Specific formalities in case of activities in the field of road transport

Posting declaration in case of road transport activities

When an employer posts their drivers to Belgium in the context of road transport activities, the employer must make a specific posting declaration prior to such posting.

Both carriage of goods and carriage of passengers are covered.

Be careful! This specific posting declaration should not be confused with the "Limosa" posting declaration.
Indeed, the "Limosa" posting declaration is replaced, for road transport activities, by the new posting declaration specifically applicable in case of road transport activities.

Methods of communication of the posting declaration

Two assumptions must be distinguished:

The employer is established in an EU Member State or in the United Kingdom

Prior to the posting of a driver on Belgian territory in the context of road transport activities, their employer must submit a posting declaration to the Belgian Labour Inspectorate by communicating the required data using the standard multilingual form of the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System "IMI" (managed by the European Commission) via the following page: Road Transport - Posting Declaration.

The employer is obliged to keep the posting declaration updated in the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System "IMI".

The information contained in the posting declaration shall be stored in the Internal Market Information System "IMI" for a period of 24 months.

Assistance in completing the posting declaration

The employer is established in a State wich is not a member of the European Union and which is not the United Kingdom

Before a driver is posted to Belgian territory in the context of road transport activities, their employer must make a posting declaration to the Belgian Labour Inspectorate by providing the required data via the application www.transport-declaration-detachement.belgique.be.

Such a declaration can be made in either French, Dutch or English.

The employer is obliged to keep the posting declaration updated in the above-mentioned application.

The information contained in the posting declaration is saved by the Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue for a period of thirty-six months.

Assistance in making this posting declaration

Please contact the Belgian Labour Inspectorate by e-mail at the following address: SPOC.LabourInspection@employment.belgium.be.

Transport manager or other contact person

An employer who is going to post drivers to Belgium must first inform the Belgian Labour Inspectorate of the details of a transport manager or other contact person.

Both carriage of goods and carriage of passengers are covered.
This transport manager or other contact person is the person designated by the employer in their State of establishment and responsible, on behalf of the employer, for liaising with the Belgian Labour Inspectorate and for transmitting and receiving documents or notices.
The communication of the details of this transport manager or other contact person by the employer is done through the posting declaration specifically applicable in case of road transport activities (see point: "Posting declaration in case of road transport activities").

Documents to be provided in the event of a request from the Belgian Labour Inspectorate

Documents to be provided during roadside checks

Both carriage of goods and carriage of passengers are covered, as appropriate.

Employers who post their drivers to Belgium for road transport activities are obliged to ensure that these drivers have the documents mentioned below, in paper or electronic form, and the driver is obliged to provide these documents to the Belgian Labour Inspectorate at its request.

Documents that may be requested during roadside checks:

a copy of the posting declaration (see above point: "Posting declaration specifically applicable in case of road transport activities");
the tachograph records, and in particular the country symbols of the States where the worker was present when carrying out international road transport operations or cabotage operations.
proof of transport operations taking place in Belgium;

This evidence can, depending on the case, be provided in two ways:
- on the one hand, this proof can be provided by means of a document containing the following data:
  
  a) the name, address and signature of the consignor;
  b) the name, address and signature of the transport operator;
  c) the name and address of the consignee, together with their signature and the date of delivery once the goods have been delivered;
  d) the place and date of takeover of the goods and the intended place of delivery;
  (e) the common name of the nature of the goods and the method of packing and, in the case of dangerous goods, their generally recognised name and the number of packages, their particular marks and numbers;
  f) the gross mass of the goods or their quantity expressed in some other way;
  g) the registration plates of the motor vehicle and the trailer.
  
  On the other hand, for employers established in the Netherlands or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, this proof can also be provided by means of an electronic consignment note.
  
  For more information about this electronic consignment note please visit the following webpage:
  
  in French: https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/circulationroutiere/transport_marchandises_et_voyageurs/marchandises_compte_de_tiers/acces_au_5, or
  
  in Dutch:
- https://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/wegverkeer/vervoer_van_goederen_en_reizigers/goederenvervoer_derden/toegang_markt/elektronische

Documents to be provided by the employer after the posting

Both carriage of goods and carriage of passengers are covered, as appropriate.

