The Good Offices Commission was created by ministerial circular of 23 May 2013 (In French) (PDF, 269.16 KB) for locally recruited staff members employed by diplomatic missions. Its purpose is to endeavour to solve any problems that may arise between those staff members and their employer.
Composition
The Commission is made up of representatives of the following institutions:
- FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (Directorate-General for Supervision of Social Laws)
- FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (Protocol Directorate and Directorate-General Legal Affairs)
- FPS Social security
- National Social Security Office (Directorate International Relations)
- FPS Finance (Coordination of international relations)
- Trade unions
The Director-General of the “Supervision of Social Laws” chairs the Good Offices Commission. The Deputy Chief of the Protocol Directorate is the Vice-President of it.
Missions and services
The main mission of the Good Offices Commission consists in informing the staff members recruited in Belgium and their employers about the Belgian social and tax legislation and about their rights and obligations. In order to do so, the Commission published an information leaflet setting out the legal rules and main procedures which apply to them.
In addition, it helps solve individual or collective problems through information, conciliation or mediation and provides advice in order to reach amicable settlements.
The Commission makes proposals to improve the working conditions of staff members.
It also provides a number of templates to facilitate compliance with the rules of Belgian labour law: those are available in English, French and Dutch.
Why contact the Good Offices Commission?
If you are an employer: because you have questions about Belgian labour legislation
If you are a worker recruited in Belgium: because
- You are not declared to the NSSO
- Your salary is not indexed (increased on a regular basis)
- You have never received any double holiday pay (extra pay upon taking your main holidays)
- You have been dismissed and have not performed any notice and/or received any compensatory indemnity in lieu of notice
- You perform much overtime and receive no compensatory rest
- You have not received a copy of the work rules upon signing your employment contract.
- …
How to contact the Commission?
Officials of diplomatic missions and consular posts as well as their staff members recruited in Belgium may refer to the Commission for any problem or request for advice or information:
- Either by contacting the secretariat of the Commission directly,
- Or via members of the Commission.
Contact
Good Offices Commission for staff employed in diplomatic missions
rue Ernest Blerotstraat 1, 1070 Brussels
commissiondesbonsoffices@emploi.belgique.be
Documentation templates
- Model full-time employement contract (DOCX, 26.79 KB)
- Model part-time employement contract (DOCX, 28 KB)
- Model work rules (DOCX, 43.64 KB)
Information
- Information brochure about embassy staff (PDF, 936.21 KB)
- Procedure to establish work rules (PDF, 37.09 KB)
- Role of the certified social secretariat - social service provider (DOCX, 19.1 KB)
Indexation
Joint committee 337
2020
2021
2022
- Indexation of 2% from 02/01/2022 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 565.11 KB)
- Indexation of 2% from 04/01/2022 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 565.67 KB)
- Indexation of 2% from 07/01/2022 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 224.17 KB)
- Indexation of 2% from 09/01/2022 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 224.64 KB)
- Indexation of 2% from 12/01/2022 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 224.46 KB)
2023
- Indexation of 2% from 01/01/2023 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 236.58 KB)
- Indexation of 2% from 12/01/2023 for workers covered by joint committee 337 (PDF, 226.37 KB)
COVID 19
- Information on temporary unemployment (in French)
Presentations given during the workshops
- Locally recruited workers of foreign diplomatic missions in Belgium (PPTX, 3.04 MB)
- Diplomatic and Consular Missions wich social security legislation applies in a cross border context (PPTX, 5.8 MB)
- Federal compulsory health care insurance in Belgium - a kaleidoscopic view (PPTX, 485.94 KB)
- Social document and diplomatic missions (PPTX, 733.67 KB)
- Extension of the act of 5 decembrer 1968 - explanations and impacts (PPTX, 707.13 KB)
- Information on joint committees - practical aspects (PPTX, 705.56 KB)
- Obligations as an employer in Belgium (PPT, 558.5 KB)
- Annual holidays and holiday pay (PPTX, 212.04 KB)
- Payroll tax (PPTX, 401.61 KB)