Since 1 March 2010[1] stricter rules apply to time credit benefits granted by the National Employment Office (hereinafter “NEO”).
Full time and half-time time credit
Although the seniority required to be eligible for time credit in general is limited to 1 year, the corresponding NEO benefit (the so-called "interruption allowance") will from now on only be granted to the employee with at least 2 years of seniority with the company acquired prior to the "written notification" to the employer of the employee’s wish to benefit from time credit.
It should be noted that this new seniority requirement is not applicable to employees who wish to benefit from time credit immediately after they have used up their right to a parental leave for all their children, in which case, the rule of one year of seniority remains applicable.
The new seniority requirement applies to new notifications made to the employer as from 1 March 2010 and does not affect renewed applications or existing time credit benefits.
Time credit for employees of 50 years and over
Employees aged 50 years and over are, until the age of retirement, entitled to benefit from time credit by reducing their full time work schedule by half or by 1/5th. These employees are at the same time entitled to a higher interruption allowance.
This increased NEO benefit will, from now on, only be granted as from the first month following the month in which the employee turns 51 (instead of 50, as was previously the case). Furthermore, the increased benefit will not automatically be granted by the NEO. The employee must to this end submit an additional time credit application form (C61 modified forms of the NEO).
Employees aged 50 to 51 are however still entitled to receive the "normal" (lower) NEO benefit.
