Notification of temporary unemployment
If your employees are temporarily unable to work due to bad weather, lack of work, a technical accident or force majeure, you can apply for temporary unemployment for them. The employment contract is then temporarily suspended and your employees are entitled to unemployment benefits. The notification of temporary unemployment always has to be made electronically via the online service Temporary Unemployment or via Batch.
Temporary unemployment means that you temporarily suspend the employment contract of one or more employees. This suspension can be partial or complete. As long as the NEO has not yet approved the temporary unemployment, your employees on temporary unemployment are not entitled to unemployment benefits. Without a favourable decision from the NEO, you have to continue the payments of your employees' salaries.
You declare temporary unemployment electronically via the secure online service Temporary Unemployment on the Belgian Social Security portal (in French). To use this service, you have to register on the Belgian Social Security portal (in French).
You can also access the NEO’s decision in the online service.
The ‘Dossier Temporary Unemployment’ online service is available in French, Dutch and German. Alternatively, consult our ‘Temporary Unemployment’ manual in English (pdf) to use the online service.
You have to report the temporary unemployment to the NEO in the event of:
- lack of work for economic reasons,
- technical accident,
- bad weather,
- strike or lockout, or
- force majeure.
You must report temporary unemployment due to lack of work, technical failure and bad weather on the first day of the employee's actual unemployment.
You don’t have to inform the NEO in the event of:
- closure due to annual leave,
- force majeure for medical reasons, or
- suspension of the employment contract of employees protected by the labour court.
At the start of a period of temporary unemployment, you have to provide your employees on temporary unemployment with the C3.2A control form. Please enter the numbers of the control forms that you use as proof of temporary unemployment due to bad weather or lack of work (economic reasons) online service Validation book on the Belgian Social Security portal (in French). To use this service, please register on the Belgian Social Security portal.
As an employer in the construction sector, you don’t have to keep a validation book.
The ‘Dossier Validation Book’ online service is available in French, Dutch and German. Alternatively, consult our ‘Validation Book’ manual in English (pdf) to use the online service.
The procedure information on this page was funded by the European Union.
Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
Do you have questions about temporary unemployment or the validation book? Contact the National Employment Office (NEO):
- by telephone: +32 (0)2 515 44 44, or
- via the contact form.
