Abroad|07/05/14

BELGIUM: Employers exempted from reporting minor occupational injuries to the insurance organization

Home > The news of EUROGIP and occupational risks in Europe > BELGIUM: Employers exempted from reporting minor occupational injuries to the insurance organization

Accident beninThe Royal Order of 19 March 2014 establishes new procedures for reporting minor occupational injuries. A minor occupational injury is defined as “an injury having caused neither a loss of pay nor a work disability (temporary or permanent) for the victim, but which merely required healthcare that was administered immediately after the injury on the place of performance of the work contract”. Under the new Royal Order, the employer has no obligation to report this type of injury to the insurance organization on which it depends, on the sole condition that the minor injuries have been recorded in the register of first-aid operations performed.

Until the promulgation of this Royal Order, employers were required to report every occupational injury, whatever its seriousness. But very often, minor occupational injuries that entailed no expenses were quite simply not reported. This lack of reporting could be very prejudicial for the victim if their state of health subsequently deteriorated. It was very difficult, or even impossible for them to prove the existence of the injury. That is why the legislator defined new rules for reporting minor injuries.

The Royal Order therefore represents an administrative simplification for the employer. At the same time, it guarantees the rights of the victims in the event of a deterioration in their state of health, because the registration can serve as proof.

loupe1See Main features of occupational injury insurance BELGIUM (in English)

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