Some 33.8% of Belgian small and medium-sized (SME) companies plan to hire new staff in the next three months, according to an employment survey published on Monday by the human resources service provider SD Worx.

The ING bank will reduce its full-time IT workforce in Belgium this year, going from 1,215 to 1,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs), writes L'Echo on Friday.

A new minimum threshold for social security contributions will enter into effect on the 1 April for independent contractors in their first year of activity.

From 1 April, social inspectors will be authorized to pose as clients or potential jobseekers to unmask presumed discrimination at the company they are investigating, under a law containing various labour provisions that was published on 15 January last in the Monitor, Belgium’s official gazette.

The Administrative Commission for the Regulation of Work Relationships (CRT), which is part of the Social Security system, has ruled that the work relationship between Deliveroo and their deliverers cannot be classified as freelance work.

The gap between the highest and lowest salaries has continued to increase in Belgium and is now at its highest level since 2012, according to a study by the Acerta human resources company, released on Friday.

McDonald's wants to create some 2,000 jobs in Belgium by 2023, 70% of which will be on full-time basis.

Belgium’s Federal Planning Office forecasts the creation of 240,000 jobs by 2023 in its 2018-2023 Economic Prospects Report, according to Le Soir .