Are these measures already official?
Not yet. In this article, we discuss the new measures that the Flemish government approved on 13 March 2026. Both the SERV (Social and Economic Council of Flanders) and the Council of State still need to give their advice. The measures will only become final after publication in the Moniteur belge.
Until this legislative process is complete, the proposed measures may still change and do not yet have legal force.
What is the Flemish training leave (VOV)?
The VOV (formerly paid educational leave) applies to employees from the private sector who are employed by one or more employers in the Flemish Region.
Your employees who are employed at least half-time have the right to be absent to follow certain training courses with retention of their pay.
This pay is capped at 3,714 euros gross per month (indexed amount for the 2025/2026 school year). You pay this salary, but you receive a contribution from the Flemish government.
Read more: "What is the Flemish training leave?"
What changes?
After the adjustments for the previous school year, the rules regarding the VOV are again adjusted for the 2026-2027 school year.
The changes ensure that recognised training better matches the needs of the labour market, that the joint initiative right is anchored, that the employer's forfait is increased, that employees receive twice as many hours to take exams, and that abuse is better prevented.
Moreover, your employees are again eligible for the VOV if they work at least 50% of a full-time schedule.
Last school year, an employee had to be employed at least 80% and work on average at least 28 hours per week. For part-time employees, the maximum number of VOV hours is also granted pro rata, in proportion to their contractual working hours.
If your employee works exclusively at weekends, they can only take VOV during scheduled working days.
Higher employer forfait
Also, the contribution you receive from the Flemish government (for each hour your employee attends recognised training) increases. The wage forfait, which was reduced to 14.91 euros per hour in the 2025/2026 school year, will be raised again from the next school year (2026/2027) to 24.50 euros per hour attended.
Suppose an employee follows training for 3 hours per week. Then the contribution changes as follows:
- Old scheme: 3 hours x 14.91 euros = 44.73 euros per week
- New scheme: 3 hours x 24.50 euros = 73.50 euros per week
Be sure to inform your Client Advisor about the days your employee has taken Flemish training leave. This way, they can ensure correct payroll processing. You must apply for the reimbursement of the wage cost yourself. More information about the application and reimbursement procedure can be found via this link.
Structural anchoring of the joint initiative right
The joint initiative right will be definitively introduced from the 2026-2027 school year and will therefore remain structurally applicable.
Your employee can take 125 hours of VOV per year. At your proposal, an additional 125 hours of recognised training can be added, without obligation for you or your employee. Thus, the maximum rises to 250 hours per year. If you apply for reimbursement, you must now indicate on whose initiative the VOV was requested.
Focus on labour market-oriented training
The Flemish government wants to focus recognised training more strongly on what the labour market needs.
The training must contribute to increasing productivity, strengthening employees' competences, and eliminating bottlenecks in the labour market.
Training providers must electronically register their training in the training database of the Flemish government.
From now on, only the following trainings will be eligible for the VOV:
- Training focused on basic competences (basic literacy, numeracy, basic digital skills, media literacy, Dutch for non-native speakers)
- Training aimed at acquiring technological, technical, exact scientific or mathematical knowledge and its application in professions. Specifically, these are the STEM trainings recognised by the VDAB
- Language training in Dutch, French, German or English leading to acquisition of at most level B1
- Training granting access to a bottleneck profession from the VDAB bottleneck professions list.
- Training addressing a future sectoral shortage of competences demonstrated by a competence forecast.
- Mentor training
- Training related to social dialogue, labour and social law so that one can participate knowledgeably in social dialogue at company level
- Training focused on the approach to climate and energy transition or digital transition (new category!)
- Training leading to a first secondary education diploma. The recognition of training leading to all diplomas of a higher qualification level than the employee already possesses is abolished. This is except if this higher qualification training belongs to one of the other permitted categories or if it is a career-oriented training.
Training to acquire general labour market competences are no longer eligible. A number of trainings are explicitly excluded:
- Training necessary to perform the work for which your employee was recruited and which are your responsibility as employer based on a legal clause or a collective labour agreement.
- Necessary training due to purely internal organisational or technological changes and intended to teach your employees to work with these in their current function. An exception is training to train your newly recruited employees if they do not yet have the necessary competences. You can use VOV for these new employees up to 6 months after recruitment.
A transitional measure is provided for employees who started a multi-year training that is no longer recognised. They will be able to complete it.
Favourable pre-advice required for in-company training?
If you organise training within your company for your employees, these will only be eligible for the VOV provided you received positive pre-advice from the Flemish government.
An in-company training is defined based on the following three criteria.
1° the training is only open to employees with a certain job profile within the same company or organisation
2° the training is exclusively aimed at the employee's current function within the company or organisation and not at a function that is strongly changing under the influence of a profoundly changing environment
3° the training is given by an instructor, trainer or supervisor who is an employee or equivalent under the employer's authority of the same employer as the employee following the training, or of the user, if the employee following the training is a temporary employee.
If your training meets one of these criteria, it is considered an in-company training and you must request pre-advice from the WEWIS department of the Flemish government. This can even be done simultaneously with the reimbursement application. But it is best to request this earlier to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Attendance policy and sanctions
For training with mandatory attendance, your employee receives VOV for the hours actually attended. Participation is required in EVC (evaluation committee) (16 hours) and in the exam (now also 16 hours). Training providers who repeatedly fail to comply with their administration risk suspension.
Entry into force
The measures apply from 1 September 2026. The new rules for the registration of training already enter into force on 1 July 2026, so that you as employer can check in time whether a training qualifies for VOV.
What does Securex do for you?
A complete overview of the Flemish training leave can be found in our file on Lex4you.
If you still have questions about this, do not hesitate to contact your Legal Advisor via myHr@securex.be
Sources
- Draft decree of the Flemish Government amending the decree of the Flemish Government of 21 December 2018 implementing section 6 – granting paid educational leave in the context of continuous training of employees – of chapter IV of the recovery law of 22 January 1985 containing social provisions and amending article 4 of the decree of the Flemish Government of 17 May 2013 concerning career guidance, regarding the reform of the Flemish training leave
- Note to the Flemish Government.
- Reform of Flemish training leave: amendment of the Judicial Code and recovery law of 22 January 1985 with social provisions (draft and explanatory memorandum)
