and that is why we advise you to inscribe also for a hospitalization package. In case of a work accident the insurance form your employer will cover all the costs.
Which are the conditions to get paid from health insurance:
• Medical costs: immediately
• Replacement Income:
o You are under contract or your contract ended within maximum 30 days before your
incapacity started.
o In the 12 months prior to you incapacity you worked at least 180 days (full-time job)
or 800 hours (half-time)
3.3. Child benefit
The Foreign consultants will support in obtaining child benefit. Just make an appointment with your Accent consultant! After the appointment, the application will be sent to the external institution responsible for child benefits in Belgium. Your situation will be analyzed. Some details about your situation in your home country may be required, but once everything approved, you will receive the child benefit and a regular 6-monthly procedure will be put in place to check that everything is being done correctly.
3.4. Registration at the town hall
Anyone wishing to stay in Belgium for over 3 months has to register at the town hall in their place of residence within 8 days from the date of arrival. In order to register, you need an official address and valid ID. If needed, we can offer assistance. Once you have registered, please bring proof of your registration to your Accent office.
What if I don’t register at the city hall?
If you don’t register, you don’t have a national register number in Belgium. As a consequence, you may lose your entitlement to various benefits (unemployment compensation due to (temporary) collective closure of a company, bad weather compensation, etc.). Administrative penalties of around €150 may also be imposed, the amount can vary from one region to another).
HOUSING
4.1. Accommodation
Around 30% of the Belgian population rent the accommodation they live in, so, finding a place to rent can be quite challenging. With over 10 years of experience in this field, team Foreign Support has developed a network of owners and real-estate agencies that allow them to help our non-Belgian candidates rent an accommodation. Before your departure to Belgium a member of the Foreign Support team will contact you to present you the accommodation available. He or she will explain you their way of working and will give you details about the costs that you will have to cover for rent and utilities.
Team support will also help you with the explanation and with the signing of the renting agreement, the contracts for utilities/services and fire insurance. These documents will be in Dutch so they will also explain you the content of the documents before you will sign them.
The regulation and practices concerning the renting may differ from the ones from your country and in the following lines we will make a summary of the most important aspects from the renting legislation:
• There must exist a written renting agreement between the owner and the tenant which is signed byboth parties before the handing over of the keys
• The renting agreement is accompanied by the so-called place description which must be also signed byboth the owner and the tenant. This document is usually done by an expert and the tenant must pay this service.
• A guaranty deposit equal to three months’ rent must be constituted in a separate bank account beforethe signing of the contract
• The tenant has the obligation to pay his rent regularly and on time
• The tenant has the obligation to pay, regularly and on time, the invoices for utilities (electricity, gas,water, internet, fire insurance)
• The tenant must maintain the accommodation clean and if he/she causes damage in theaccommodation, it will be his/her full responsibility to cover the costs
• In case the accommodation is provided with central heating the tenant is obliged by law to let it bechecked and maintained by a specialist periodically. The cost of this service is also the responsibility of the tenant.
• You can share the accommodation with somebody as long as the owner is informed about this and heagrees upon it and as long as the accommodation is structurally suited for this. there are strict regulations that limit the number of people that can live together depending on each type of accommodation
• The tenant is obliged to inform the owner in written about his intention to leave the accommodationand stop the renting agreement. The most common term is 3 months prior to departure. If the term is not respected the tenant risks paying a penalty of extra 1, 2 or 3 months’ rent.
4.2. Rental prices and expenditures
By law when renting an accommodation in Belgium you have to create a warranty deposit equal with 3 months’ rent. In order to facilitate your arrival in Belgium, Accent will pay deposit it and will also be guarantor of your rental agreement. In return you will have to build up a deposit of €250 in the first 5 weeks after you start working. When you move out, your contact person from team Foreign Support will arrange the reimbursement or the coverage of some unpaid costs from your deposit. As a rule, in Belgium the rent must be transferred to the owner’s account on the 1st of the current month. Accent devised a system of payment that will make things easier for you, at least in the early stages of your stay. Consequently, you’ll have time until the 15th of each month to transfer your share of rent. Moreover, in case you would live alone for a while, the maximum amount of rent that you will pay is € 350 while Accent will cover the rest of the rent. Renting prices vary from one address to another. To let you get an idea of your expected costs of living, we made an average between 16 locations from a region, we added the average costs for gas, electricity, water and internet and we came to an amount of €105 per 7 days. Your share will be always calculated based on the number of days you stayed there in the month you pay for. This calculation can include, besides rent, the costs of the place description and the compulsory fire insurance and, sometimes, common costs for the maintenance of the building or provisions for water or energy consumption. Your contact person from team foreign Support will explain you in detail all the costs related to your chosen accommodation.
4.3 Utilities:
Energy and water
In Belgium you have to pay a monthly advance on your consumption of electricity and gas. For water you will receive an invoice every 3 months. When you start your contract for utilities, the provider will suggest you an amount which is calculated based on the type of accommodation (i.e. apartment or open house), type of heating, number of occupants and previously registered consumption.
