On 25 March 2021, the Federal Parliament passed a law introducing vaccination leave. Under this law, employees who wish to get a vaccine during their working hours are entitled to leave without loss of pay. This leave is however limited to the time required for the vaccination.
Conditions and proof required
- To benefit from this leave, the employee must give prior notice to the employer as soon as possible once his/her vaccination slot is known.
- The leave must be used specifically for the vaccine appointment.
- If requested by the employer, the employee must provide proof. The confirmation of the vaccination appointment constitutes sufficient proof if it contains the date and time of the appointment, otherwise the invitation will have to be presented.
Protection of personal data
The information obtained may only be used by the employer for the purpose of organizing workflow and ensuring pay is correctly processed. Under no circumstances may the employer (i) make a copy of the appointment confirmation, (ii) manually transcribe the confirmation information (except for the time of the appointment) or (ii) record the reason for taking leave. The employee's absence must be recorded as “circumstantial leave” (“petit chômage”/“klein verlet”).
Entry into force
This measure entered into force on 9 April 2021 and will expire on 31 December 2021. The government could extend this measure until 30 June 2022.
Gaël Chuffart, Partner, Brussels
Fatma Ezzahra Sassi, Brussels
