At the time of recruitment, you must, as an employer, comply with a series of formalities. Theses formalities are as follows:
Membership with the national social security office
As a company manager, you must be registered in this capacity with the national social security office (ONSS). When you recruit an employee, you must immediately declare the employment (DIMONA) to the ONSS. This is a compulsory procedure for all employers across all sectors. This declaration must be made electronically (FR).
This declaration is used to inform the ONSS of the recruitment or departure of a worker within your company.
Each worker receives a personal Dimona code allowing the social security organisations to be informed of the identity and employment relationship between the employer and the worker in real time. This information only needs to be communicated once thanks to this system.
These formalities are free if you complete them personally. However, if you opt for the help of a one-stop business shop or a social secretariat, this service will involve a fee. Other intermediaries may also help you in exchange for a fee (specialist agencies, employer organisations, etc.).
Never make an immediate declaration when it comes to moonlighting.
Affiliation to the family allowance fund
As soon as you recruit an employee, you must be affiliated with a family allowance fund (region specific since the 6th State reform).
You have 90 days from the recruitment date to do this. You have a free choice before this deadline. If you miss this deadline, you will be affiliated with the Agence Fédérale des Allocations familiales (FR - FAMIFED).
This affiliation provides the right to postnatal allowances, family allowances, and adoption grants. The affiliation lasts for a minimum of 4 years. In case of compulsory affiliation, this will last at least until the end of the service year following the year of your affiliation.
Affiliation to an occupational health service
The affiliation to an occupational health service is mandatory for all workers, even if the latter's workers are not required to pass a medical examination or be vaccinated.
If you employ less than 50 workers, you can opt for a medical service internal to the company. The latter must carry out all the tasks legally required of it. If you employ more than 50 workers, you are required to be affiliated with an inter-company medical service.
For more information, you can contact:
Administration de la médecine et de l’hygiène au travail
Rue Belliard 53
1040 Bruxelles
Tel. 02/233.46.46 (Nl) or 02/233.46.53 (FR)
Affiliation to an annual leave fund
As an employer, you must also be affiliated with an annual leave fund. This fund is responsible for the payment of annual leave savings. The amount of these savings depends on the remuneration that the worker has received during the year prior to the year in which the leave is taken. We can assume that the amount corresponding to four weeks of paid leave corresponds to the remuneration received for eight weeks of work.
In principle, this amount must be paid at the time of the worker's main period of leave, and no earlier than the first working day of the month of May in the year the annual leave is taken.
Some sectors, such as the food and construction industries, have their own annual leave funds. A list of the annual leave funds can be consulted at this address (FR).
If your sector does not have a specific fund, you must be affiliated with the Office national des vacances annuelles (FR).
If your company only has a few employees, this affiliation is not necessary as the employer pays the annual leave savings to the worker directly. In fact, the principle of solidarity concerning financing the annual leave savings does not exist here.
More info is available on the social security site.
Membership with a tax collection authority
As an employer, you are required to collect withholding tax from the source (from the gross remuneration of your workers). This deduction takes place in advance based on the tax due from the workers. In case of a correct evaluation, and if the worker has no other source of income, the deduction corresponds to the tax effectively due.
Contact the tax collection authority relevant to you (FR) to find out where to pay the withholding tax. The territorial competence of the tax collection authority differs depending on the status of the person (individual or legal entity), geographic location of the head office, and the company's main activity.
In principle, the declaration and the payment of the withholding tax takes place no later than the 15th day of the month following the payment or the allocation of the remuneration. In certain cases, a quarterly declaration is sufficient, such as for new debtors during their first year.
You can get more information from the Administration centrale des contributions directes (FR).
Conclusion of occupational accident insurance
Regardless of the duration of the workers' service, you are required to be insured against occupational accidents. The employer is responsible for any accident occurring during the home-work-home journey, and at the place of work itself. The insurance must be taken out with an officially approved insurance company.
Failing this, you will be automatically affiliated with the Fonds des accidents du travail.
However, this does not mean that you are exempt from your obligation to take out this type of insurance. In case of an occupational accident, the fund will compensate the victim immediately, but these sums will eventually be borne by you. In addition, as an employer you will have to pay an administrative fine with the amount being dependent on the number of non-insured workers and the period subject to the absence of coverage.
As an employer, you are required to report any accident leading to the application of the law on occupational accidents to your insurance company covering this risk, and this must be done within 10 working days of the day following the accident.
