Address
Eurydice Vlaanderen
Departement Onderwijs en Vorming
Afdeling Strategische Beleidsondersteuning
Koning Albert II-laan 15
BE-1210 Brussel
Tel: +322 553 17 69
Email:
ask.secretariaat@ond.vlaanderen.be
Website
http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/eurydice/
Planning policy
The Flemish Ministry of Education and Training conducts regular analyses of supply and demand across the education labour market, producing forward-looking projections to guide policy and planning. Since 2015, it has developed ten-year forecasts of recruitment needs within both primary and secondary education.
Recruitment demand is defined as the annual number of teachers (expressed in full-time equivalents) required to offset workforce attrition—such as retirements—and reductions in teaching capacity—for instance, through part-time career breaks. This is referred to as replacement demand. It also accounts for any increase in pupil numbers, known as expansion demand.
To build an accurate picture of future recruitment needs, three key variables are taken into account:
- the age profile of the current teaching workforce and its patterns of exit;
- policy measures, including the phasing out of pre-retirement availability schemes and the gradual increase in the statutory retirement age;
- projected fluctuations in pupil numbers, based on demographic forecasts.
Alongside forecasting recruitment demand, the Ministry closely monitors trends in enrolment and graduation within teacher training programmes. After all, the output of these programmes will, to a significant extent, shape the future supply of teachers entering the profession.
Ensuring a sufficient pipeline of qualified new teachers is not solely a governmental concern; it is a shared priority across the sector, encompassing public authorities and social partners alike. Together, they have committed to developing a broad-based strategy to enhance the appeal of the teaching profession.
Central to this effort is a suite of measures designed to strengthen teacher recruitment and retention: improved induction and support for early-career teachers; a sharper focus on workload and job sustainability; greater employment security at the outset of a teaching career; and sustained opportunities for professional development over time. A further objective is to enable newly qualified teachers to secure stable, long-term positions more swiftly. Particular emphasis will also be placed on the training and development of school leaders and headteachers.
Entry to the profession
Legal framework
In Flemish primary and secondary education, the school board—the organising authority—acts as the employer. The government itself does not employ teachers or staff, not even within the Community Education system (GO!).
That said, the Flemish authorities set the rules of the game. The Flemish Parliament, and the Flemish Government acting on its behalf, establish the legal framework for how education is organised, recognised and funded—including its workforce. This authority stems from the constitutional principle of freedom of education. By setting clear standards, the government safeguards quality while enabling that freedom to function in practice.
For staff, this translates into concrete rules on matters such as:
- required qualifications;
- the language of instruction;
- conditions for recruitment and permanent appointment;
- salary structures.
These rules are laid down in a formal legal framework—known as the statutory position—supported by decrees and implementing decisions of the Flemish Government.
Within this framework, school boards retain the space to shape their own HR policies, in dialogue with staff representatives. The government continuously balances two priorities: providing central direction while preserving as much autonomy as possible for employers. At the same time, it ensures that education staff benefit from strong legal protection.
Because of this, employment conditions in education are the subject of extensive and ongoing social dialogue. Employers, trade unions and the government work together to reach broadly supported agreements, with consensus as the guiding principle.
The legal status of education staff, covering primary and secondary education, as well as adult education, part-time arts education, pupil guidance centres, learning support centres and boarding schools, is set out in two key decrees: one for Community Education and one for publicly subsidised education.
As a result, education staff are appointed as statutory employees. This status places them, for certain aspects of employment law, within the public sector; entitling them, for example, to a public service pension and automatic salary indexation.
(staff regulations in the official education of the Flemish Community & staff regulations in the official and free education, in Dutch only).
Types of posts
Education staff are appointed to a specific position (“post”) that is defined by legislation. For teaching staff in mainstream and special (primary and secondary) education, three categories of posts can be distinguished:
Recruitment posts
Recruitment posts for management and teaching staff in mainstream primary education include:
- Nursery teacher
- Primary school teacher
- Religious education teacher
- Non-denominational ethics teacher
- Physical education teacher
- Flemish Sign Language nursery teacher
- Flemish Sign Language primary school teacher
Recruitment posts for management and teaching staff in mainstream secondary education include:
- Teacher
- Religious education teacher
- Student support teacher
Recruitment posts for management and teaching staff in special primary education include:
- Nursery teacher (general and social education)
- Primary teacher (general and social education)
- Religious education teacher
- Non-denominational ethics teacher
- Physical education specialist within general and social education
- Braille compensation techniques specialist (type 6) within general and social education
Recruitment posts for management and teaching staff in special secondary education include:
- Teacher of general and social education
- Teacher of general and social education (physical education specialism)
- Teacher of general and social education (Braille compensation techniques, type 6)
- Vocational education teacher
- Non-denominational ethics teacher
- Religious education teacher
Selection posts (for example: deputy head teacher, technical adviser, etc.)
