No more waiting fifteen minutes to blow during an alcohol test
From May, drivers will no longer be able to request a 15-minute waiting period for a breath test during an alcohol test. The Federal Public Service Mobility announced this.
The waiting period was introduced to neutralize the effect of ‘mouth alcohol’. This is alcohol that is still in the mouth shortly after drinking and which can influence the result of the breath test. “The latest devices detect and neutralize mouth alcohol automatically and 100 percent reliably. A waiting period has therefore become unnecessary,” says the FPS Mobility.
In July, the minimum volume of exhaled air will also be reduced from 1.9 to 1.2 liters. The police will then have to call a doctor less often to take a blood sample when someone does not meet the minimum volume. The measures are intended to make breath tests more efficient. The police will be able to carry out more checks in the same time period.
Mandatory registration of living wage earners with VDAB
From May, people with a living wage are obliged to register with the employment service VDAB. Of all people with a living wage, barely a fifth are working after a year, but if living wage earners are registered with the VDAB, this increases to 40 percent. Within the ambition to increase the employment rate in Flanders to 80 percent, the Flemish government recently decided to impose this obligation on living wage earners.
The intention is to work closely with the OCMWs. According to Minister of Work Jo Brouns (CD&V), the OCMW remains “in charge of the file of the living wage recipient”. As soon as the person concerned is registered with the VDAB, the OCMW will be able to determine whether it will provide guidance to work itself or whether it will call on the VDAB for this. The mandatory registration will give VDAB a clear view of all living wage recipients who can take steps towards work.
Anyone of working age who already receives a living wage will have three months to register. Anyone who has applied for a living wage will be given four months to register after the OCMW’s decision on whether to grant it.
Some people will not be able to take steps to work for certain reasons, such as health problems. Anyone who is eligible and deliberately does not cooperate risks a sanction through the OCMW.
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New labor migration rules: stricter control but also more flexible for some profiles
From 1 May, amended rules for the employment of employees from outside the European Union in Flanders will come into effect. Employers will be able to employ certain profiles more flexibly, but at the same time Flanders is tightening control on labor migration.
The aim of the new rules is to easily attract foreign top talent in view of structural shortages in the labor market. But at the same time the intention is to tighten economic migration policy to reduce abuse and improper economic migration.
From May 1, it will be easier for holders of the European Blue Card for highly qualified employees to change employers in Flanders without a new application. However, from now on they must receive an annual salary of at least 130 percent of the average Flemish wage. Until now it was 120 percent. For certain IT profiles, diplomas are no longer taken into account, but only relevant experience.
In a press release about the amended regulations, Minister Brouns emphasizes that the Flemish government is at the same time tightening the rules for labor migration from outside the EU. Inspection services will now also be given a legal basis with reasons to refuse an application: for example, companies without employees or with too little turnover to justify additional personnel.
At the same time, the minister wants to strengthen the incentive to first question the Flemish (or European) labor market. This way, the dynamic bottleneck list for medium-skilled profiles is revised more quickly. That list contains positions for which the domestic labor market no longer needs to be questioned. It is possible to recruit outside the EU for short-skilled positions on the (broader) shortage occupation list of the VDAB, but the employer must first prove that he has been looking for a suitable candidate within Europe for at least nine weeks. So far it was only six weeks.
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More people are eligible for reimbursement for contact lenses and glasses
From May, more people will be eligible for health insurance compensation when purchasing contact lenses and glasses. The RIZIV lowers the threshold for the reimbursement of the strength of the lens or spectacle glass.
The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance will only reimburse you for the purchase of lenses or glasses under certain conditions. Until now, there was only a reimbursement for a prescription from -7 or from +7 for glasses and -7.75 and +7.75 for contact lenses. These thresholds are lowered to 6 diopters, the deviation that reflects ‘how poorly someone sees’. In concrete terms: lenses and glasses from -6 and +6 are now entitled to a refund.
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According to the RIZIV, approximately 105,000 more people who are highly nearsighted (negative diopter) or farsighted (positive diopter) are therefore eligible for compensation for spectacle lenses. For contact lenses this concerns approximately 154,000 more people.
People can get a refund for glasses and contact lenses at the same time. This concerns the reimbursement of compulsory health insurance. This can still be supplemented by the health insurance funds.
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Tags: longer #15minute waiting time alcohol testing mandatory registration living wage earners VDAB Domestic
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