Rights and obligations of the temporary agency worker

Annex 5. Text on the rights and obligations of the employee and the agency as referred to in Article 3

1. The agency may under no circumstances request or receive any remuneration from the employee.
2. The agency must treat all parties involved in an objective, respectful and non-discriminatory manner and may not draft or publish job advertisements that could give rise to discrimination.
3. The agency must respect the privacy of employees and may only request and use personal data with the employee’s consent, in the employee’s professional interest, and in compliance with regulations on the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data.
4. The agency must grant the employer and employees access to the data stored about them and, upon request, must provide them with a copy of their file after termination of the assignment.
5. The agency may request and use information about the employer and the employees only in the context of its placement activities.
6. The agency must provide the employer and the employees with accurate, timely and complete information about its placement activities and the nature of the employment.
7. Personality assessments and psychological tests may only be conducted by or under the responsibility of a psychologist.
8. The employment agency may not conduct placement activities for vacancies where no real job offer exists.
9. The agency may not engage in activities leading to employment that is contrary to public order, or where it can clearly establish that such activities constitute a breach of social or tax legislation.
10. The employment agency may not carry out placement activities insofar as they relate to a strike, lock-out, or suspension of an employment contract due to bad weather or lack of work for economic reasons.
11. The agency may mediate for workers of foreign nationality only if the regulations concerning the employment of foreign workers are respected.
12. The agency may not replace the employer in decisions on recruitment or dismissal, or in the negotiations related thereto.
13. The employment agency may not carry out placement activities through an exclusivity clause.
    14.1. Placement agencies for performing artists and paid athletes may only receive fees, commissions, contributions, admission or registration fees (hereinafter referred to as “commissions”) if the following conditions are met:
     1° the commission is established in advance in a written agreement between the agency and the employer. If private employment services are offered together with other services, the commission must be determined separately for each service;
     2° the employee expressly and in advance agrees to the commission;
     3° each party has an original copy of the agreement.
    14.2. The commission for the placement of a performing artist is calculated on the remuneration the artist will receive for the performance. The commission for the placement of a paid athlete is calculated on the athlete’s total expected gross annual income, for the full duration of the contract.
14. Every employment agency must hold a valid licence.
15. The employment agency must mention its licence number in all external communications, i.e. in its contracts, offers, invoices, correspondence, emails, job advertisements published in written or visual media, and on its websites.
16. The agency must provide this text to anyone making use of private employment services, or display it in full in publicly accessible premises of the agency, in the place where it can best be read.
17. Agencies whose activities include publishing job offers through written, audio or visual media (TV, newspapers, internet, radio, etc.) must publish this text in full through the medium concerned, or expressly mention the location (e.g. an internet address) where the text is available. This text must be made available free of charge upon simple request.
18. The agency must endorse and comply with the code of conduct. The code of conduct forms an integral part of this text.
19. Complaints regarding alleged violations of employment placement legislation may be filed with:
     Vlaams Subsidieagentschap voor Werk en Sociale Economie – Dienst Migratie en Arbeidsbemiddelingbureaus
     Ellips Building, Koning Albert II-laan 35, box 21, 1030 Brussels
     Tel: +32 2 553 44 73 – Fax: +32 2 553 44 22
     Email: arbeidsbemiddeling@vlaanderen.be
     To be admissible, a complaint must be substantiated and clearly describe the alleged violation. The anonymity of the complainant will be guaranteed.
20. Complaints may also be filed with:
     Department of Work and Social Economy – Inspection Division
     Ellips Building, Koning Albert II-laan 35, box 20, 1030 Brussels
     Tel: +32 2 553 08 88 – Fax: +32 2 553 42 71
     Email: werkgelegenheid.inspectie@vlaanderen.be
21. The following service is responsible for supervision and enforcement of the Private Employment Placement Decree and its implementing orders:
     Department of Work and Social Economy – Inspection Division
     Ellips Building, Koning Albert II-laan 35, box 20, 1030 Brussels
     Tel: +32 2 553 08 88 – Fax: +32 2 553 42 71
     Email: werkgelegenheid.inspectie@vlaanderen.be

Seen to be annexed to the Decision of the Flemish Government of 10 December 2010 implementing the Decree on Private Employment Placement.
Brussels, 10 December 2010.
The Minister-President of the Flemish Government, K. PEETERS
The Flemish Minister of Finance, Budget, Work, Spatial Planning and Sport, Ph. MUYTERS