Promotion posts (for example: head teacher/principal, coordinating technical adviser).
Entry to the profession of teacher
Access to the teaching profession in primary and secondary education is based on the principle of open recruitment.
The school board hires the staff member. If the staff member meets a set of specific requirements laid down in the previously mentioned decrees on legal status, the Flemish Government funds or subsidises that staff member.
General conditions of admission (Decrees of 27 March 1991)
The Flemish legislator sets out the following eligibility conditions for anyone wishing to be appointed as a member of staff in education:
- They must be a citizen of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (exceptions may be granted through a waiver issued by the Flemish Government).
- They must hold their civil and political rights (again, the Flemish Government may grant a corresponding waiver).
- They must meet the language requirements. Dutch is the official language of instruction.
- They must be of impeccable conduct, as demonstrated by a criminal record certificate issued no more than one month prior.
- They must hold the qualifications prescribed by the Flemish Government for the specific post in question.
As long as candidates meet these conditions, schools are, in principle, free to recruit whomever they consider suitable, taking into account the priority rules that apply to permanently appointed staff and to temporary staff with entitlement to a continuous temporary appointment.
Required linguistic knowledge
The official language of instruction in primary and secondary education is Dutch.
For appointment in education, the Flemish legislator defines a set of language proficiency levels for this official language based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). These levels vary depending on the post held by a staff member in education. The CEFR distinguishes six levels of language proficiency:
- Level A: basic user
- Level B: independent user
- Level C: proficient user
Each of these three broad levels is further divided into two sub-levels, resulting in A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, where A1 is the lowest level and C2 the highest. See also the Taalunie website: http://taalunieversum.org/onderwijs/publicaties/gemeenschappelijk_europees_referentiekader/
Level C1 applies to appointments in management and teaching posts. For posts outside management and teaching, as well as for teachers of modern foreign languages, level B2 is required.
Primary school teachers assigned to teach the compulsory second language, French (both in Flanders and in the Brussels-Capital Region), must demonstrate proficiency in French at B1 level for reading and writing, and at B2 level for listening and speaking.
As long as staff members do not meet the required language standards, they cannot be granted permanent appointment. In such cases, the school must request a temporary language derogation, which is valid for a maximum of three years.
If a staff member cannot demonstrate the required language proficiency through a formal qualification or diploma, they may still prove their level of Dutch or French through another certificate or attestation, provided it clearly demonstrates the required CEFR level.
These regulations also apply to French-speaking schools located in the territory of the Flemish Region. In that context, they specifically concern knowledge of French as a language of instruction, knowledge of Dutch as an administrative language, and knowledge of Dutch where it is compulsory as a second language subject (Circulars pers/2010/01 and pers/2010/02).
Certificates of competence
The Flemish Government defines, for each level of education, the required teaching qualifications. These are set per specific post. In secondary education, teacher qualifications are defined by subject, grade, and educational track (general secondary education, technical secondary education, vocational secondary education, and arts secondary education). A teaching qualification consists of a basic degree, a certificate of pedagogical competence (teacher training), and/or relevant professional experience.
There are three types of teaching qualifications: “required”, “considered sufficient”, and “other”.
A person holds a “required” qualification when they have completed a specific programme of study directly linked to the subject they will teach. The level requirements of the diploma depend on the subject, grade, educational track, module, and/or programme.
A person holds a “considered sufficient” qualification when they have a basic degree at the same level as the required qualification, but not in the specific specialisation.
A certificate of pedagogical competence (teacher training qualification) is a necessary condition for both a “required” and a “considered sufficient” qualification.
The system operates on an open recruitment principle: when hiring, the school board is free to choose between candidates who hold a “required” or a “considered sufficient” qualification. In principle, schools must give priority to candidates with either of these two qualification types. Exceptionally, a school may deviate from this rule and appoint someone with an “other qualification”. In that case, the candidate holds a basic degree at a certain minimum level. For some subjects, at least three years of relevant professional experience is sufficient.
There is an interactive overview of the aptitude certificates online (Dutch only).
Induction
Since 1 September 2019, the right to induction support for teachers in the early stage of their career has been embedded in their legal status. A teacher is entitled to induction support and coaching during the initial phase of their career (the so-called 'temporary appointment of fixed duration').
Each teacher is entitled to an individual induction pathway. The first evaluator, usually the school principal, defines this pathway. In consultation with the teacher, the first evaluator determines the duration and intensity of the induction programme. This entitlement to induction support must be formally set out in a written agreement between the staff member and the first evaluator.
Successfully completing the induction period is essential in order to progress to the next career stage, the temporary appointment of continuous duration. To reach this stage, the first evaluator assesses the teacher once they have reached the required number of service days, at least 290 days. This evaluation is based among other things on the agreed induction pathway.
The design, content and organisation of induction support fall under the responsibility of the school board or, for schools that are part of a school community, the governing body of that partnership.
