The federal government approved several measures concerning self-employed workers and SMEs this Friday.
Shops will be allowed to open 7 days a week and until 9pm
On a proposal from the Minister for the Self-Employed, SMEs and Small Traders, Eléonore SIMONET, the government has decided to abolish the mandatory weekly closure and harmonise the opening hours regime.
Eléonore SIMONET: “The current law is no longer suited to the expectations of consumers and retailers, nor to the development of online commerce, which enjoys far greater flexibility than physical shops and creates distortions of competition. Increased flexibility must allow retailers to adapt to current expectations.”
The government has therefore decided:
- to abolish the mandatory closing day;
- to relax shop opening hours, which will now be allowed to stay open until 9pm.
Note that for newsagents which benefit from an exception to closing hours and may open 24 hours a day, a criterion based on the number of daily, weekly and monthly papers displayed and sold is now introduced, in order to easily distinguish genuine newsagents from fake ones.
The text is now being sent for opinion to the Central Economic Council.
It is expected to enter into force 3 months after publication in the Belgian Official Gazette.
Return to work: the employer bonus is made permanent
Employers receive a return-to-work bonus (€1,725) when they help a long-term incapacitated worker return to work, possibly with an adapted job.
The government has decided to make this measure permanent, as it is particularly important for SMEs. Indeed, a long-term absence due to illness often weighs on the functioning of an SME, as it leads to a loss of know-how, a lack of continuity and an increased workload for colleagues.
This extension is part of the drive to reintegrate long-term sick employees into work, in which the government places emphasis both on accountability and on the necessary financial support.
Abolition of small taxes
The government has decided to abolish certain small taxes (abolition of the stamp duty on banking documents, abolition of the advertising tax, etc.).