FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

Foreign employees from outside the EU who want to work in Belgium must be able to present both a residence permit and a work permit. Applying for both documents requires a lot of work. A single permit takes care of both applications in one procedure.

Candidates for bottleneck occupations from the abbreviated list are eligible for a single permit.

For Link2Europe clients, this is less relevant because Link2Europe takes care of all these applications and permits.

In theory, this is possible since the profession of driver is also on the list of bottleneck occupations eligible for a single permit.
However, there are some other practical problems that do not make this easy. Especially having or obtaining a European driver's license and driver's card.
This is not obvious for candidates coming from Asia or Africa, for example.
Link2Europe tries to solve this by recruiting third-country drivers who have been working within Europe for some time in countries where they are already allowed to work.
(E.g. Moldovans in Romania, Ukrainians in Poland or Brazilians in Portugal)
If these people already have a European driver's license and a driver's card, it is worth considering a single permit procedure.

With a Belgian contract, you can sleep on your 2 ears.
On the one hand, new international colleagues enjoy equal pay and work on the same conditions as all your Belgian staff.
On the other hand, you yourself as a company are sure that everything is legally watertight.

Temporary employment agencies in Belgium are strictly monitored and audited annually by Federgon and various government agencies. As a result, as a company you can be sure that your international personnel are always 100% correctly compensated and that there are no grey areas or exploitation. Your own risk of criminal prosecution, such as in the case of foreign subcontracting/detachment, also falls away like snow in the sun.

Read more about the differences here between all these forms of employment.

This happens, but not as frequently. Much depends on the need. We do have arrangements in certain countries with agencies that prepare people to live and work in another culture (especially in African countries). There are also European programs for which we work with the IOM (International office of Migration) who can recommend the right partners to us. Depending on the client's request, we can work out tailored cases.

Link2Europe is a pioneer in the international recruitment of bottleneck talent in Belgium. We consciously choose to exclusive to focus on our niche and are complementary to the extensive Belgian HR services market. Think of us primarily as that complementary partner for your local broadcast partner. We do not recruit on the local Belgian market and this sets us apart from all our competitors, who do. Link2Europe deliberately chooses not to do this, in order not to be a competitor of the local market, but the partner of every local player. 

This also allows us to focus on a quality service to our clients and our candidates, ensure the best possible guidance for everyone, without being distracted by an already well-stocked local market. 

Finding and supporting international talent throughout their careers via Link2Europe is what sets us apart and what we want to focus on above all. We succeed in providing our clients with competent, motivated and experienced international talent. We take care of both client and candidate in a very solution-oriented, efficient and human way.

We only expect you to provide proper guidance and start-up for the candidate on their first day of work.
For the rest, you may rely on Link2Europe's expertise to follow up all the administration for your candidate.

In short: there is no extra administration for you, compared to your local Belgian candidate. Link2Europe unburdens you completely. 

There is no easy way to clarify the differences between temporary employment, subcontracting or foreign subcontracting.

And certainly not when it comes to employment of foreign employees.

As a rule of thumb, therefore, all this: use the form of employment that fits best and makes you feel most secure. Anything that tends toward "gray" areas and is inspired by lower costs is usually not the right and certainly not the most sustainable solution.

Our most complete explanation can be found in this article.

As with your local temp candidate, you can terminate your employee's contract at the end of the week.
Of course, we recommend making a good choice beforehand, considering that our candidates travel 1000'den kilometers to start a new job here.

By default, we assume a minimum period of 1500 working hours. In this way, you as a company can make a good assessment of whether it is the right person in the long run. At the same time, it also gives the candidate enough time to make this assessment, look for his/her own home and possibly do what is necessary to move his/her family to Belgium.

Certain joint committees have specific rules around agency contracts and of course we take them into account.

The recruitment process is very extensive. On top of that, a candidate will also not make a frivolous decision to move to another country for a job, which he/she thinks he/she cannot perform. Our candidates are also aware that a temp contract can end after one week of employment.
So both parties are forced to be serious about the selection process, and then in reality it turns out that most of our candidates can also do their jobs well.

Can we promise that the candidate will be a perfect match? No, but then you have the freedom to stop the collaboration.

VCU certification is intended for employment agencies that supply temporary workers to users with a VCA certificate. The certificate gives VCA-certified companies a guarantee that the temporary employment agency handles in a conscious and safe manner the possible risks to which temporary workers are exposed at work.

Link2Europe has held this VCU certificate for many years. Safety is therefore of great importance to us, our temporary workers and our clients. Via the website of Prevention and Interim, you can find an overview of all recognized employment agencies by region. Here you will find Link2Europe in the Flemish region, also for the construction sector.

Link2Europe obtained its certificate through KIWA.
Our certification provides reliable, objective and internationally recognized proof that Link2Europe meets all relevant quality standards.

When starting an assignment, Link2Europe always double-checks whether your future employee already has a VCA certificate with sufficient validity. If your candidate does not have this, we will work with a recognized partner to provide this training before the first working day. This way you can rest assured that you and your new employee are in safe hands.

Link2Europe is a member of Federgon, the federation of HR service providers.