Professional status
Statutory Employment
Within the framework of employment law governing education (see 8.2.1), a distinction is made between a temporary appointment and a permanent appointment.
The school board recruits the staff member. If the staff member meets the regulatory requirements, the government funds or subsidises that position. A career in education always begins with a temporary appointment. Initially, this takes the form of a temporary appointment of fixed duration, for a maximum of one school year. In practice, many staff members start their careers by covering short term absences, so called interim assignments, in different schools.
Successive temporary appointments of fixed duration can, following a positive evaluation by the first evaluator, lead after a certain period to a temporary appointment of continuous duration.
A temporary appointment of continuous duration is intended to offer staff greater job security. It is both a right for the staff member and an obligation for the school board, insofar as vacancies are available. Over time, this appointment also provides prospects for a permanent appointment.
The final stage in a teaching career is a permanent appointment with a school board. This status offers long term security in terms of salary and employment and also grants entitlement to a public sector pension.
A teaching career therefore consists of three main stages:
- At the start of a teaching career, a teacher always receives a temporary appointment of fixed duration. This is an appointment for a maximum of one school year, in either a vacant or non vacant post. The staff member must meet the funding or subsidy conditions. Beyond this, the Flemish legislator does not impose additional conditions, and the school board is free to decide whom to recruit.
- After at least one school year, a temporary staff member can enter a second stage in their career, the temporary appointment of continuous duration. This is a uniform priority system for teachers in both community education and subsidised education. This appointment extends across school years, in either a vacant or non vacant post. The conditions are:
- A service seniority of at least 290 days, of which 200 days must have been effectively worked
- A positive or no evaluation by the first evaluator no later than 30 June of the school year in which the teacher reaches the 290 days of service seniority, of which 200 days effectively worked
- A service seniority of at least 290 days, of which 200 days must have been effectively worked
- A third stage in the teaching career is the permanent appointment. A permanent appointment in a recruitment post, including teacher posts, requires in both community education and subsidised education:
- Fulfilment of a number of personal eligibility conditions, namely the funding or subsidy requirements
- On 31 August preceding the permanent appointment, at least 360 days of service seniority in the post with the school board
- On 31 December preceding the permanent appointment, holding a temporary appointment of continuous duration
- No negative final evaluation in the relevant post, meaning no evaluation with the final conclusion insufficient
- Submission of a formal application within the format and deadline specified in the call for candidates
A permanent appointment in a selection post, for example deputy head teacher, or in a promotion post, for example principal, is considered a promotion. In these cases, no additional requirements regarding service seniority or a temporary appointment of continuous duration are required.
Types of posts
Statutory employment
Within the legal framework (see 9.2.1), the temporary appointment on the one hand and the permanent appointment on the other exist.
The school board will recruit the staff member. If the staff member meets the regulatory requirements, the government finances or subsidizes this staff member. The career always starts with a temporary appointment. This is initially a fixed-term temporary assignment for a maximum of one school year. In practice, a large number of staff members start their careers by filling in (short) absences (so-called interims) in various schools.
In the event of a positive assessment by the employer, successive temporary appointments of a definite duration lead to a temporary appointment of a continuous duration after a certain period of time.
A temporary assignment for a continuous period should, in the first instance, offer a staff member the prospect of greater job security. That appointment is a right for the staff member and a duty for the school board in so far as there are vacancies to be filled. The actual appointment of a staff member for a continuous period of time also gives him the prospect of becoming a permanent staff member.
The final phase in the career is the permanent appointment to a school board. This permanent appointment offers the staff member long-term security (salary and employment) and also entitles them to a state pension.
The educational career of a teacher thus consists of three important steps:
- At the start of an educational career, a teacher is always given a temporary assignment of a fixed duration. This is an appointment for a maximum of one school year in a vacant or non-vacant position. The staff member must fulfil the financing or subsidy conditions. Furthermore, the Flemish legislator does not impose any additional conditions and the school board decides for itself who it recruits.
- After at least two school years, a temporary staff member may reach a second stage in his educational career: temporary assignment for a continuous period. This is a uniform priority system for teachers in both the official education of the Flemish Community and the official and free education. This appointment goes beyond school years, in either a vacant or a non-vacant position. The conditions are:
- have seniority of at least 580 days spread over at least two school years. Of these 580 days, 400 must have been performed effectively;
- have received a positive assessment by his first evaluator by 30 June of the schoolyear in which he acquires the seniority of 580 days.
- A third step in the educational career is the permanent appointment.
- A permanent appointment to a recruitment post (including a teacher) requires both in the official education of the Flemish Community and in the official and free education:
- the fulfilment of a number of personal conditions (the financing or subsidy conditions);
- seniority in the service of at least 690 days, including at least 360 days in the post to which the staff member is appointed;
- an appointment of a continuous duration prior to the permanent appointment.
- A permanent appointment to a selection post (e.g. assistant director) or a promotion post (e.g. director) is a promotion [see 9.2.13.]. No additional service requirements regarding seniority are required.
