The Chamber of Belgium's Federal Parliament adopted a bill outlining the measures for the return-to-work process during a plenary session on Thursday.
Introduced by Social Affairs and Public Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), the text seeks to clarify several aspects of the return-to-work pathway.
Since 1 January, the Federal Government has strengthened the policy aimed at reintegrating people on long-term sick leave into the labour market, while unravelling major cuts to unemployment benefits.
The bill forms part of the third wave of measures approved by the authorities to incentivise the return to work of long-term sick workers.
At the core of the new provisions – continuing a policy already initiated during the previous legislative term – is an increased "responsibilisation" not only of people unfit for work, but also of health insurance funds, physicians who certify incapacity for work, and employers.
The bill adopted on Thursday aims to supplement and clarify the existing framework. In particular, it introduces a legal definition of "work potential," referring to what is possible today and what could be possible in the future, taking into account the health condition of the person concerned.
The text also includes measures designed to speed up the start of a return-to-work pathway. For example, a medical adviser or a member of a multidisciplinary team will be able to directly refer a person to a 'ReAT pathway', without the intervention of a return-to-work coordinator.
In addition, the prevention adviser, occupational physician, will be able to refer a person to the employment service when a return to the original employer is no longer possible, and the reintegration pathway has been completed.
The bill was adopted by the majority against the opposition, with abstentions from the Flemish far-right Vlaams Belang and Flemish liberals Anders.
