The coronavirus in Belgium has made one out of three Belgian workers temporarily unemployed. This is the case of Aimen, a fast food worker. He received his first allowance and was surprised to find that it did not correspond to 70% of his salary as announced. He is not alone, dozens of temporary unemployed people have reported the same disappointment to us via the orange Alert us button. What is the explanation?
Aimen, a fast food worker, was placed on temporary unemployment following containment measures decided by the government to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The father of Brussels, contacted us via the orange button Alert us because he does not understand the amount received as compensation for the month of March: “We were told that we would be entitled to 70% of our salary but I received much less”, he observes.
The worker has been officially temporarily unemployed since March 19. For nine days, he received an amount of 545 euros through his union. While he says he hits double in normal times. Aimen has four dependents: his wife and three children aged nine, sixteen and eighteen. The family is confined to their apartment located in the Brussels region and leaves very little, like the majority of the population.
Fear of not being able to make ends meet
And to the anxiety of confinement is added that of not being able to honor the invoices. “For the moment, we can get out of it because I worked until March 18, but if it goes on, it’s impossible …”. Besides the repayment of his loan (remember, however, that it is possible to postpone the repayment of your mortgage), the home like all families, has many costs: gas, electricity, telephone, car, taxes and other medical bills… “If the situation lasts another month or two, we will have to borrow left, right or postpone payments with what that may entail”, fears Aimen. He takes the example of the circulation tax of his car: “I still have a month, so I’m waiting for the deadline and we’ll see”.
The father is worried but he prefers not to talk too much about it with his family to save him. Faced with the difficulties that lie ahead, he confides that he does not understand the government’s decisions: “He reacted too late and clumsily”, he believes.
Temporary unemployment: 70% of the GROSS and CEILED average salary
From February 1 to June 30, 2020, workers placed on temporary unemployment due to force majeure receive an allowance corresponding to 70% of their average gross salary capped. This is important, which explains why many workers do not understand the amounts received, sometimes several hundred euros less compared to 70% of a salary. real. Especially since workers with large families have a significant reduction in withholding tax.
The gross salary ceiling is set at 2,754.76 euros per month.
Workers laid off temporarily due to force majeure on the grounds of coronavirus receive, in addition to this allowance, an additional 5.63 euros per day paid by ONEM, the National Employment Office. A professional withholding tax of 26.75% is deducted from this compensation.
The minimum amount for a full month is 1,165.93 euros net and the maximum is 1,519.79 euros net.
Unions say they are aware of the difficulties workers face. The CSC, the Christian union, specifies that the transition from temporary unemployment from 60 to 70% has been negotiated by organizations representing workers.
The FGTB said it had received thousands of messages from affiliates who believed they were receiving 70% of their real wages. The socialist union processes around 400,000 unemployment claims.
In all, 1.25 million people will benefit from temporary unemployment, which is equivalent to almost one worker or active worker in three.
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