Companies│EU citizens: secondment (less than 90 days)
EU CITIZEN SECONDMENT IN PAYROLL
Posting within the EU means that an employee temporarily works in another EU country, while he or she remains employed by an employer in the home country. The employee performs work in the host country but remains socially connected to the country of origin. This is confirmed by the A1 form, which demonstrates that the employee is covered by the home country’s social security system.
Posting takes place within the framework of the free movement of services. The employee remains legally and contractually linked to the employer of the sending country.
As a Belgian client, you are obliged to ensure that these posted workers have the same employment conditions as Belgian workers:
Minimum wage and additional allowances
Rest periods
Vacation days
Workplace safety and health
WITHIN EUROPE │ LESS THAN 90 DAYS SECONDMENT OF TEMPORARY WORKERS ON PAYROLL
Foreign companies are allowed to temporarily send their employees to Belgium to work here through secondment. In this way, you can temporarily rely on employees with extensive knowledge and experience through secondment. The maximum duration of a secondment in Europe is generally two years, but this can be extended up to five years.
As an entrepreneur, you must first arrange a number of administrative obligations.
These are in place to guarantee fair competition and working conditions.
The following obligations must be arranged:
Limosa notification
A1 form (proof of social security in the home country)
Working conditions in Belgium
Duty of care
Source: workinginbelgium.be/limosa
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1. Mandatory Limosa Notification
Do you work with European posted foreign workers who come to work temporarily in Belgium? Then a Limosa notification is mandatory.
This prior electronic declaration must be made by the foreign employer before the start of the work. This is an electronic notification to the Belgian government in which you provide the employee's data and the assignment.
For all posted workers (both EU workers and non-EU workers), the foreign employer must make a mandatory Limosa declaration before the start of employment.
The Limosa notification simplifies the administrative obligations for the foreign employer.
Thanks to this notification, the employer is not required in Belgium to:
Draw up a work regulation
Keep a personnel register
Prepare an individual account
Draw up a Belgian payslip
The system is set up by the Belgian government to ensure transparency, fair competition, and protection of workers.
Who submits the Limosa notification?
The foreign employer is responsible for submitting the Limosa declaration. Although you yourself do not have to make a Limosa notification, you do have a control obligation. If the foreign employer does not make a Limosa declaration, you as a Belgian employer can also be fined for this.
Always request the Limosa-1 certificate from the foreign employer before the start of the work.
If the certificate cannot be presented? Then you are required to report this to the Belgian authorities.
If you do not do this, you risk administrative and criminal penalties.
THE FOREIGN EMPLOYER IS RESPONSIBLE HERE! How do you make a Limosa declaration?
Create an account
The foreign employer creates an account on the official website limosa.be.
Next, the foreign employer collects the correct data such as:
Identification details of the Belgian company
Period of employment (maximum 24 months per notification)
Location(s) of the work
Work schedule and activities
Identification details of the employee
Identification and contact details of the liaison officer
(contact person for the Belgian government)Recognition number of the foreign employment agency (in case of temporary agency work)
Nature of services
The foreign employer fills in the declaration form via the website
The foreign employer will receive a receipt afterward: the Limosa-1 certificate.
As a Belgian entrepreneur, you need this certificate before the work starts. Therefore, you must request it before foreign employees begin assignments for you in Belgium.
PROOF OF SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE HOME COUNTRY
2. A1 form
In secondment, the employee remains subject to the social security system of the sending country, not that of Belgium.
Every seconded employee must therefore be able to prove that they fall under the social security system of their country of origin. This is done via the official A1 form. It is requested from the competent authority in the home country. The form confirms that the employee remains socially insured in the home country for the specified period and prevents double social security contributions from being paid in the host country.
The seconding company or the employee themselves requests this form before the start of the secondment.
3. Employment Conditions in Belgium
You must always comply with the Belgian labor, minimum wage, and employment conditions applicable to your sector.
4. Duty of Care
From 2026, as a contractor/client, you must request and keep documents from subcontractors who work with foreign workers. These can be requested during an inspection.
Duty of Care for Chain Liability
The duty of care is a legal obligation for contractors in Belgium to proactively verify that their subcontractors do not employ illegally residing foreign workers or self-employed persons. This obligation was introduced to prevent chain liability and thus to ensure that subcontractors do not employ people without valid papers.
From January 1, 2026, as a contractor you must:
In addition to the mandatory written declaration in the contract, as a main or intermediate contractor, from January 1, 2026, you must request the following information and therefore carry out a check with your direct subcontractor:
Identification and contact details of the direct subcontractor
Information about foreign workers and self-employed persons
Personal data (such as name and date of birth)
Data on their residence status (such as residence permit)
Information about their employment (such as employment contract, Limosa declaration, or A1 form)
If you fail to comply with this duty of care, you may:
Be held criminally liable
Receive heavy fines
Be held jointly responsible for social or tax fraud in the chain
Temporary Employment Sector
The same applies to the temporary employment sector: from January 1, 2026, information must be requested from direct (sub)contractors regarding the persons employed.