New regulations Medical force majeure: Outplacement becomes Back-to-work Fund

29 March 2024

A new rule dictating the operation regarding outplacement in connection with Medical force majeure comes into effect on April 1.

When an employee has become incapacitated for work due to medical reasons, one can invoke Medical force majeure when dissolving an employment contract.
Should an employer invoke this, they are obliged to support the incapacitated employee in finding a new job.

Whereas until now this took the form of an Outplacement offer, from April 1 this will be done by means of a contribution to the Back-to-Work Fund.

Be careful though! This only applies in cases where the employer invokes medical force majeure. And not when an employee invokes it upon termination of the employment contract or when they jointly determine it.

Old regulations

When an employer invoked medical force majeure upon dissolving an employment contract with an employee, they were obliged to make a written outplacement offer to him/her worth €1800 within 15 days after determining the medical force majeure.

From April 1

For the employer

From next week, the employer does not have to make an offer themselves, but will pay the contribution of €1800 to the Back-to-Work Fund, managed by the RIZIV, which the incapacitated employee will be able to claim.

If an employer terminates an employment contract on their initiative due to medical force majeure from 01/04/2024, they are obliged to deposit the contribution of €1,800 into the TNW fund.

The date that determines whether or not a contribution is due to the TNW fund is the termination date of the employment contract, not the dates you list in the email below.

Steps

Specifically, the following steps must be taken within a period of 45 calendar days after the employment contract has been terminated:

1. notify the TNW fund of a number of identification details of both the employer and the employee concerned;

2. pay the contribution of 1,800 euros to the TNW fund.

The employer will be able to make this notification by means of an electronic (or paper) form and will then receive an invitation to pay from the TNW fund.

Sanction

Please note that if this is not done (correctly), a sanction may follow.

For the employee

As an incapacitated recognized beneficiary, you can claim a contribution (of up to €1800) from the TNW fund for purchasing specialized tailor-made services such as career guidance or personalized coaching, with the aim of taking steps towards a new job. This then serves as a replacement for your employer's former outplacement offer.

You can only follow this guidance with a service provider recognized by RIZIV.
To claim this, you must submit an application to RIZIV.

From April 1, 2025, employees and job seekers who have been incapacitated for work for more than one year can also claim the Back-to-Work fund.