Contractual employment
A school can also recruit staff outside the context of its legal status (i.e. outside the financing or subsidy granted by the Government of Flanders) in the form of a contractual employment.
There are various types of contractual employment for which specific arrangements have been drawn up and for which provisions have been worked out whereby a staff member acquires certain rights on the basis of his past service within the context of the legal status.
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Contractual staff members at the expense of the Department of Education and Training (CODOs); they have a contract of indefinite duration (and can build up rights in order to be permanently appointed to a statutory position afterwards).
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Subsidized contractors (GECOs) in the Brussels-Capital Region.
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The contract staff appointed on the basis of the school’s operating resources of subsidies from the policy area Education and Training or of the Flemish support premium (COWEs).
Leave of absence due to lack of employment, redeployment and re-employment
A permanent staff member whose duties are cancelled or reduced through no fault of his own falls under the system of “leave of absence due to lack of employment, redeployment and re-employment”. A permanent staff member will therefore not be dismissed in the event of the initial employment being terminated but will be made temporarily available at the time of his departure from school. During the period of leave of absence, the staff member must temporarily take up another post in his own school or in another school. This is done by way of redeployment or re-employment.
Redeployment takes place with respect to the same post. If this is not possible, the school board or the redeployment committee can “re-employ” the person concerned.
Re-employment takes place in a “different post”, such as a director in a teacher’s post and a teacher in the teacher’s post but then for subjects for which he does not have a required certificate of competence.
For schools belonging to a combined school, the redeployment and re-employment obligations are at the level of the combined school.
During the leave of absence, a staff member will retain his permanent appointment and will be entitled to a waiting allowance corresponding to the salary he received as a permanent staff member. Personnel on leave of absence are obliged, under certain conditions, to accept their redeployment or re-employment. They may also be available in certain cases for the performance of pedagogical tasks.
For the redeployments and re-employment, different redeployment committees have been set up for each education sector at the level of the schools group (for the official education of the Flemish Community) and the combined school (for nursery and primary and secondary education). At the Flemish Ministry of Education and Training, a Flemish Redeployment Committee acts as a decision-making committee for all levels of education and all networks but also as an appeal body for dealing with appeals. This committee consists of a chamber for the official education of the Flemish Community and a chamber for the official and free education.
The leave of absence is de facto temporary in nature. As soon as there is a permanent vacancy in the school in the same post (due to a growing framework, retirement of other staff), the school board must use this vacancy to reappoint the staff member on leave of absence. The staff member will once more take up his place as a permanent staff member.
Deontology
Each educational network has its own code of ethics for teaching staff.
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Staff should represent the interests of education, the institution, pupils and other stakeholders.
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They carry out the tasks assigned to them conscientiously and behave in an appropriate manner when dealing with pupils, parents and the public.
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They will avoid any action which might undermine public confidence or the honour or dignity of the office.
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They are prohibited from accepting gifts, gratuities, rewards or any other benefit.
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They may not use their authority for political or commercial purposes.
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They must maintain professional secrecy (e.g. after the class deliberating council).
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They may not interrupt the performance of their duties without the prior authorization of the hierarchical authority.
In the case of the official and free education, the obligations arising from the specific nature of the education project must be respected (any incompatibilities must be notified in writing by the school board before entry into service). The decrees on legal status explicitly state that facts relating to private life, which do not affect the relationship between the pupil and the staff member or the school life, cannot give rise to a measure by the school board.
In the GO! (community education), staff must respect the neutrality statement (in Dutch only) and implement the GO! pedagogical project.
Replacement measures
Absences of 10 consecutive working days or more entitle nursery and primary and secondary schools to a replacement for an absent staff member.
There is an exception to this: a staff member temporarily replacing another staff member whose absence started during a period of 14 calendar days before or during the autumn, Christmas, spring or Easter holidays will not receive any remuneration for such absence. This measure does not apply to nursery and primary education.
Shorter absences traditionally caused a problem. For short absences of nursery and primary teaching staff appointed to a recruitment post of nursery and primary school administrators and teachers, each school is allocated a contingent of replacement units which is set up and managed within a cooperation platform and can be used on a tailor-made basis and according to local needs and priorities. (Replacement units are thus a different form of framework than teaching hours, teacher hours, teaching periods or points. Teaching hours, teacher hours, teaching periods or points are allocated on a weekly basis for a full school year or for the rest of the school year. This is not the case with replacement units).
The term “cooperation platform” refers to schools working together within
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a combined school;
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a partnership between one or more combined schools and one or more educational institutions which do not belong to a combined school;
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a partnership between different combined schools.
The replacement units can only be used if a covenant is concluded between the organising body or bodies and the trade unions represented in the competent negotiation and/or consultation committee(s) at the level of the cooperation platform [see 2.7.5].
