Who is liable for a mistake by the social secretariat?

Towards the NSSO, you as the employer remain responsible. The NSSO itself writes that the social security institutions turn to the company if the agent does not carry out its obligations correctly. Whether you then recover the damage from the secretariat depends on your contract, and that contract often limits liability in amount and in time.

How quickly must I report a mistake by my social secretariat?

As soon as possible, in writing and preferably by registered letter. In the published terms we read, the deadline to report damage ranges from 30 days to 12 months. After that deadline, your right to compensation can lapse. Check your own contract.

Where do I file a complaint against a social secretariat?

First with the secretariat itself, in writing. Many secretariats have a complaint form or a separate address. The NSSO inspectorate supervises the recognised secretariats with a quality barometer, but the complaints procedure on the NSSO website is about how the NSSO itself works. For a damages claim, your contract applies and, in the end, the court.

What does a social secretariat's guarantee cover?

Every recognised secretariat deposits a guarantee, under the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969 between EUR 37,184.03 and EUR 185,920.14 depending on its size. It serves to cover damage that employers suffer because the secretariat does not pass on or pay amounts owed to the NSSO. Other mistakes, such as a wrong pay calculation, are not covered.

Social secretariat mistake: 7 signs and what to do

Q: Can I change social secretariat after a mistake?

Yes, but under most contracts a mistake does not give you the right to leave immediately. You give notice according to your contract, and the switch takes effect at the start of a quarter. How to work out the earliest date is explained in our guide on the notice period of a social secretariat.

Business Centrum is a social bureau in Ghent and an accredited partner of Acerta. We are none of the other companies on this page and do not speak on their behalf; apart from our cooperation with Acerta, we have no link with them. What we write about them comes from their own publications, on the date shown. How we write about other companies.

A social secretariat mistake remains your responsibility as the employer towards the NSSO: the NSSO turns to you, and whether you get the damage back depends on your contract with the secretariat. That is why it matters to spot mistakes early, report them quickly and in writing, and decide in time whether you stay or switch. Below are seven signs, who is liable for what and how to file a complaint.

Social secretariat mistake: 7 signs: surcharge on late payment 10%, shortest reporting period in the terms 30, control domains in the NSSO barometer 6

Social secretariat mistake: 7 signs that something is wrong

Every secretariat makes a mistake now and then. The difference lies in how often, how quickly it is put right and who notices it. These seven signs are a reason to take a closer look at your file.

1. The same mistake comes back on the payslip

A mistake on one payslip can happen. If the same mistake comes back the following month, a parameter in your file has not been adjusted: a pay scale, a bonus, a work schedule or a benefit. Put the payslips of two months side by side and note what comes back. Report it again, in writing, with the previous report attached.

2. Dimona declarations that come too late

A Dimona must be in place before the employee starts. A forgotten or late Dimona is a level 4 offence under the Social Criminal Code, with an administrative fine of € 3,000 to € 35,000 per employee. If you receive Dimona notifications with wrong data, according to the NSSO you have 5 working days to contest them. What happens with a late declaration is explained in late Dimona.

3. Letters from the NSSO about your contributions

A reminder, a contribution surcharge or late-payment interest is a clear signal. For contributions not paid on time, the NSSO charges a surcharge of 10% and late-payment interest of 7% per year. If the cause lies in a return or a payment your secretariat had to make, ask for an explanation in writing.

4. You do most of the work yourself

If you enter the hours yourself, choose the pay codes yourself and follow up every change yourself, you are paying a secretariat for work you still do. That is not a mistake by the secretariat, but it is a reason to check whether this way of working still suits your business.

5. Someone different on the phone every time

Without one fixed person, you explain your file again with every question. That takes time, and the chance of a misunderstanding grows with every handover.

6. Questions left unanswered

An answer that takes days to arrive is annoying for an ordinary question. For a dismissal, an accident at work or a new employee who starts tomorrow, it can come too late.

7. Your sector not applied correctly

A wrong pay scale, a forgotten sector bonus or a missed indexation often only shows up at an inspection, and then with back pay. And a wage claim by your employee only becomes time-barred 5 years after the facts, or 1 year after the end of the employment contract. Check whether your joint committee is set correctly, and whether your sector's indexation has been applied.