The Belgian Labour Inspectorate may, after the posting, ask the employer who has posted their drivers to Belgium in the context of road transport activities to provide certain documents described below with a view to checking compliance with the working conditions applicable during the posting.

Documents that may be requested:

proof of transport operations taking place in Belgium (see above: point «Documents to be provided during roadside checks»);
the tachograph records (see above: point "Documents to be provided during roadside checks");
a copy of the employment contract or an equivalent document containing information on the essential elements of the employment relationship, including at least the identity of the parties to the employment relationship, the location of the entreprise, the description of the work to be performed, the date on which the employment relationship began and, where appropriate, the duration or date of termination of the employment relationship, the initial basic amount and other components of the remuneration to which the driver is entitled, the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration, and the length of the driver's normal working day or week.
time sheets relating to the work, indicating the start, end and duration of the daily working time of the posted driver and relating to the period of posting;
a copy of the documents relating to remuneration provided for by the legislation of the country where the employer is established and which are equivalent to the wage/salary statement (see one of the following links : in French or in Dutch
proof of payment of the driver's wages for the period of posting.

Procedures for the communication of documents requested by the Belgian Labour Inspectorate after the posting

Two assumptions must be distinguished:

The employer who has posted their driver to Belgium is established in a Member State of the European Union or in the United Kingdom

In such a case, the employer concerned will receive the request from the Belgian Labour Inspectorate for the document(s) concerned via the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System "IMI" via the following page: Road Transport - Posting Declaration.

The employer is obliged to provide the Belgian Labour Inspectorate with the requested document(s) via the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System "IMI" and this at the latest eight weeks after the date of the request.
The employer who has posted their driver to Belgium is established in a State which is not a member of the European Union and which is not the United Kingdom

In such a case, the employer concerned will receive the request from the Belgian Labour Inspectorate for the document(s) concerned by e-mail or by post.

The employer is obliged to provide the Belgian Labour Inspectorate with the requested document(s) by e-mail or by post at the latest eight weeks after the date of the request.

Assistance on how to submit the documents requested by the Belgian Labour Inspectorate after the posting

Please contact the Belgian Labour Inspectorate by e-mail at the following address: SPOC.LabourInspection@employment.belgium.be.

Sanctions for non-compliance with formalities

Sanctions concerning the employer of posted drivers

Offending behaviour

Non-completion by the employer of the posting declaration;
Non-communication by the employer of the details of the transport manager or any other contact person;
Absence of provision by the employer to their driver of the documents necessary during roadside checks (copy of the posting declaration, proof of transport operations and tachograph registration);
Failure of the employer to provide the competent social inspectorate with the documents that may be requested, after the period of posting, by that same inspectorate.

Sanctions

Either imprisonment for a term of six months to three years and a criminal fine of EUR 600 to EUR 6,000 or one of these penalties only;
Either an administrative fine of EUR 300 to EUR 3,000.

The amounts of the criminal fine or the administrative fine are subject to additional decimals.

At present, the multiplier is 8.

The amounts of the fines that will therefore actually be payable are as follows: criminal fine of EUR 4,800 to EUR 48,000 or administrative fine of EUR 2,400 to EUR 24,000

The amount of the fine will be multiplied by the number of drivers concerned by the infringement in case of certain infringements. For example: when the employer "failed to make the posting declaration", the amount of the fine will be multiplied by the number of drivers for which the employer failed to make the posting declaration.

Sanctions concerning the posted driver in the event of failure to provide documents which may be requested by the competent social inspectorate during roadside checks

Either imprisonment for a term of six months to three years and a criminal fine of EUR 600 to EUR 6,000 or one of these penalties only;
Either an administrative fine of EUR 300 to EUR 3,000.

The amounts of the criminal fine or the administrative fine are subject to additional decimals.
At present, the multiplier is 8.

The amounts of the fines that will therefore actually be payable are as follows: criminal fine of EUR 4,800 to EUR 48,000 or administrative fine of EUR 2,400 to EUR 24,000.