Working from home has become the norm again today. There are no indications that offices are hotbeds for corona infections. But by working from home together, we avoid overcrowded trains, buses and subways with commuters traveling to and from work. What does more home working mean for you financially? And what if you cannot work from home? Or are at increased risk because you work in the health sector.
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Am I entitled to compensation if I work from home?
Those who work at home have costs. Think of extra heating and lighting. The employer can reimburse these expenses, but is not obliged to do so. You can enter your actual costs on the basis of invoices, but in practice a fixed amount is usually paid.
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Before the corona crisis, an employer could only be sure that such a lump sum was tax-free if he had an agreement with the tax authorities. But thanks to a circular from the tax authorities on July 14, employers can give a tax-free agency fee of up to 129.48 euros per month without a prior ruling. Up to that amount, the allowance is in principle exempt from social security contributions.
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Incidentally, the allowance does not only apply to employees who have had a homework agreement with their employer for some time. Employees who did not work from home before the Covid-19 measures are also entitled to it. You must work from home for at least five working days a month. It does not matter whether you work full-time or part-time. A part-time employee who meets the conditions may also be paid the maximum amount of the home work allowance.
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How long do I have to quarantine if I have contact with an infected person?
As of October 1, new quarantine rules apply to Covid-19. The standard quarantine period is no longer fourteen, but seven days. If you test positive in the meantime, another seven days will be added. The first seven days of quarantine count from the day you had close contact with an infected person. Close contact means that you have been in the vicinity of an infected person for more than 15 minutes, less than five feet and without a mask.
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If the quarantine is extended, this does not mean that you are also found to be incapacitated for work. ‘That is a medical assessment,’ says Geert Vermeir, legal advisor at the HR services group SD Worx. ‘If someone is infected, the doctor will check whether that person is incapacitated for work and should receive a sickness certificate. But it may also be that there is no clinical picture and that it is decided to simply keep the quarantine. ‘
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Who pays my wages if I have to be quarantined?
If an employee has to be quarantined and he can work from home, his wages will continue to be paid. But not every job is eligible for working from home. If you are unable to perform your duties, you can fall back on the temporary unemployment system. You will then receive a benefit from the RVA. This amounts to 70 percent of the capped average wage, with a maximum of EUR 2,754.76 per month. Normally 26.75 percent withholding tax is withheld from the payment. For the months of May 2020 to December 2020, the deduction from those benefits was reduced to 15 percent. If the temporary unemployed person works in an ‘exceptionally hard-hit sector or company’, an additional EUR 5.63 per day will be added from the NEO.
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If you become ill during your quarantine – due to Covid-19 or another illness – you will immediately receive a benefit from the health insurance fund. ‘The logic is that in the event of a concurrence, you are only entitled to guaranteed wages from the employer for a day on which you could have worked and therefore would have received wages,’ explains Vermeir.
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If you remain ill after the quarantine period, you are entitled to a balance of guaranteed wages, which is paid by the employer. ‘And if the period of illness lasts longer than a month, the employee will go back to health insurance.’ In that case you will receive 60 percent of the gross salary.
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I am / was temporarily unemployed due to corona. How will that affect my 2021 tax return?
Anyone who becomes temporarily unemployed due to the corona crisis will receive benefits (see point 2). Withholding tax is deducted from the payment, but this is no more than an advance on the tax due. The final tax settlement takes place via the annual tax return. Your other income, your family situation and any tax benefits are taken into account.
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For employees in the higher income categories, the withholding tax will be too low, which means that they will have to pay additional taxes on the benefits received. That will certainly be the case for those who were only temporarily unemployed for one or two months and who receive regular wages for the rest of the year. This will be noticeable in the tax return that you have to complete next year.
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Although there is a specific tax credit for replacement income, not everyone in temporary unemployment can claim it. The tax benefit consists of a basic reduction and possibly an additional reduction. If you were only temporarily unemployed for a while due to the corona crisis, you can only claim the basic reduction. The additional reduction is reserved for those who only receive benefits or a replacement income. The basic reduction amounts to a maximum of 1,828.41 euros, but is reduced according to other income. There is no more tax credit as soon as you have a taxable income of at least EUR 29,600 in 2020.
