Informal carers in Belgium are set to lose their temporary protection from unemployment benefit restrictions at the end of this year, costing them over €700 in monthly benefits.
Belgium's Minister for Social Affairs, Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), in response to questions from concerned MPs, confirmed in Parliament on Tuesday that informal carers would have no separate legal status in the unemployment system.
"My response on this matter remains unchanged," he stated. "We are not going to create a separate status for family carers."
According to La Ligue des familles, an organisation that supports informal family carers, the Minister's response means that carers who had received a temporary reprieve from unemployment benefit rule changes will lose out as they become ineligible for unemployment benefits.
"In a month and a half, these already vulnerable families will be deprived of their unemployment benefits. Most will not even have access to social welfare services (CPAS)," they argued.
As many carers cannot work while fulfilling care duties, many will also be ineligible for social welfare support (CPAS), as they would not be able to meet the core requirement of being willing to work.
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The Minister confirmed he was actively working on a solution that would eliminate the need for a separate status for family carers in the unemployment system, but provided no details. He pointed to a published action plan in June, but Sarah Schlitz (Ecolo-Groen) slammed it as a "farce" that "fails to address the social emergency."
Caroline Désir (PS) went further, arguing that "nine months after the crocodile tears shed by the majority, there is still nothing; no concrete solution has been put forward for informal carers."
In Belgium, though informal carers are legally recognised, financial support is limited. Many full-time carers relied on unemployment benefits which had no restrictions. However, changes to the system capping access to benefits at two years meant many were set to lose them.
In February, emergency legislation was passed to pause the exclusion of carers from unemployment benefits if they had a registered carer's certificate. During the pause, the unemployment allowance was set at a flat rate of €761 a month for all carers.
Now, with no new legal status and no extension of temporary protection, carers are set to lose access to a key source of income. However, some may benefit from a temporary reprieve, as the Constitutional Court ruled in September that it is discriminatory to give those who have been claiming unemployment benefits the longest a shorter window to transition off them.
The Court's ruling effectively cancelled the existing transitional arrangements for those who have been receiving unemployment benefits longer, such as some long-term informal carers,
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A hidden part of the economy
In total, 3.4 million adults in Belgium provide care to someone in their family, with around 800,000 caring for a family member who is vulnerable, ill, or has a disability.
While some carers work alongside providing care responsibilities, Statbel found that roughly one in six working-age Belgians say their care responsibilities prevent them from working at all; these were more likely to be women.
Around 280,000 carers form the "sandwich generation," that is, adults who provide care to both a child and an adult family member. Around 130,000 of these carers do not hold a job.
The EU's agency for the improvement of living and working conditions, Eurofound, has previously suggested a new approach to supporting carers across Europe. This included moving carers away from being a hidden part of the economy to something formally recognised, with additional support to balance flexible work.
