How do you protect your overseas employees?

What can you do as employer in order to offer your expats an adequate protection when they are confronted with a (workplace) accident or an illness?

1. Am I obliged to affiliate my employees to the Overseas Social Security (OSS)?

No. The Overseas Social Security (OSS) and the National Social Security Office (NSSO) share the same roots but aim at a different target group, have another method and offer other insurance policies.

pThe NSSO is focused on a mandatory system for all Belgian salaried workers. The OSS on the contrary is a voluntary system of social protection for expats outside the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The OSS provides to the expats a means of guaranteeing the maintenance of the Belgian social security abroad. In that way it helps expats to realize their international dreams.

This link to Belgium offers numerous advantages for your employees’ pension, a reimbursement of the medical costs and sickness and incapacity for work benefits. As it is certain things are hard to leave behind.

2. What is the difference between incapacity for work and an occupational (workplace) accident?

Your employees are incapacitated for work if they are unable to work during a determined period because of an illness, an accident in private life or a pregnancy. If this is the case, they can rely on a benefit for the whole period of incapacity for work. Moreover their medical costs are reimbursed.

An accident at work or on the road to and from work is covered by the occupational accident insurance. Our supplementary insurance covers all possible costs arising from such an accident.

If your employees remain incapacitated for work during a long period, they also receive a daily allowance.

As you are employing expats, the journey to and from the country of employment also counts for us as ‘road to and from work’, offering as such a complete cover.

3. How can I or can my employee declare a workplace accident?

The workplace accident must be declared within the shortest possible time by the employer or the employee. This helps to avoid future discussions in case you or your employee are/is confronted at a later stage to problems following the accident.

Moreover you or your employee have to send in a certificate of initial findings and a medical certificate describing the physical damages.

You can find the documents easily on our website.

4. How do I apply for a benefit related to incapacity for work?

Would you like to apply for an intervention in case your employee is incapacitated for work, disabled or pregnant? Send us in this case the correctly filled-in certificate and application form.

For employers :

• Claim for payment of sickness and disability insurance benefits (model 1) (in French)(.pdf-New window)
• Declaration of honour for the employer (model 2)(.pdf-New window)

The documents can be found easily on our website.

Please note! You or your employee should notify us of any change in your/his/her situation so that you or your employee can stay properly insured at all times.

5. What about my employee’s medical costs with regard to the supplementary healthcare contract?

All medical costs are reimbursed on condition that they represent costs that are also refunded in Belgium. This applies equally to the medical costs of the "dependents".

Based on the type of contract, the medical costs in Belgium are reimbursed up to maximum the double of the normal health insurance fund tariff.

Moreover the medical costs abroad are refunded up to 75%.

At the moment when your employee has medical costs, he first has to pay himself/herself these costs. The third-party payer system is never applied abroad. After payment of the costs, he/she can easily apply for their reimbursement through the online platform of the OSS.

Do you still have other questions or is something unclear ? Do not hesitate and contact us.