With the replacement units, a staff member can be appointed for a maximum of one school year, on condition that agreements have been made to this effect in the covenant.
Since the school year 2018-2019 there is a ‘teacher platform’ in primary education. This teacher platform should ensure greater job security and financial security for starting teachers by giving them a substantial assignment.
The participating primary schools have the opportunity to appoint a number of teachers until the end of the school year.
In order to be part of a teacher platform, schools must belong to a collaborative platform, which consist of:
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a school community;
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several school communities;
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a partnership between one or more school communities and one or more educational institutions which do not belong to a school community;
The teacher is appointed from 1 September to 30 June. The teacher must perform subsidisable replacements, i.e. substitutions for absences of 10 or more consecutive working days. If the teacher does not perform subsidisable replacements, he or she will be employed to make up the learning deficit or for replacements that are not subsidisable, i.e. replacements of less than 10 working days.
Support measures
During their career, teachers (teams) are guided in their professional development by the school advisory services [see 11.1.1.4].
To support pupils with special educational needs and their teachers (team), learning support centres will start from 1 September 2023. In these learning support centres, learning support staff will be appointed to provide support for pupils with special educational needs, teachers and school teams in primary and secondary schools. Learning support strengthens school teams and teachers to support pupils with special educational needs and aims to maximise impact on the classroom floor.
Learning support is used in a pupil-focused, teacher-focused and team-focused way.
School boards are obliged by federal welfare legislation to promote the welfare of their teaching staff. Teaching staff who feel they are suffering psychological or physical damage as a result of their work have various options for action and procedures in accordance with federal law.
Various players within the educational institution are involved in the development of the prevention policy specifically for the prevention of psychosocial risks, such as transgressive behaviour at work or too much work pressure. Their role is defined in accordance with federal welfare legislation (codex on well-being at work). Book I, General Principles, Title 3 “Prevention of psychosocial risks at work”).
The first contact points for complaints are the school board (employer) and the management (hierarchical line) as they are directly competent to offer a solution to the problem raised. A member of the welfare committee or a trade union representative are also important points of contact for teaching staff. Teaching staff may also spontaneously consult the prevention adviser-medical officer immediately if they have health complaints which they feel are due to the work performed.
If teaching staff does not want to involve these persons or if they feel that these persons do not offer an adequate solution to their problems, they can make use of various possibilities for action and procedures in accordance with federal law.
Teaching staff may use a specific internal procedure, present in each educational establishment, consisting of two types of intervention: the informal psychosocial intervention and the formal psychosocial intervention.
In the informal intervention, an attempt is being made to find an approach to the difficulties that arise in an informal way, for example via conversations or reconciliation attempts. Teaching staff can request an interview with the confidential counsellor if the school has appointed this person. Teaching staff may also contact the prevention adviser for psychosocial aspects of the school directly. Every employer (including a school board) must have a psychosocial prevention adviser who is either part of the internal prevention and protection at work service of the educational establishment or of the external service of which the educational establishment is a member.
The necessary individual and collective measures are proposed in the formal intervention after a thorough investigation of the facts. The teaching staff can only submit a request for formal psychosocial intervention to the prevention adviser for psychosocial aspects.
If, despite the use of these procedures, the problematic situation still persists, the employee can file a complaint with the Labour Welfare Supervision Inspection or the labour auditor, file an action with the labour court or use mediation as regulated by the Judicial Code.
Salaries
GO! staff will receive a salary and the staff of the official and free education will receive a salary allowance, which will be paid directly and monthly by the Flemish Community.
Pay in the education sector depends on the following factors:
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the type of post held (types of post and categories of personnel, recruitment, selection or promotion duties)
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the statutory situation (temporary or permanent);
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administrative status (active, non-active, etc.);
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the certificates of competence and the salary scales attached thereto;
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the nature of the job (main job, additional job – depending on the situation and the educational level, the additional assignment involves unpaid teaching periods, overtime or additional job) and the scope of the job;
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previous teaching service (seniority); previous service with the government and specifically for teachers teaching technical or practical subjects and some artistic subjects, it is possible to have up to 10 years of relevant experience acquired in the private sector additionally validated in the current seniority. For several years now, a maximum 10 years of seniority from the private sector can also be taken into account by staff appointed to a number of bottleneck positions and subjects in primary and secondary education;
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the personal and family situation (additional financial benefits such as holiday pay, child allowance, reimbursement of transport costs, end-of-year bonus, etc.);
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other allowances, such as the allowance for childcare before and after school hours and the allowance for afternoon supervision.
The salary scales (Dutch only) are linked to a specific certificate of competence and consist of a starting salary (minimum), a number of periodic increases (annual, biennial and at the end of the career) and a maximum salary, in accordance with seniority.
The amounts of the salary scales will be adjusted to take account of the increase in consumer prices. For each position, the certificates of competence and the salary scales associated with them are always drawn up in close consultation with the social partners.
