In addition to the mandatory annual training plan (for employers with 20 employees) and individual training rights (for all employers – 5 training days per year for a full-time employee), there is now also the additional obligation for employers to record all (formal and informal) training courses in the context of the employment relationship.
This recording must take place via the Federal Learning Account www.mycareer.be. This tool should provide a good picture of the training situation in a company and the professional development of each employee.
Normally, employers were required to start working on this by 1 April 2024 at the latest, but this was – probably to the delight of many – postponed to 30 November 2024.
Under the motto ‘forewarned is forearmed’, this is therefore an ideal opportunity to find out exactly what an unwary employer, unable to see the wood for the trees any longer, should do:
- Firstly, visit www.mycareer.be
Register your company.
- Ensure the recording of your employees’ personal data
Within 60 days of each employee starting employment, the employer must record the required personal data of new employees. For existing employees, the required personal data must be recorded no later than the last day of the month following each calendar quarter.
3. Verify the Recording of the training courses
Per quarter, it is the training providers who are responsible for direct recording of the courses followed and the basic information, also via the Federal Learning Account via www.mycareer.be. Employers then only need to verify this.
- Continuously check training rights
Employers must also manage training rights continuously. This means that they must check whether the statutory and sectoral training credits, the training rights and the training courses offered and attended are up-to-date. For example, if the employee has attended a training course, in addition the employer must record the number of training days or hours in the FLA. Thereafter, it is intended that the platform (Sigedis) will perform automatic calculations, whereby the hours are taken into account by the training rights, but the employer must provide the correct data through updates.
5. Direct provision of information to employees:
Employees must receive information about the existence of the FLA and personal data processed therein at the start and then once a year.
As an employer, it is therefore advisable to register all employees with an e-mail address (or shared via an e-box) so that they automatically receive a notification via the platform.Top of form Employees without a registered e-mail address must be contacted directly within 30 calendar days by means of an electronic form (provided via Sigedis).
6. Blacklist
Sigedis draws up a list every quarter of employers who are not in compliance with FLA obligations. Employers are informed via the Social Security eBox and have 30 days in which to comply. They will be removed from the list once in compliance. The list is shared with the authorities and publicly disclosed by the FOD Werkgelegenheid (Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue). There is a 6-month transitional arrangement during which public disclosure does not take place.
Our PKF BOFIDI Legal experts will be pleased to provide more information
If you need help in drawing up an annual training plan or if you have any questions about individual training rights, if you encounter difficulties with registration or if the obligations regarding the data in the Federal Learning Account are unclear, we will of course be happy to assist you. If you have any questions, you can always contact our legal experts.
This article was written by Peter Stroobants.