2023-07-13 16:36:35
The Minister of Public Health, Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), puts forward a proposal for the employer to cover the second month of illness as a launch of the second phase of his policy on incapacity for work which he hope to see it done before the end of this legislature, write Litter et The time in their Thursday edition.
The 420 million in revenue from this scheme would be used to partly finance a reduction in employer contributions. “The idea is not to pour these 420 million euros into the budget, but rather to return them to companies. A small part of this amount will have to strengthen the incentive to rehire the long-term sick, but the biggest part will be returned to companies in the form of a general reduction in employers’ contributions.“, explains the Minister of Health, quoted in the two daily newspapers.
Thus, employers who put their long-term sick people back to work will come out on top and the others will lose, points out Litter.
The reactions
The first reactions of organizations such as the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB), the Neutral Union for the Self-Employed (SNI) are not enthusiastic regarding the proposal of the Minister of Health.
The Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB) did not welcome the proposal with open arms. Its managing director Pieter Timmermans spoke of an operation “left pocket, right pocket” on Radio 1. The measure can only work if employees, health insurance funds, doctors and other stakeholders are also made aware, believes Mr Timmermans. “In this country, we turn to employers even when it rains“, he said. The employers’ organizations Voka and Unizo were also critical. For the Union of Middle Classes, Frank Vandenbroucke’s proposal is “totally unachievable” for SMEs.
Deputy Prime Minister MR David Clarinval in turn said all the bad things he thought regarding this idea. “”As it stands, it is a measure that goes once morest the competitiveness of our businesses, an important element for me, which is part of a balance to be achieved for tax reform“.
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