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Will temporary unemployment affect my 13th month and vacation days?
Anyone who works builds up vacation rights for the following year. Until before Corona, temporary unemployment due to force majeure was not equated with days worked for vacation rights. This is now the case, for the days up to and including 31 August 2020 that you were temporarily unemployed due to force majeure due to the corona pandemic. “Perhaps the equivalence will be continued until the end of 2020, but a final decision has not yet been reached,” says Vermeir. Both for white-collar workers and blue-collar workers. As a result, you will have the same number of statutory holidays next year and you do not have to lose holiday pay because you were temporarily unemployed this year.
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There are no general regulations for the end of year bonus or the 13th month. It depends on what has been agreed at sector level, ‘says Vermeir. ‘In the catering industry, temporary unemployment is always equated with days worked for the end of year bonus.’ However, that is not the case for the more than 400,000 white-collar workers in JC 200. ‘There is no equivalence there and the end-of-year bonus will decrease accordingly. An employer can freely decide to apply a more advantageous scheme. Also know that an end-of-year bonus is subject to a higher withholding tax rate than ordinary wages, so you have a little less net left over.
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In other sectors, such as the metal sector, limited equivalence is provided for.
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Can Covid-19 be recognized as an occupational disease or accident at work?
Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is recognized as an occupational disease for certain workers in certain sectors. ‘These are healthcare workers, who run a significantly increased risk of infection with the virus, and employees who during the lockdown – between March 18 and May 17, 2020 – worked in critical sectors and essential services,’ says Ester Van Oostveldt. , lawyer at Van Eeckhoutte, Taquet and Clesse. Think of the staff in the supermarkets. One condition is that the illness has been diagnosed in the latter group in the period from 20 March to 31 May 2020. If your illness is recognized as an occupational disease, you are entitled to a benefit from Fedris. Private sector employees as well as state and local government employees are eligible for compensation. There are allowances for temporary or permanent incapacity for work. In the event of death, the next of kin will receive compensation and funeral expenses will be reimbursed, ‘explains Alexander Van de Sande, spokesman for Fedris.
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Those who needed medical care will receive a refund from Fedris. To be eligible for reimbursement, you must submit an application to Fedris. The benefit depends, among other things, on your salary and the duration of your incapacity for work.
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If you do not belong to those categories of employees, you must – to be eligible – provide proof that you contracted the illness while exercising your profession and not in other circumstances. ‘But that proof is difficult to provide,’ says Van Oostveldt. Self-employed people cannot turn to Fedris.
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Even if you have a company mobile phone, your employer cannot oblige you to use the Coronalert app.
Ellen Van Grunderbeek
Legal adviser Acerta
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Under certain conditions, Covid-19 can also be recognized as an occupational accident. Then you can fall back on reimbursement from your employer’s occupational accident insurer. An accident at work must be a sudden event that caused an injury and that occurred during and due to the performance of the employment contract.
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In addition, certain presumptions have been registered in the work accident legislation. As a result, the evidence that a sick employee had contact with an infected person or object during the performance of the employment contract can lead to a suspicion of an occupational accident. ‘An infection that is contracted on the way to and from work or while teleworking can in principle be recognized as an industrial accident. But you may be confronted with evidence problems, ‘says Van Oostveldt.
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Can my boss force me to install the corona app?
No. ‘Every citizen can install the Coronalert app. He is therefore outside the employment relationship between employer and employee, ‘explains Ellen Van Grunderbeek of the HR service provider Acerta. ‘That does not alter the fact that the app can offer added value in the workplace in order to be informed quickly if an employee had a high-risk contact. But your employer cannot oblige you to install the app. He can ask or recommend it. But you are not obliged to follow him. ‘ Even if you have a company mobile phone, your employer cannot oblige you to use the app. ‘He can, however, push certain apps to all staff devices’. But even then you are not obliged to use the app.
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