What to do in the event of a career break for home care?
If you take care of a (terminally) ill person, you can stop working completely or partially for a certain period of time, or be exempt from your obligations as an unemployed person. There are different forms of career breaks.
Employees, the self-employed and the unemployed can take a career break.
Medical assistance (employees)
If you take on home care for a family member, you can take a career break. You will then receive a monthly interruption benefit from the NEO .
There are three possibilities.
• You stop working completely : both for those who work full-time and for those who work part-time.
• You will work part-time : you have at least 3/4 of a full-time job.
• You will work 4/5 : only possible for those who work full-time.
Important :
- Does your company have fewer than ten employees ? Then you need permission from your employer. The right is not enforceable .
- Does your company have fewer than fifty employees ? The maximum period of the career break can then be reduced to half . The employer must inform you in writing about the organizational reasons that make a longer career break impossible.
What should you do?
Submit a written request to your employer with the following information:
- the period of the career break;
- a medical certificate from the attending physician stating that you are 'prepared to provide assistance to the seriously ill person'.
Give the application personally to your employer. He gives you a receipt . Or send the application by registered mail . Employees in the private sector can also complete their application online via www.mysocialsecurity.be.
The career break starts at the earliest one week after the application . The employer can postpone the start by one week for serious organizational reasons.
What are the conditions?
- The sick person is a family member up to the second degree : son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, parent-in-law, grandparent, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
- The sick person does not have to live with you.
More information
Contact the Social Work department.
Amounts, forms and brochures can be found at www.rva.be.
Informal care leave (employees)
As an informal caregiver, you can take leave to care for a family member at home. You will then receive an interruption benefit from the NEO .
How long you can take informal care leave depends on your situation:
- You stop working completely : a maximum of three months per person requiring care. With a maximum of six months over your entire career.
- You will work part-time or 4/5 : a maximum of six months per person requiring care. With a maximum of twelve months over your entire career.
What should you do?
- Request recognition as an informal caregiver with social rights via CM . The certificate remains valid for one year.
- Ask your employer for approval for informal care leave at least seven days in advance. Make the request in person - ask for a receipt - or send it by registered mail.
- Apply for the interruption benefit from the NEO .
What is the condition?
You are recognized as an informal caregiver with social rights.
More information
Contact the Social Work department.
Amounts, forms and brochures can be found at www.rva.be.
Palliative leave (employees)
As an employee, you can take a career break to care for a terminally ill person. You will receive an interruption benefit from the NEO for this palliative leave.
There are two types:
- You will work less . You reduce the number of working hours by up to 50 percent. This form of palliative leave is only possible if you work full-time.
- You stop working completely : this is possible for both those who work full-time and for those who work part-time.
What should you do?
Submit a written request to your employer . Please attach a medical certificate from the treating physician stating that you are prepared to provide palliative care.
Give the application personally to your employer. He gives you a receipt . Or send the application by registered mail . Employees in the private sector can also complete their application online via www.mysocialsecurity.be .
More information
Contact the Social Work department.
Amounts, forms and brochures can be found at www.rva.be.
Time credit (employees)
If you want to temporarily take a partial or complete break from your career, you can take time credits, for example to care for sick family members. During your time credit you can receive a benefit from the NEO.
There are different types of time credit:
- general system without motive;
- general system with motive (for example 'care and education' or 'sick child');
- end of career.
The duration and conditions differ per type of time credit. More details can be found on the RVA website .
More information
Contact the Social Work department.
Amounts, forms and brochures can be found at www.rva.be.
Incentive bonus (employees)
If you take a career break for medical assistance, palliative leave or time credit, you will receive a benefit from the NEO.
If you do this to care for a father or mother over the age of 70, a seriously ill family member or a person suffering from an incurable disease, the Flemish Community will supplement the benefit under certain conditions with an incentive premium for care credit.
Employees are entitled to a maximum of twelve months of healthcare credit over the course of their entire professional career. That period is:
- not proportional : you can receive a healthcare premium for a maximum of twelve months, regardless of whether you take a full-time or part-time time credit;
- cumulative : to determine the maximum duration of one year, the months for which you have already received a healthcare credit premium are effectively included (as full months).
More information
You will find all information, application forms and amounts on the Flemish government website. You can apply for the premium online with your electronic identity card and card reader.
For more information you can also visit:
- on the free telephone number 1700 ;
- at your union .
Informal care allowance (self-employed)
As a self-employed person, you can temporarily interrupt your professional activity to care for a seriously ill or palliative family member. The application and payment are made through your social insurance fund.
What should you do?
- Request a medical certificate from the treating doctor. This confirms the severity of your family member's illness or palliative condition.
- Apply for your benefit from your social insurance fund together with the medical certificate. Do this by registered post or against receipt within four weeks after the interruption of your activity.
You can receive informal care benefit for a maximum of six months per application. Multiple applications are possible, but during your entire career you can never receive the benefit for more than twelve months.
Important : an exemption from social security contributions is authorized for the quarter following the start of the interruption. This quarter counts towards your pension career.
What are the conditions?
You take care of:
- your partner;
- a blood relative up to the second degree: son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, parent-in-law, grandparent, brother-in-law or sister-in-law;
- a person who officially lives at your address.
Your child is:
- younger than 21 years old and at least 66% physically or mentally unfit or has a condition for which at least four points are awarded in pillar I of the medical-social scale;
- at least 21 years old and younger than 25, and receives an integration allowance.
You are self-employed, helper or assisting spouse:
- in main profession;
- in a secondary occupation and you pay the same social contributions as a self-employed person with a main occupation;
- after retirement age and you pay the same amount of social security contributions as a self-employed person with a main occupation.
You paid your social security contributions for the two quarters before the quarter in which the interruption begins.
You interrupt your activity for at least 50% or 100% for at least one month.
More information
Contact the Zorglijn or visit www.rsvz.be.
Exemption from the labor market (unemployment)
As a completely unemployed informal caregiver, you must be temporarily unavailable for the labor market.
- Palliative care : an exemption of 1 month per person requiring care. The exemption can be extended by 1 month.
- Seriously ill family member or disabled child : an exemption of 3 to 12 months. The exemption can be extended several times up to a maximum of 48 months.
During this period you will receive a daily amount from the NEO.
Important :
- A maximum of one unemployed person at a time can be exempted from providing care to a person.
- If the exemption is refused, you can appeal to the Labor Court within three months.
What should you do?
- Submit the application to the RVA using form C90 .
- Please include a declaration of honor that you will provide informal care effectively.
- And a (medical) certificate of palliative care, serious illness or disability.
What are the conditions?
- You are completely unemployed.
- You take care of:
- someone who needs palliative care;
- a seriously ill family member up to the second degree: son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, parent-in-law, grandparent, brother-in-law or sister-in-law;
- a disabled child under the age of 21.
More information
- Contact the Auxiliary Fund or your trade union.
- Surf to www.rva.be.
