Flanders tightens rules for jobseekers who miss obligations
Jobseekers in Flanders who fail to meet their obligations will soon have only one chance to correct their behaviour, under a new measure approved by Employment minister Zuhal Demir.
The current two-step warning system will be scrapped on 1 January. Instead of receiving an initial “formal agreement sheet” followed by an “ultimate agreement sheet”, jobseekers who ignore agreed actions with employment agency VDAB will immediately receive a final warning.
At the end of November, 126,965 people were registered with VDAB as jobseekers receiving benefits or completing their vocational integration period. They are required to show active job-search efforts. By June 2025, VDAB had issued 11,358 warnings, sanctions and negative evaluations.
Demir said the move was not intended as punishment but as a way to speed people back into work. She said jobseekers would receive more targeted guidance and nobody would be left behind.
The streamlined system is also expected to ease administrative pressure on VDAB’s 1,800 employment counsellors, who will be able to focus more on supporting people into work rather than issuing multiple warnings.
#FlandersNewsService | Flemish minister for Education and Work Zuhal Demir © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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