In addition to the actual salary, a staff member is entitled, in specific circumstances, to the following allowances: home and base allowance, a non-acquired salary scale e.g. reimbursement of special certificates and diplomas, holiday allowance, end-of-year bonus, maternity allowance, child allowance, travel expenses (in the event of bicycle or public transport use), internet allowance, funeral allowance, trade union allowance, remuneration for afternoon supervision and pre-school and post-school care.
Additional performance can be paid up to a maximum of 140%.
In principle, there can be no differentiation in the teacher’s salary on the basis of merit, place of employment and whether or not the assignment is a difficult one. From 2023, an exception is envisaged for staff members entrusted with the mandate of 'teacher specialist'.
Teachers are paid according to their assignment or the number of services provided. The size of this is calculated on the basis of the number of teaching hours to be taught but teachers are not free to choose the number of teaching hours they wish to teach.
|
Teaching staff per level |
Salary scales |
Starting salary (not indexed in €) |
Maximum salary (not indexed in €) (based on seniority) |
| Pre-school education | 141 | 17 538,24 | 31 485,15 |
| Primary education | 148 | 17 538,24 | 31 485,15 |
| SO group 1 (teacher/PBA integrated LO) | 301 | 17 538,24 | 31 485,15 |
|
SO group 2 (bachelor/ aggregate SO/Ma + SLO) |
501 | 21 965,54 | 40 064,60 |
| The salaries are in € at 100%, they must be multiplied by a coefficient of 1,999 (index on 1/01/2023) | |||
Source Department of Education & Training - pay scales (in Dutch only)
Working time and holidays
Working hours
In nursery and primary education
The decree on nursery and primary education has introduced three concepts into nursery and primary education: the assignment, the school assignment and the main assignment.
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The assignment covers all the tasks carried out by the staff member, inside and outside the school;
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The school assignment consists of the tasks that a teacher performs in a school context, being the main assignment (the teaching assignment) and a number of other tasks. The authorities have laid down a maximum of 26 hours of weekly schooling in mainstream and special nursery and nursery and primary schools (BVR of 17 June 1997), which excludes participation in parents’ or staff meetings.
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The main assignment is in principle the teaching assignment (minimum 24 teaching periods for a full-time appointed teacher but this can be extended by a number of unpaid teaching periods: see the table below for this). For some teachers, these may also be other pedagogical tasks.
| Weekly main job full time | Number of teaching periods | |
| Mainstream nursery and primary education | minimum | maximum |
| Pre-school teacher | 24 | 26 |
| Teacher | 24 | 27 |
| Teacher of religion, teacher of non-confessional ethics, teacher of physical education | 24 | 28 |
| Specialized nursery and primary education | ||
| Pre-school teacher ASV | 22 | 26 |
| ASV teacher, the teacher of religion, the teacher of non-confessional ethics, the teacher of physical education and the teacher of compensation technology Braille in type 6 | 22 | 27 |
Secondary education:
In secondary education, teachers’ working hours are still referred to as effective teaching hours.
In mainstream secondary education, weekly teaching periods are a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 29 teaching periods of 50 minutes, depending on the teacher’s degree of teaching and the office (general subjects, technical subjects, arts subjects or practical subjects).
| Degree | AV | KV | TV | PV |
| 1st degree | 22-23 | 22-23 | 22-23 | 22-23 |
| 2nd degree | 21-22 | 21-22 | 21-22 | 29-30 |
| 3nd degree | 20-21 | 20-21 | 20-21 | 29-30 |
| 4th degree/HBO5 | 20-21 | 20-21 | 20-21 | 29-30 |
In special secondary education, the weekly teaching periods are minimum 22 and maximum 24 teaching periods of 50 minutes for the teacher of general and social education and minimum 24 and maximum 28 teaching periods of 50 minutes for the teacher of vocational training.
| Post | Performance indicators |
| Teacher ASV (general social education) | 22-24 |
| Teacher ASV LO | 22-24 |
| Teacher ASV Braille compensation technique | 22-24 |
| Teacher of religious studies | 22-24 |
| Teacher NC ethics | 22-24 |
| Teacher of BGV (vocational training) | 24-28 |
The working time of a teacher in nursery and primary and secondary education also remains the same throughout his or her career. Reduction of working time is possible but this requires a staff member to use a system of leave (leave or absence for reduced salary) and this includes the staff member forfeiting part of his salary.
The volume of the teacher’s assignment is expressed in teaching periods of 50 minutes and not in hours of work.
The task (the performance scheme) of a staff member is a particularly remarkable one for the outside world. For many it seems as if the assignment/performance scheme is limited to teaching as far as the teacher is concerned. This is because, to a large extent, the teaching assignment is the only quantifiable element of the staff member’s assignment. In nursery and primary education, this task is expressed in a school assignment (with a presence of 26 hours at the school and a teaching assignment of 24 to 27 hours for the teacher) but in the other levels of education, only the actual teaching assignment is still the only visible element (an assignment of 20, 21, 22, 24, 29, ... teaching hours).
