A Belgian Royal Decree that entered into force on 1 October 2017 stipulates that the appointment of this liaison officer must be made through the LIMOSA declaration that all foreign employers are required to complete for workers posted to Belgium.
The purpose of appointing a liaison officer is to ensure that there is a single ‘contact point’ for the Belgian inspectorate at all times. The liaison officer must deliver all documents and information requested by the inspectorate and must accept delivery of any documents and notifications from the inspectorate concerning the employment of workers posted to Belgium.
The liaison officer need not be resident in Belgium and can be any physical person: the foreign employer, an employee of the employer or a third party.
As of 1 October 2017, the liaison officer must be appointed through the LIMOSA declaration, a declaration containing contact and employment information that all foreign employers posting workers to Belgium are required to complete. It must include the following information about the liaison officer:
- surname, first name and date of birth (if the liaison officer has a Belgian social security number, this is sufficient);
- the capacity in which the liaison officer acts;
- the physical and electronic addresses and phone number at which the liaison officer can be reached.
In addition to providing information on the liaison officer, the LIMOSA declaration must state the nature of the services being carried out in Belgium. If the declaration relates to temporary agency work, the foreign temporary work agency’s authorisation number must also be included. Finally, for work in the construction sector, employers must state whether the posted employees receive benefits equivalent to the Belgian loyalty stamp system (an end of year bonus), or bad weather payments.
Foreign employers who do not appoint a liaison officer may be liable for penal fines from EUR 400 to EUR 4,000 or administrative fines from EUR 200 to 2,000.