According to Article 20, 1° of the Act on employment contracts, employers must, in principle and amongst other, provide their employees with the aid, tools and material necessary to carry out their work. This requirement is applicable "except contrary stipulation".
The Brussels Labour Court of Appeal recently confirmed in its judgment of 19 February 2010 that the terms "except contrary stipulation" do imply that the employee and his/her employer can agree on who will bear the expenses arising from the execution of the employment contract. Therefore, the employee can be liable for costs which are, in principle, borne by the employer if this is stipulated in the employment contract.
The employment contract of a sales representative stipulated, in annex, that a mobile phone subscription was to be put at his disposal, but that the operational expenses (subscription and use) were to be charged to him on a monthly basis. In return, the employee would receive a fixed compensation, but the amount of this compensation apparently did not cover the expenses of the professional use of the mobile phone. According to the Court, the employee cannot claim back his real expenses.
The Court also considered that the payment of the expenses by the employee did not result in the employee receiving less than the minimum wage determined by CBA.
The possibility to depart from the employer's aid obligation by mutual consent also exists for other necessary tools (e.g. car, working tools, office accessories, magazines ...), as the term "tools" can be broadly interpreted.
