JobatThere are a lot of formalities involved when your employer ‘lets you go’. One of the most important, for which you must also take the necessary steps yourself, is unemployment benefits. While you are looking for a new job – intensive and time-consuming – this compensation ensures that you will not be left without an income. But when are you entitled to it as an employee, and how much is that benefit? Jobat.be will find out.
Start at the beginning
If you have been dismissed, you must first register as a job seeker with the VDAB. This must be done within eight days after your notice period, unless that period is longer than two months and you do not have to do it (in full), because then it must be done within two months after your dismissal. This step ensures that you will – possibly – receive unemployment benefits when your notice period has expired. If you have not found new work after your notice period, you must re-register with the VDAB.
Have you just been fired? Or are you planning to resign? You can calculate your notice period here.
What unemployment benefits are available?
There are two types: one is for those who completed their studies and did not find work after about a year, and the other – and better known – is there to help you if you suddenly find yourself without work. You are entitled to the latter benefit, which you receive from the RVA (National Employment Office), if you have no work and no wages without wanting it. You must be able to provide some evidence.
Dismissal due to ‘refusal to work’: what is possible and what is not? And how all-encompassing is that term exactly?
When are you eligible?
To be clear: this concerns a benefit that you receive when someone else terminates your employment contract. If you resigned yourself, the reason may determine whether or not you are entitled to unemployment benefits.
You must complete a form – your C4, an unemployment/employment certificate – and submit it to the trade union or the Unemployment Benefits Fund (HVW). The payment institution will help you with this and then submit your application to the NEO. To receive the benefit, you must have worked as an employee for a number of days. The exact number of days depends on your age. A person under the age of 36 is entitled to unemployment benefits once he has worked 312 days in the past 21 months. You are also eligible if you worked a total of 468 or 624 days during the last 33 months or 42 months.
FYI: a full-time working person works approximately 232 days per calendar year. You may add your twenty (or more) paid vacation days to that number, because all days on which you received benefits from the RVA – also for example for illness – count.
The count will become less strict – read: the reference period will be longer – in some specific cases, such as if you were unable to work due to force majeure or because you worked less to raise a child. If you are older than 36, the calculation becomes even more complex.
Attention: Your employer can also give you a sanction for a fact from your private life.
What else do you need to know?
There are a lot of formalities involved in a dismissal, especially for your (ex) employer. For example, if he does not respect the statutory notice period or dismisses you without compelling reason, he must pay you severance compensation. You may also be entitled to outplacement guidance and/or job application leave.
Please note: if you receive unemployment benefits, you are obliged to be guided by the VDAB.
Not unimportant: how much is the unemployment benefit?
The NEO is clear: as an unemployed person, you will receive 65 percent of the salary you last earned during your first three months of unemployment. After those three months, you will receive 60 percent of your last earned salary for three months. For both periods, a maximum wage limit of EUR 3,299.11 applies. The next six months you will also receive 60 percent of your salary, but then the limit is lower: 3,074.83 euros. The amount then continues to decrease until it ultimately becomes a lump sum benefit that is not dependent on your salary.
This content contains cookies from social media or other external platforms. Because you have disabled these cookies, this content remains hidden. Accept cookies from social media to still display the content.
Belgians are champions in the European labor market
Dismissal rates among young people are breaking records
How do you resign yourself? From making the right decision to making your choice official
This article was brought to you by our partner Jobat.be.
Jobat.be is an expert site focused on work, vacancies and career.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.
Yes, I want free unlimited access
Tags: dismissed resigned unemployment benefits count MyGuide