In practice, an educational assignment involves a great deal more. It takes the form via the integrated teacher assignment which the following core tasks:
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lesson planning and preparation;
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teaching;
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the classroom supervision of students;
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evaluation of pupils and trainees;
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professionalisation;
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consultation and cooperation with management, colleagues and, if necessary, the Pupil Guidance Center (CLB) and parents.
In addition to this integrated teacher assignment, the educational assignment also includes other tasks and institution-related assignments that a staff member takes on but that actual assignment has not yet been quantified.
Staff in Flanders experience a relatively high workload. This is probably partly due to the fact that there are very large differences in the actual workload of staff in a school, even though they formally receive the same benefits. This may be due to the fact that a large proportion of these tasks are in a kind of grey zone. With the introduction of the individualized job description in 2007, the government made a first attempt to formalize the tasks and assignments of a teacher and make them more concrete. From 2021, job descriptions are no longer individualised and only core tasks are included in job descriptions. Since then, institution-specific tasks must be recorded for each institution in a list with their distribution among all staff members, but these tasks and assignments are still not directly linked to the performance scheme.
Holiday arrangement
Annual holidays consist of official school holidays, vacation days and a few days to be chosen by each educational establishment. The annual holiday leave consists of the Christmas holiday (2 weeks), the Easter holiday (2 weeks), the summer holiday (9 weeks), the autumn holiday and the spring holiday (2 times 1 week) and a number of statutory and regulatory holidays (+/- 4 days).
Secondary education establishments may, in addition, have one optional day off. Nursery and primary and special needs secondary education establishments have two optional days off. Holidays are remunerated and assimilated to a period of service activity. However, temporary teachers will be reported out of service by 30 June.
There is also the possibility of taking a leave of absence. There are the following types:
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conditional leave (in case of marriage, childbirth, death of a member of the family, etc.);
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force majeure leave (sickness or accident of a relative by blood or marriage;
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absence for the performance of civic duties or civil missions (legal proceedings, local elections, etc.);
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absence for the purpose of taking care of children for adoption, fostering or long term foster care;
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leave for reduced performance, absence for reduced performance and leave for reduced performance from the age of 55;
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leave to perform certain public duties, political leave;
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career breaks for palliative leave, informal care, medical assistance and parental leave, in which the staff member receives benefits;
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care credit for training, for the care of a child up to 12 years old, for a child with a disability, for medical assistance or for palliative care. This is an additional credit that can be used for one or more of the purposes listed and where the staff member also receives a benefit.
Promotion, advancement
A career in education means a de facto flat career for many teachers unless the staff member opts for promotion to a position of assistant director, director, technical adviser, etc.
Promotion is possible by appointment/assignment to a selection or promotion post.
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Selection posts are assistant director, technical adviser and coordinator for secondary education. From 1 September 2023, the post of deputy director will also be provided in primary education.
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Promotion posts are the post of director of nursery and primary education, director of secondary education and technical adviser-coordinator in secondary education.
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In addition, there are a number of jobs in both levels of education that can be regarded as promotion . It concerns the functions of director-coordination of a combined school in nursery and primary education, coordinating director of a combined school in secondary education and general director of a group of schools in the GO! or of a governing body in the official and free education.
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An appointment to the Education Inspectorate is also possible and is de facto a form of promotion.
In order to break through flat careers to a certain extent and to better address teachers’ specific skills and interests, the possibility of job and task differentiation was also introduced in mainstream and special secondary education. As a result, the teaching assignment of a teacher can be replaced in whole or in part by other tasks and functions in the school (e.g. degree coordination, mentoring, pupil guidance, policy support, etc.).
Mobility and transfers
In addition to the possibilities for function and task differentiation within a school as described in 9.2.13, a teacher can also interrupt his or her assignment (temporarily or otherwise) to work in another school or to take up an assignment with, for example, the school advisory services or an educational umbrella organization.
In this case, a teacher has the following options:
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A permanent teacher is assigned to one or more schools by the school board at the time of his or her permanent appointment. That is an assignment. A staff member may, subject to his agreement, add a new assignment to another school of his school board.
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A permanent teacher can also work at his own request in a school of another school board by means of a transfer. The new school board must agree to this. The permanent staff member then resigns from his current board and is immediately permanently appointed to the same post on the new board.
A permanent teacher may also temporarily interrupt his or her assignment to work in his or her own school or in another school as a teacher in a different subject, in a different post and even on a different level of education. To that end, the staff member will take leave to carry out temporarily another task and will thus be assigned to another school or post as a member of the temporary staff. Such leave may be taken only with the authorization of the school board to which the staff member is permanently assigned and for a maximum of one school year. However, the leave can be extended for a maximum of one school year at a time. During the period of leave, the staff member will remain permanently appointed and be in charge of his post but will take up his duties as a member of the temporary staff in another job or in another post. During such leave, the staff member will be remunerated as a permanent staff member at a salary corresponding to the temporary assignment he is engaged in. If the salary of the temporary assignment is lower than that of the permanent assignment, the staff member will receive the lower salary of the actual assignment. If the salary of the temporary assignment is higher, the staff member will also receive that higher salary.