Do you recognise two or more? Then read on: first who is liable, then what you do in practice.

Social secretariat liability: who pays for a mistake?

A social secretariat with a recognition acts as your agent with the NSSO. It files your returns and collects your contributions. That changes nothing about who the employer is.

Towards the NSSO, you remain responsible. The NSSO guidelines for Mahis say it literally: the employer remains "always personally responsible for the correct performance of its obligations", and if the agent does not carry out its obligations correctly, the social security institutions turn to the company.
Towards your employee as well. A mistake in pay is a debt of the employer to the employee, whoever drew up the payslip.
The secretariat answers to you, through your contract. Whether you can recover damage, and how much, is set out in your agreement with the secretariat.

What the contracts say

The secretariats that publish their terms limit their liability in two ways. There is a ceiling, often expressed as a multiple of the monthly fees or as the annual value of the contract. And there is a deadline to report damage: in the terms we read, it ranges from 30 days to 12 months. If you report too late, you can lose your right.

So check your own contract on these three points: the ceiling, the deadline and the form (often a registered letter).

The guarantee of a recognised secretariat

Every recognised secretariat deposits a guarantee, under the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969 of € 37,184.03 to € 185,920.14, depending on the number of employees at its affiliated employers. That guarantee covers one kind of damage: what employers suffer because the secretariat does not pass on or pay amounts owed to the NSSO. A wrong pay calculation or a forgotten bonus is not covered.

How long a mistake can keep having effects

A mistake in your contributions can still surface long after the facts. NSSO claims against employers are, as a rule, time-barred after 3 years. Even if you have changed secretariat in the meantime, your previous secretariat must keep providing information about the quarters it managed.

Complaint against a social secretariat: how to proceed

A complaint has the most effect when it is early, written and specific.

With the secretariat itself. Send an email or letter to your contact and ask for a written answer with a date for the correction. Many secretariats have a complaint form or a separate address on their website. If it concerns damage, send a registered letter within the deadline in your contract.
NSSO supervision. The NSSO inspectorate checks the recognised secretariats with a quality barometer covering 6 control domains. In the case of a manifest and persistent lack of quality, the minister can withdraw the recognition. The complaints procedure on the NSSO website, however, is about how the NSSO itself works, not about a secretariat.
Legal action. If you cannot resolve it, your contract applies and, in the end, the court. Get assistance, and keep all documents.

What do you do straight away after a mistake?

Do not wait for the next pay run. This is how you limit the damage:

Map the mistake. Which employees, which months, what amount.
Report it in writing to your secretariat, asking for a correction and a date.
Have the returns corrected. A mistake in the DmfA or a Dimona must be corrected with the NSSO, not just on the payslip.
Pay your contributions on time, even if you dispute an amount. That way you avoid a surcharge and interest.
Inform your employee if their pay was wrong, and pay the difference.
Evaluate. Was it a one-off mistake, or do you recognise several of the signs above?

Want to avoid making mistakes in the administration yourself? Also read the five most common mistakes in personnel administration.

Unhappy with your social secretariat: switch or stay?

One mistake that is put right quickly and correctly is no reason to leave. If you recognise several signs, or the same mistake keeps coming back, switching is a reasonable choice. Under most contracts a mistake does not give you the right to leave immediately: you give notice according to your contract, and the switch takes effect at the start of a quarter.

Until when you can give notice, with the deadlines from the terms of the large secretariats, is set out in notice period of a social secretariat.
How the transfer of your files works is set out in changing social secretariat.
What to look for in a new choice is set out in which social secretariat to choose.
What a payroll partner in Belgium takes over for you is set out in payroll company in Belgium.

What Business Centrum does differently

Business Centrum is a social bureau in Ghent. We take the work off your hands, with one fixed person who knows your file:

You send the hours, by email or form. We enter them and call you if something does not add up.
We do the Dimona declarations for permanent employees, students and flexi-jobbers.
Your joint committee applied correctly, with the bonuses and the indexation of your sector.
You call or email your fixed person directly, who knows your business.
Acerta is the recognised secretariat behind us, which files the returns and collects the contributions.

Unsure after a mistake whether to stay with your secretariat? Business Centrum looks with you at the signs, your contract and the earliest date to switch.