Employers: accreditation and obligations
Since 1 December 2024, any employer wishing to hire sex workers must obtain accreditation. Here are the conditions, the procedure and the obligations to be met.
1. Mandatory accreditation
No employer may hire sex workers under an employment contract without having first obtained accreditation (law of 3 May 2024, art. 11). Accreditation is granted jointly by the Minister of Employment and the Minister of Justice. It is published in the Belgian Official Gazette and assigns an accreditation number to the employer.
Accreditation takes effect on the day of its publication in the Belgian Official Gazette (Royal Decree of 20 October 2024, art. 7).
2. Accreditation conditions
To obtain accreditation, the employer must meet all of the following conditions (art. 14 of the law):
Legal form
- The employer must be a legal entity: private limited company, cooperative or non-profit organisation.
- Natural persons may not act as employers of sex workers.
- The corporate purpose must be compatible with the activity.
Criminal record
- No director, manager or person exercising decision-making power may have been convicted of a listed set of serious offences (art. 14, 4°):
- Sexual offences, exploitation of minors, trafficking, pimping, rape, violence, theft, extortion, fraud.
- This check is carried out by FPS Justice.
3. Accreditation procedure
The procedure is set out in the Royal Decree of 20 October 2024:
- Application — sent by registered post to FPS Employment, with a detailed note and supporting documents for each accreditation condition (art. 2-3).
- Admissibility — FPS Employment checks whether the file is complete. If the file is incomplete, the applicant has 20 working days to supplement it (art. 4).
- Verification — FPS Employment verifies the formal and substantive conditions. The file is forwarded to the Minister of Justice within 30 working days (art. 5).
- Advice — the Minister of Justice consults the competent authorities (public prosecutor, etc.), who have 60 days to provide their opinion (art. 5-6).
- Decision — joint ministerial decree (Employment + Justice), published in the Official Gazette if accreditation is granted, or a reasoned refusal notified to the applicant (art. 7).
- Inspection — within 6 months of accreditation, the social inspectorates carry out an on-site check to verify that all conditions are met (art. 8).
4. Obligations of accredited employers
Accredited employers must comply with the following obligations (art. 17 of the law + Royal Decree of 20 October 2024):
Safety and supervision
- The employer may not delegate managerial authority to a third party (art. 17, 1°)
- No person convicted of serious offences may be present in the establishment (art. 17, 2°)
- Person of reference available at all times, reachable and trained (art. 17, 3°)
- Panic button in every room where sex work takes place (art. 17, 5°)
- Procedure to verify which workers are present in the establishment
- Internal emergency plan incorporating the panic button response procedure
Hygiene and working conditions
- Room of at least 8 m² (2 persons) or 9 m² (3 persons)
- Clean bedding and bath linen, regularly laundered
- Condoms and protective devices available free of charge
- Shower with hot and cold water, accessible
- Toiletries and intimate hygiene products provided
- All of these are at the employer's expense, not the worker's
5. Withdrawal of accreditation
If the employer fails to meet the legal conditions, their accreditation may be withdrawn, possibly after being given the opportunity to come into compliance. Withdrawal is published in the Official Gazette by joint ministerial decree (Royal Decree of 20 October 2024, art. 9). Every year in January, FPS Employment communicates the list of accredited employers to the competent joint committee (art. 10).