Your payroll administration Q4.2021

1. Relance overtime 

In order to give the economy a boost, the social agreement of 2021-2022 provides for the granting of an additional 120 voluntary overtime hours per year for 2021 and 2022, the so-called relance or recovery overtime hours. In the meantime, a draft law is also on the table.

These relance overtime hours must allow overtime hours to be performed without the granting of compensation time or an overtime surcharge and with exemption from social security and tax.

As mentioned above, there is as yet no official legislative text, only a draft law. However, both the FPS ELSD and the NSSO have confirmed that they accept the application of these relance overtime hours as from 1 July 2021. Wage withholding tax must still be withheld until the law is published. Afterwards, this can be corrected.

More info? Read the article on our website.

2.Extension of temporary unemployment force majeure corona until end 2021 

The flexible temporary unemployment scheme for corona was extended until 31 December 2021.

Employers can make employees temporarily unemployed in a more flexible way because of corona until the end of this year. This can be a complete suspension of the execution of the employment agreement or a partial suspension (where the employee still works a few days per week). All situations of temporary unemployment due to corona are considered as force majeure.

3.Telework allowance

If your employees telework structurally and regularly, the NSSO and the tax authorities accept that a telework allowance of up to € 129.48 per month is granted. In the second and third quarter of 2021, the telework allowance was increased to a maximum of € 144.31 per month. However, as of September 1, 2021, the telework allowance will be lowered back down to a maximum of € 129.48 per month.

4.Indexation flexi wage

From 1 September 2021, the minimum wage for flexi-jobbers will be increased by 2%. The flexi wage amounts to at least € 9.74 per hour. The flexi holiday pay amounts to 7.67% of the flexi wage and must be paid out to the employee together with the flexi wage.

The flexi wage (wage + holiday pay) thus amounts to a total of € 10.49 per hour.

5.End-of-year administration

• Points of attention for holiday pay

In principle, all statutory holiday days must be taken before the end of the calendar year. This means that it is impossible to pay out or carry over unused holiday days to the next calendar year.

There are only a few exceptions to this principle. For example: for a white-collar worker who was unable to take his holidays due to incapacity for work, the employer will have to pay the holiday pay no later than 31 December.

It is therefore best that you, as an employer, ensure that the statutory holiday days are taken on time. An employer who cannot prove that the employees were reminded of this can be sanctioned with administrative or criminal fines. Check whether something has been arranged for the additional holiday days at sector or company level; these can possibly be transferred!

• ‘A special something’ on the occasion of end-of-year celebrations
  If you would like to give your employees a gift at the end of the year, you can do this in the form of a present, a gift voucher, cash, etc.
  These end-of-year gifts are not subject to social security contributions and taxes if they:
  • are donated on the occasion of Santa Claus, Christmas or New Year;
  • amount to maximum € 40.00 per year and per employee (to be increased by € 40.00 per dependent child of the employee concerned);
  • are awarded collectively on the basis of the same calculation method.
• You can deduct end-of-year gifts as professional expenses if you comply with the above conditions.

• Replacement holidays
  A public holiday that coincides with a Sunday or a day of inactivity must be replaced by another working day. If the replacement day is not determined at sectoral level, you must take action within your company before 15 December. If you fail to do so, the public holiday will be replaced by the first working day of the company following the public holiday.

  In 2022, the following public holidays coincide with a Sunday or a day on which you do not usually work:

  • Saturday 1 January 2022
  • Sunday, 1 May 2022
  • Sunday, December 25 2022

• Collective closure period

As an employer, it is prohibited to unilaterally impose holidays. However, you can introduce a collective holiday closure period by amending the work regulations. If it is the first time that you introduce such a collective closure period, you must follow the special amendment procedure and inform your employees about this.

Note: collective leave can also be determined by the joint committee!

6.Amended tax form obligations for costs proper to the employer

As from income year 2022, the amount of cost reimbursements, which an employer grants to its employees or a company to its managers, will have to be included in the respective tax forms 281.10 and 281.20.  In this way the tax authorities want to get a better insight into the reimbursements of costs proper to the employer or company.

Non-compliance with the obligation to provide a tax form by employers or companies will not have an impact on the deductibility of the allowances, but the administration may impose an administrative fine.