In our newsflash of 31 August 2020 we announced the extension of the mutual agreement between Belgium and Germany, which includes a “force majeure tolerance” for cross-border workers in relation to COVID-19 (travel) restrictions. Although the first vaccines have been distributed, the COVID-19 pandemic still has a huge impact on our lives. It is anticipated that in the first three months of 2021 many people will continue working from their home offices and international business travel will still be limited. Therefore, on 24 December 2020, it became clear that a further extension of the mutual agreement between Belgium and Germany was agreed until 31 March 2021.
Note: the COVID-19 mutual agreements (between Belgium and France / Germany / the Netherlands / Luxembourg) allow for a fiction in relation to the employment income linked to the “home working days” solely due to the measures taken by the governments of the respective countries to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. If certain conditions are met, and the employee chooses to apply the fiction, these “forced home working days” are deemed to be spent by the employee in the state where the cross-border worker would have exercised the employment in case no such measures had been taken.
In our newsflash of 12 May 2020, we mentioned that the tolerance agreed between Belgium and Germany applies retroactively as from 11 March until 31 May 2020 but that it could be extended if the competent authorities of both countries timely decide to do so. This mutual agreement was extended a first time until 30 June 2020 (see our newsflash of 2 June 2020), a second time until 31 August 2020 (see our newsflash of 29 June 2020) and once more until 31 December (see our newsflash of 31 August 2020). The competent German and Belgian authorities have agreed to extend the agreement until 31 March 2021. It remains to be seen whether any further extensions (after 31 March 2021) will be made applicable.
After the recent extension of the agreement with France (see our newsflash of 9 December 2020), the agreement with the Netherlands (see our newsflash of 10 December 2020) and the agreement with Luxembourg (see our newsflash of 11 December), the agreement with Germany is the last of the COVID-19 mutual agreements between Belgium and its neighbouring countries which is made applicable beyond income year 2020.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sandrine Schaumont or Philip Maertens.
