AS OF 24 AUGUST 2020 CONTACT TRACING IN THE CONSTRUCTION, CLEANING, AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY

I.

For example, the Security Council has introduced a so-called ‘pretracing’ system in the construction, cleaning, agriculture and horticulture sectors – as far as work in immovable state is concerned – as well as in the meat processing industry.

This means that any employer or user who temporarily calls on a foreign employee or self-employed person, either directly or by subcontracting, from the start of the works until the fourteenth day after the end of the works, must keep an up-to-date register with the following data:

• the surname and first name;
• the date of birth;
• the identification number in the Social Security Crossroads Bank (the number which appears under the person’s name on the Limosa notification);
• the place of residence of the employee or self-employed person during his activity in Belgium;
• the telephone number at which the employee or self-employed person can be contacted, and
• where applicable, an indication of the persons with whom the employee or self-employed person cooperates during his activities in Belgium.

The obligation to register does not apply to cross-border workers (worker who works in one member state and resides in the other member state to which he returns daily), nor does it apply when the stay in Belgium is less than 48 hours.

Furthermore, these data may only be used in the fight against the Coronavirus and must be destroyed 14 days after the end of the works in question.

II.

In addition, the obligation to fill in the Passenger Locator Form remains, of course, for all foreign workers whose stay in Belgium lasts more than 48 hours or whose previous stay outside Belgium lasted more than 48 hours. Even more so, as of 24 August, you as an employer or user will not only have an obligation to register, but also to check whether the Passenger Locator Form has actually been filled in before starting the works.

III.

We foresee that the organisation of the registration obligation and the check of the Passenger Locator Form will not be an easy task, especially at large sites, where several contractors are working at the same time and there are already several other registration obligations such as checkin@work. Therefore, make good arrangements with your co-contractor and preferably put them in writing in an appendix to the contracting agreement.

If necessary, provide a form on which the persons present on the site can leave their private data when entering the site or check with the provider of the registration system for checkin@work whether it can be extended and can also be used for this purpose. If desired, we can also provide you with a template for keeping track of the data.

IV.

Lastly, the Welfare Inspectorate will start carrying out strict checks on compliance with the corona prevention measures in the following sectors:

• Meat and fish processing plants
• Slaughterhouses
• Food packaging companies
• Large construction sites

This due to the high number of COVID-19 infections in these aforementioned sectors.

Please be aware that the preventive measures prescribed vary from sector to sector. However, the basic rules can be found in each package, namely keeping as much distance as possible, wearing protective clothing (including mouth masks) and good hand hygiene.

For the specific regulations at sector level, we refer you to the sector guides which can be found via this link and, specifically for the construction sector, to the prevention sheets on the Constructiv website.

However, the Welfare Inspectorate may decide that the sectoral prevention measures for your specific business activity are not sufficient. Therefore, always assess whether, depending on your company’s specific activity, you need to take additional measures.

If you fall under one of the sectors mentioned and would like to discuss the concrete implementation of the aforementioned measures further, do not hesitate to contact us.