Working with foreign subcontractors? Request data first!

In the fight against illegal employment, the Flemish government is imposing a due diligence obligation on (intermediary) contractors. If a contractor wants to avoid chain liability for illegal employment, they will soon have to request additional data from their direct subcontractors. 

Data to be requested 

The information the contractor must request depends on the admission ground on which the third-country nationals are employed or self-employed in Flanders: 

If the employment is based on the Vander Elst exemption (posting via another EU member state), or if a third-country national is self-employed and exempt from the professional card, then the following data is required: 

1. Proof of a valid passport (or travel document); 
2. Proof of the right to reside or a residence permit of more than three months in an EEA member state or Switzerland; 
3. Proof of Limosa registration (unless exempt); 
4. An A1 certificate issued by the foreign institution declaring that the social security legislation of that country remains applicable during the employment in Belgium (1). 

If the subcontractor employs third-country nationals who require an employment authorisation, or when a third-country national is self-employed by order of the direct subcontractor and needs a professional card, the following must be requested: 

1. Proof of a valid passport (or travel document); 
2. Proof of lawful residence; 
3. Proof of a valid Belgian employment authorisation or professional card of the aforementioned third-country nationals; 
4. If applicable, proof of the Dimona declaration of employment of the third-country nationals. 

Digital database 

Contractors must verify whether these records are present in an online application (yet to be developed by the Belgian authorities). If the data are not available or have expired, contractors must request the subcontractor to provide the valid documents. 

It is not yet known exactly which data will be accessible via the digital application. If certain data are not verifiable through the application, contractors must directly request them from their subcontractors. 

Contractors must perform this data verification before the start of the work. Although no further follow-up is required afterward, if a contractor discovers that the validity period of a document does not at least correspond to the duration of the project, they must notify the subcontractor that the document must be timely renewed. Contractors are not required to verify the validity (of the content) of the documents. 

Social inspection 

You must always be able to present data to social inspection services. Need assistance verifying documents? Feel free to contact us. Our experts are here to help! 

Entry into force 

The implementation of this regulation is scheduled for 1 January 2025. Discussions on the development of the digital application are ongoing. The intention is that the regulations on the due diligence obligation of the (intermediary) contractor will only come into force once this application is operational. 

(1) In case this document is not present at the start of the project, the direct subcontractor may present the receipt of the application for the document in question.