You apply for a Social Assistance Benefit via the website of the Employee Insurance Agency, after which the Employee Insurance Agency will forward your application to the right municipality. The municipality will then determine whether you are entitled to a Social Assistance Benefit on the basis of the information the municipality has at her disposal. On average, an application procedure takes eight weeks.

It is possible that the municipality rejects your benefit application or that the municipality terminates your benefit, suspends payment or even recovers the amounts already paid to you. The municipality will always notify you of such a decision in writing. In addition, it may also be the case that the municipality imposes a fine on you because you have not fulfilled one of your obligations, such as the obligation to provide relevant information. If the municipality imposes a fine on you, it will also notify you of this in writing.

If you do not agree with a decision of the municipality, you can object the decision of the municipality in principle within six weeks. Drafting such a document can be quite complex and in order to maximize your chances of success, it is important that you are familiar with the legal regulations concerning Social Assistance Benefits. Our attorneys will be happy to assist you and provide you with solid and expert advice on this topic. They can also draw up and submit the objection letter for you.

If you have already submitted a objection letter yourself or if the objection letter that we have submitted on your behalf or another attorney has submitted on your behalf does not have the desired result, an appeal can be filed. If you also disagree with the decision of the court, you can still appeal the decision of the court. Our attorneys can provide you with solid legal advice and assist you in the different appeal procedures. 

Contact one of our attorneys as soon as possible to discuss the decision you received from the municipality with him or her, because once the period for initiating a procedure has expired, in most cases the decision can no longer be legally challenged. Therefore, please register your case for free and without obligation, using the form on our website or call 013 53 53 885.

How do I prevent being temporarily without an income?

To prevent that you do not have an income for a certain period of time and being unable to pay your fixed expenses, the legislator has come up with a number of solutions. Which steps you need to take depends on the situation you find yourself in.

For example, if you apply for a Social Assistance Benefit, you can claim an advance payment of 90% of the benefit during the application procedure, which advance payment you will receive within four weeks after you applied for social assistance. If your request for the advance payment is rejected, you should contact the president of the provincial authorities, who will review your request for an advance payment.

Even if your benefit has been suspended or if the payment has stopped and you have objected the decision of the municipality or filed an appeal, you can try to get paid in the meantime by filing a request. In this case, you must submit a request for an interim relief. The competent court in your case will examine whether there is a significant chance that your objection or appeal will be successful. Moreover, the court will determine on the basis of this information whether or not you may receive your benefit in the meantime.

Of course, requesting for an preliminary injunction carries the risk that you will have to repay the amounts received in advance. This risk is in most cases very small but it is important to keep this in mind if you consider submitting such a request.

Our social security attorneys can draw up and submit such a request for you. Please do not hesitate to contact Berte Advocaten to see if filing a request can be a solution in your situation and to discuss the risks involved.