Update on “bis-variant” for night and shift labour”
In the course of 2024, the new “bis-variant” for shift work was introduced. This temporary variant allows companies that do not meet the condition of equal size to still (partially) benefit from the exemption for shift work.
- The new Royal Decree clarifies that employers wishing to use the shift work bis-regulation must calculate a single correction factor that applies to the entire company. Even if the company operates with clearly distinguishable sub-departments, a blend rate at the company level is required.
- The correction factor has a double impact since it must be applied to both the amount of the theoretical exemption (22.8 or 25%) and the actually withheld withholding tax.
The method for calculating the correction factor is illustrated with two additional examples. Since the administration realizes that it is not yet clear for all specific cases, a circular or FAQ will be drafted to further clarify this.
Update on “support zone after natural disaster”
The law of December 26, 2022, introduced a new exemption for the transfer of wage withholding tax for employers affected by the natural disaster. Subject to conditions, the employer can benefit from an exemption amounting to 30% of the withheld withholding tax.
The new Royal Decree clarifies that to determine whether an employee is employed at a location that has suffered damage, the assessment must be based on the actual situation on the ground and not merely by looking at the employment contract.
The significance of the actual place of employment is also important to prevent potential abuse of the measure by companies that have more than one establishment. The relocation of employees to the affected site after the natural disaster will therefore be the subject of inspections. The administration will do this by checking where employees actually performed work in the months before the disaster and were employed in the period before the natural disaster.
For further guidance and to discuss how these changes may affect your business processes, please reach out to Bart Van den Bussche, Pierre Demoulin or Florian Paternoster.
