The federal government will launch a pilot project by the end of the year allowing employees at risk of long-term illness to temporarily reduce their working hours while receiving a supplementary benefit. The aim is to prevent people from dropping out of the workforce entirely.
“We need to keep people on board before they become completely incapacitated,” says Nahima Lanjri (CD&V), who first put forward the proposal last autumn. “We need to keep people on board, rather than fishing them out of the water afterwards.”
Rising long-term illness
More than half a million Belgians have been off work due to illness for over a year, a figure expected to rise further. According to Lanjri, this trend could cost the treasury an additional 1.9 billion EUR by 2030.
Her proposal introduces what is being called a “labour participation allowance”, designed for employees who are still working but face a serious risk of becoming fully incapacitated.
The allowance would be granted only if an employee continues to work at least 60 per cent of their hours and has a doctor’s prescription. The benefit would run for six months, with a possible one-off extension subject to agreement between the employer and the advising physician of the health insurance fund.
The pilot will be rolled out by health minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit).
Safeguards against misuse
For now, the scheme will be limited to people with a degenerative or progressive condition, in an effort to prevent abuse.
“This shouldn’t become a system where those who are temporarily feeling unwell automatically reduce their working hours while maintaining their income. It must be aimed at people with a real and medically substantiated risk of long-term disability,” Lanjri emphasises.
© PHOTO KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
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