The VDAB imposed more than 10,000 sanctions on job seekers last year for failing to attend appointments or not sufficiently cooperating with their job search, Flemish minister of employment Zuhal Demir said on Thursday.
Job seekers are required to actively look for work, accept suitable job offers and attend meetings with VDAB mediators. If they fail to comply, mediators can refer their file to the control service.
"Those receiving benefits have not only rights but also obligations"
In 2025, 38,956 files were forwarded for possible sanctions, almost 4,000 more than the year before. The most common issue remains failure to meet agreed obligations, affecting 25,864 job seekers, up 5.7 per cent.
In total, 10,008 sanctions were imposed: 169 warnings, 8,898 temporary suspensions of benefits and 941 permanent exclusions. The average suspension lasted 10 weeks.
"Those receiving benefits have not only rights but also obligations," said Minister Demir (N-VA). "VDAB mediators are intervening more quickly today. And that is clearly bearing fruit."
CD&V MP Robrecht Bothuyne, who raised the issue in parliament, noted that sanctions are declining despite rising job seeker numbers. “While the number of job seekers peaked at 225,000 in 2025, the number of sanctions dropped to 10,008. By comparison, in 2023, there were still 12,394, and in 2024, 11,274. That is worrying. The minister always talks about the strict follow-up of job seekers. The figures show that this is not always the case,” he said.
Demir noted that not every forwarded file leads to a sanction, as VDAB is also working with growing numbers of people outside its sanctioning remit, including long-term sick and social welfare recipients, groups that have roughly doubled since 2022.
"Because social welfare recipients and the long-term sick do not currently fall under the sanctions policy, local authorities, the RIZIV, and mutual health insurance funds must also play their role," she said, adding that talks are ongoing on a new cooperation agreement with municipalities.
Bothuyne called for stronger information-sharing rules, saying they are “urgently” needed. “Social Welfare Centres must be able to accurately assess, within the scope of their work, how the guidance provided to their clients by VDAB is progressing. The legal basis for this is currently lacking. Minister Demir was going to address this. But to this day, we are still waiting for it.”
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