The invoice will be on one of the tenants’ name and it is to be paid, before the marked date, to the provider. This can be done by bank transfer, direct debit, or with an additional charge, at one of the offices of Bpost (the Belgian postal service).
At termination of the contract, or after a year from the start of the contract the provider will make a calculation based on your actual consumption which is registered on counters. A balance is made between the monthly prepayments and the actual consumption. Taxes, network costs and other charges are added and this results in your yearly/ending invoice.
If you are a responsible user please, pay enough in advance and you may even get a certain amount back from the provider.
If you are a reckless user and you are wasting energy or water (for ex.: leaving the heating on and windows open when you are not at home; not reporting and fixing a leakage) you will for sure pay extra important amount of money.
For you to have a clear idea about the costs for heating and electricity we compared the types of accommodation that we know and the monthly invoices and we came to the following result: for a well-insulated, double-glazed
accommodation, equipped with central heating on gas a monthly invoice of €150 will probably cover the consumption and responsible users even might get some money back.
As far as water is concerned, the drinking-water providers send an invoice every 3 months and the estimated consumption for one occupant is €60. This may vary depending on the region you live in.
Internet
If at your arrival there is no internet connection in the building, team foreign support will help you. Depending on your needs the monthly subscription is about 40-50 euros for an internet connection. Of course you can share these costs with other occupant/s. Some providers do not make contracts for non-residents so if you are not registered yet, contact team support.
Some providers charge an installation and or activation fee + there might be waiting time for a technician to come by.
Depending on the provider and the contract that you will have, it can happen that at the termination of the contract you have to return the router to the provider. Team support can also help you with this.
Waste, plastic, glass, paper
In Belgium you have to give big importance to the selection and disposal of you household waste. Paper is usually picked up once or twice a month free of charge. For household waste you either have to buy special bags with the inscription of the company that handles the waste in the city of residence in Belgium or you have to pay for a container. In the latter case you pay a yearly subscription that includes a number of pick-ups or you pay by weight. It is important to know that when the waste is collected in containers, you need to be registered on the proper address, otherwise waste will not be collected.
Your consultant from the team Foreign Support will provide you the necessary explanation as well as the calendar of the pick-up days, on your arrival in Belgium.
4.4 Insurance
Once you rent an accommodation in Belgium you are obliged by law to get a “fire” insurance. Team Fo reign support will manage this insurance, in mutual agreement with them, you can pay this once a year or monthly. Prices may vary. This insurance covers damages that can appear in the accommodation such as damage caused by water infiltrations, storms, etc.
- TRANSPORT
5.1 Foreign Vehicle
Once you are registered as inhabitant your car has to be subscribed in Belgium as well.
Procedure:
• Go to the Douane to declare that you want to import your car
• You will receive a pink form that is necessary to register your car in Belgium
• Go to technical inspection from where you should get a stamp on the pink form
• Make an insurance and from there you will also get a stamp on the pink form
• Register your car in Belgium via DIV (you can do this on-line or the insurance office cand do it for you)
Once your car is registered in Belgium you will also have to pay taxes for your car. The taxes are calculated according to the type of car that you have and it will have to be paid yearly. If you don’t register your car and you continue to drive with foreign number plates you risk to be fined.
5.2 LEZ
Another thing that you should know when you have a car in Belgium, are the so called environmental zones (LEZ
Lage Emissiezones, in Dutch). For the moment, these zones exist in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent and they restrict
the access of older, polluting cars in central regions of the above mentioned cities. In all these zone the
registration of the cars with foreign number plates is compulsory. The access to these zones is controlled and
monitored by means of cameras that recognize your number plate. To register go on www.lez-belgium.be/en
and follow the instructions.
5.3 Public Transport
Once you are in Belgium and you will have to travel from one place to another for work or for leisure, you can use the large network of public transport. You can chose from a day-return ticket to a monthly, quarterly or yearly cards, or combination of train-bus ticket, train-bike ticket or “railcard” for shorter and repeated destinations.
In addition, cycling is very popular and there is a good infrastructure of bike lanes in and outside the cities.
Nowadays you can also resort to a network of bike or electric steps rentals.
Train: https://www.belgiantrain.be/en
Bus & Tram: https://www.delijn.be
Bus & tram Bxl: https://www.stib-mivb.be/index.htm?l=nl
Bus & Tram Wallonia :https://www.letec.be/#/
- LEAVING BELGIUM
If you decide to leave Belgium for any personal reason, let us know! We are here to help.
Do not forget to inform following institutions about you are moving or leaving the country.
• the town hall
• the tax authorities / Another possibility is to give your accountant power of attorney to represent you in tax matters.
• health insurance
• Other insurances: fire insurance, home& family insurance,….
• Give notice of the accommodation you rent.
• Make sure all the bills are paid and that you have agreed on everything with the landlord. Don’t forget to notify your electricity, gas, water and cable suppliers.
• Inform your bank, in case you have a Belgian account.
• Inform your trade union in Belgium