If a teacher wants to switch to a pedagogical support service, an educational umbrella organization or the like, this can be done via an assignment leave or special assignment. These leave systems make it possible to temporarily take on an assignment in a project or organization, without losing the appointment in one’s own school. Such leave may also be taken only with the authorization of the school board to which the staff member was assigned and for a maximum of one school year. The leave can be extended if desired.
Dismissal
A temporary staff member may resign voluntarily subject to seven calendar days’ notice (15 days in the case of a temporary assignment of a continuous duration). However, the director (GO!) or the organizing power (the official and free education) may agree to a shorter notice period. Permanent employees can also leave their job voluntarily. In such cases, the period of notice will be at least 15 calendar days unless a different period is agreed with the person providing the service.
The director (GO!) or the organizing authority (the official and free education) may also dismiss a staff member who is appointed on a temporary basis for a fixed period for urgent reasons without prior notice. This includes the serious shortcoming that immediately and permanently makes the continuation of the temporary appointment impossible.
Both temporary and permanent staff may also be dismissed ex officio and without prior notice. This will be the case, for example, if, after lawful absence and without due cause, they do not resume their duties except in cases of force majeure and if they are absent for an uninterrupted period of more than 10 calendar days.
Permanent teachers and teachers with a temporary assignment of a continuous duration may be dismissed or removed as a result of a disciplinary measure. At the time of dismissal or removal, the permanent staff member will be definitively removed from his/her post. A notice period will be respected, depending on the number of working days required for entitlement to unemployment benefit.
This means that, in addition to being dismissed, the staff member also loses his acquired pension rights. This staff member concerned cannot therefore claim a pension such as that laid down for the teaching staff.
However, other sanctions have also been laid down by decree for permanent staff and staff with a temporary assignment of a continuous duration, such as
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a reprimand
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deduction from salary
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suspension by disciplinary measure
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leave of absence by way of disciplinary measure
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return to temporary appointment
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demotion.
In addition to the disciplinary measures, the evaluation [see 11.1.2.1] can also be a reason for dismissal if a staff member receives one or more times an evaluation with a final conclusion “insufficient” during his educational career.
Within the framework of evaluation, a permanent appointed teacher or a temporary teacher who is appointed for a continuous period will be dismissed if he/she receives two consecutive final evaluations with final conclusion “insufficient” or receives a final evaluation with final conclusion “insufficient” three times in his/her career.
For a temporary teacher (not TADD) dismissal follows if he/she receives a final evaluation with a final conclusion “insufficient”.
Retirement and pensions
The pension scheme for teaching staff is a federal (Belgian) competence. The scheme is identical for all levels of education but very complex.
At the end of 2011, the federal decision was taken to raise the minimum age limit for retirement and the number of years service required for this purpose. As a result of this adjustment, there is no longer a fixed minimum age limit, such as the one that has hitherto been set at 60. The Act of 28 December 2011 introduced an amendment to the pension scheme. This adjustment includes, inter alia, the increase of
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the minimum age limit for retirement;
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the number of years service required to open pension rights at the expense of the Treasury.
In addition, the Act of 28 April 2015 containing provisions on public sector pensions provides that the diploma bonus will be phased out as from 1 January 2016 and will have disappeared completely for pensions that take effect as from 1 January 2030.
The right to a pension should be determined individually for each staff member.
The pension amount is based on the number of years service and the average salary of the last five years service. Since 1 January 2012, the reference salary (RW) has been the average salary of the last 10 career years or of the whole career if it does not count for 10 years.
The statutory retirement age is currently 65. It will be increased to 66 years in 2025 and 67 years in 2030. In the context of the teacher shortage on the one hand and the Generation Pact on the other, the regulations on overtime, additional work and returning to active employment (also after retirement) were relaxed in the Decision of the Flemish Government on 4 September 2009 and benefits increased (Dutch only). The scheme applies to all education and all categories of staff. (for more information: Circular letter 13CC/IF/GDH, Dutch only)
In addition, the system of leave of absence on personal grounds was changed prior to the retirement pension. The new regulation means that pre-school teachers born on or after 1 January 1959 will still be entitled to a two-year period of leave of absence. For all other staff born on or after 1 January 1958, leave of absence will be abolished. A transitional arrangement has been drawn up which gradually reduces the duration of the leave of absence. The 20 years of service required to commence work with TBS will be maintained. The entry dates of 1 September, 1 January and 1 April are also retained. More information in the circular letter Full leave of absence due to personal matters prior to the payment of the retirement pension for teaching staff and CLBs (Dutch only)