If you are planning to set up a bonus scheme for your employees that relates to 2012 organisational objectives, you need to file your plan before 30 April 2012.

As long as your bonus is less than €2430 per person, the employee pays no tax or social security on it. (The employer still has to pay 33% tax on it).

Get in touch for more info.

If you’re coming to Brussels to do business, check out the weather here before you travel. Introducing our favourite (and most accurate) weather forecast for Brussels.

The Belgian Government is currently piloting an online registration facility for groups of individuals who are founding a non-profit association (ASBL/VZW).

Once it is up and running, anyone will be able to upload the relevant forms and documents without needing to print multiple forms. The process will be quicker and also cheaper.

The link (not yet active) for the new site will be www.egreffe.be

Watch this space for more updates as the pilot progresses.

One of Belgium’s payroll agencies, Partena, has published a useful tool that allows you to see how much your company car is going to cost you in 2012 under new tax rules which came into force on 1st January 2012. The new rules calculate the taxable value of your car based on four criteria: CO2 emissions, the catalogue value of the car, the type of fuel used and the distance between your home and office.

Partena’s tool also allows you to compare the cost in 2011 with the new cost in 2012.  It is available here http://partenahr.be/s_car_atn.aspx?&Langtype=2060

The new Belgian Government has announced that the existing transitional measures in place requiring Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to apply for work permits in Belgium prior to taking up employment, have been extended to 31 December 2013.

Following 2011’s sell out event, Local Knowledge is once again running a  half day seminar on how to set up and run a business in Belgium with the support of ING and The Bulletin magazine.

Don’t miss out on Belgium’s premier business start up event, dedicated to helping expats set up businesses in Belgium. This half day seminar takes you through the practical and essential steps you need to take to get your business up and running in Belgium. More details and bookings>>

Date/Time

8 May 2012
14:30 – 18:30

Place

ING
Rue du Trône 4 – Brussels

Local Knowledge is proud to be associated with an open day organised by “Brussels Pioneers” this 28 November. The event, in association with Cleverland, aims to help women to start their own business, to return to a job after a career break or to organize their long-term expatriation. A multingual team (French, Dutch, English,German,Spanish and Italian) will be available to provide you with career information and specific support for start ups.

Venue

Brussels Agency for Enterprises (BAE)
Tour & Taxis
Avenue du Port 86C, 1000 Brussels

Time: from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m
Registration: contact@bruxellespionnieres.org

Cleverland is a Brussels-based consultancy offering customized coaching and training programmes for effective leadership, management, negotiation and communications in international business environments and organisations, alongside cross-cultural mediation and facilitation services.
Website: cleverland-communications.eu

As those of you who are employers in Belgium know, you must establish replacement days for any bank holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday in 2012 before 15th December 2011.

Next year, the ten bank holidays in Belgium are:
New Year : Sunday 1st January
Easter Monday : Monday 9th April
Labour Day: Tuesday 1st May
Ascension: Thursday 17th May
Pentecost : Monday 28th May
National Day: Saturday 21st July
Assumption : Wednesday 15 August
All Saints Day: Thursday 1st November
Armistice : Sunday 11th November
Christmas Day : Tuesday 25th December

If you don’t agree alternative dates for the weekend days then the default is simply the next working day.

The Claeys formula, named after the Belgian employment lawyer who devised it, is often used in Belgium to determine the length of notice for employees earning a salary above €30,535 gross (amount in 2011) per year. It has recently been adapted and we outline the main changes below.

As you may know, the length of the notice period for employees in Belgium varies according to seniority and salary. If you earn less than €30,535 gross per year then your notice period is three months for every five years of employment.

If you earn more than that then the notice period is fixed by agreement (although it cannot be less than what it would be if you were earning below the threshold). In the event that an agreement cannot be found then it is up to the employer to fix an ‘appropriate’ period. The Claeys formula which is widely followed by employers and employment tribunals sets out a formula for determining what may be deemed to be ‘appropriate’. This formula has recently been adjusted on the basis of decisions by the courts in 2010 as follows:

For employees earning a gross annual compensation of less than €120,000

(0.87 x (years service) + 0.055 x (age) + 0.038 x (gross annual remuneration 117.20) – 1.95) divided by the official index of the month in which notice was given (baseline 2004)

For employees earning a gross annual compensation equal to or more than € 120,000

(0.87 x (age) + 0.055 x (age) – 0.0029 x (gross annual remuneration x 117.20) + 2.96) divided by the official index of the month in which notice was given (baseline 2004).

We hope that’s clear then but if you still have questions, contact us.