Minimum benefit claimants obliged to register with employment agency
From 1 May, anyone of working age and receiving minimum subsistence benefit in Flanders – somewhat confusingly called the ‘living wage’ in Belgium - will in future have 3 months to register with the Flemish employment agency VDAB. People who have applied for the ‘living wage’ benefit will have 4 months to register after local social services have agreed to award it to applicants.
People who qualify but deliberately fail to cooperate risk a sanction from local social services.
Once somebody is registered with the VDAB, local social services will decide whether to take charge of guidance efforts towards helping the claimant find work or call on the VDAB to do so. The compulsory registration means that in future the employment agency will have a clear view of all ‘living wage’ recipients who can qualify for work.
The measure forms part of the Flemish government's aim of raising the employment rate to 80 per cent. Of all living wage recipients, barely 1 in 5 are employed a year into receiving the benefit. Among ‘living wage’ claimants who register with the VDAB, 4 out of 10 are in work after a year.