“Changes and updates in Belgian laws and regulations effective from June 1st, 2023”

2023-05-27 06:22:00

From 1 June, access to time credit for the reason “childcare” will require a professional career of at least 36 months, instead of 24 months previously, regardless of the form of interruption (full-time, half-time, 1/5th time), confirmed Onem to the Belga press agency. This change is in addition to a series of time credit reduction measures, most of which came into effect last February.

Target of budgetary savings by the Vivaldi government, the time credit has been planed. Thus, since February, whatever its reason, the maximum duration of the time credit over the whole of the career has been reduced by three months, going from 51 to 48 months maximum.

In addition, full-time time credit (i.e. a complete interruption, whether you work full or part-time) with the reason of taking care of your child is no longer accessible until the child is five years old. child, instead of eight years ago.

The time credit is a device which allows workers in the private sector to suspend or reduce their working hours for various reasons, in particular to take care of a third party – whether it is their child or a seriously ill family member. – or, in another register, to follow a recognized training course.

The legal framework for transforming thermal vehicles into electric ones now clarified

The rules for retrofitting, i.e. the transformation of a thermal car into an electric car, will be simplified from June 1, the date on which a royal decree on this subject will come into force, announced the Federal Minister for Mobility, Georges Gilkinet.

This new legal framework will apply both to the conversion to electric vehicles and to hydrogen vehicles.

However, the Regions still have to adopt their own normative framework “as soon as possible” so that the approval procedure is fully operational.

Until now, vehicles had to be homologated and certified by a car manufacturer once transformed, but the absence of rules on the subject made projects very difficult to carry out. Thus, it was necessary to have the modified vehicle homologated abroad before having it pass a technical inspection in Belgium.

In concrete terms, the royal decree will require the fuel tanks to be made unusable; a limitation of the new power to that of the original motor, with an exception for motors below 60kW which may be 20% more powerful. It will also prohibit the modification of the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle, of the maximum laden mass of the permissible assembly as well as of those permissible on each of the axles.

In addition, the distribution of the unladen weight, in running order, between the axles after conversion may not exceed the distribution between the axles of the base vehicle by ± 10%.

Increase in the maximum legal tariffs for consumer credit from June 1

The maximum rates for consumer credit will increase from June 1, 2023, the FPS Economy announced on Wednesday.

The legal maximum annual percentage rates (APR) for credit openings, among which are the so-called “credit cards” with spread repayments and the possibility of going negative on a current account, increase by 1, 5 percentage points, specifies the administration. This means that these lines of credit will grow if they come with a variable lending rate and the APR matches the maximum, which is often the case.

The maximum APRs for loans and installment sales and for leasing up to 1,250 euros increase by 2.5 percentage points and those over 1,250 euros by 2 percentage points.

The new maximums will only be applicable to new credit agreements and to existing credit agreements with a variable debit rate. They will therefore not apply to existing contracts with a fixed borrowing rate.

The purchasing power bonus available from June 1

Belgian companies that have achieved good results in 2022 will be able, from June 1, to grant a purchasing power bonus to their workers, recently recalled the Voucher Issuers Association, which brings together issuers of materialized or dematerialized checks. This new measure, validated in March by the Council of Ministers, aims to help workers in a difficult socio-economic context.

The bonus may amount to a maximum of 500 euros in companies which have made high profits and to a maximum of 750 euros in companies which have made exceptionally high profits. This amount will be granted in the form of a check usable within the framework of the existing network of meal vouchers and eco-vouchers.

This non-compulsory bonus can be awarded between June 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023. It will be valid until December 31, 2024.

Immediate withdrawal of license from 1.2 grams of alcohol per liter of blood

The blood alcohol level from which the driving license is subject to immediate withdrawal will be reduced from 1.5 promille to 1.2 promille from June 1, under a decision by the minister Mobility, Georges Gilkinet, taken in consultation with his counterparts in the Interior and Justice. Legislation on drunk driving will therefore become a bit more repressive.

In Belgium, zero tolerance does not apply to drink-driving, whether in the car or on a bicycle. The maximum permitted alcohol level is set at 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, which is equivalent to one or two beers or glasses of wine. The driver guilty of drunken driving is liable to penalties, the severity of which will depend on his alcoholic impregnation. The higher it is, the higher the fine will be. The motorist can be fined up to 16,000 euros and disqualified from driving.

According to an estimate by the Vias Institute for Road Safety, 115 lives could be saved every year if no driver drove under the influence of alcohol.

In 2022, 4,224 accidents involved a driver under the influence of alcohol, the highest figure since 2016. In addition, 9% of drivers involved in an injury accident were under the influence of alcohol. he of the latest Vias road safety barometer.

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