If you are an employee of the Flemish government, whether as a contractual or statutory civil servant, remember to keep moving forward with self-belief.
Here, you will access information regarding your return to work and support for both you and your loved ones. This information is tailored specifically for individuals who worked as contractual or statutory civil servants for the Flemish government.
We categorise the information into two sections:
👉 Click on a question for further details.
💡Please be aware: The content provided on this website is comprehensive. Some details may not be immediately relevant to you. Feel free to revisit for additional insights at a later time.
🚧 Challenge: when you return to work, it is possible that this will not happen naturally, e.g.
💪Opportunity: a reintegration measure that is often used is the partial performance of tasks in the workplace. This is called a ‘progressive return to work’.
⚠️Be aware that returning to work part-time does not mean you return to work 50% or half-time.
It is best to discuss the exact arrangements with your employer
🔀There are several possible scenarios.
You are partly responsible for your return.
Fortunately, it is a shared responsibility, in which you yourself are central and different players support you.
🚧Challenge: you yourself may not be able to properly assess the impact of your brain injury in the workplace.
It sometimes takes time to get this clear.
You may also overestimate your own abilities. You sometimes long so strongly for a life like your life before the brain injury that you want to go too fast or take on too much.
💪Opportunity: this is why it is important to discuss the work-focused help request with your treating doctor.
The occupational physician, reintegration officer of your department or agency and the Career and Wellbeing team can support you.
They can help monitor that the steps you take towards work are feasible and that the work is appropriate.
🤝Together
You are not alone. Many professionals can help you: each with their own expertise.
🤝Together: these people need each other to walk the right path with you and find a good solution together.
🚧Challenge: it can be unclear who exactly takes on what role or what you can turn to whom for.
💪Opportunity: Key Players in the Return-to-Work Process:
💁Meer weten? Bekijk de informatie van de Vlaamse overheid over re-integratie bij de Vlaamse overheid.
Returning to work, due to the invisible effects of a brain injury such as fatigue or stimulus hypersensitivity, often presents a complex process.Once you are back at work, maintaining your position can be an even greater challenge.
Know that there are several individuals who can assist you:
🤝Together with the treatment team, you can practice certain tasks you need to take up on the job separately.
🔀There are several options:
💡Tips and tricks: check the website of your health insurance company and contact them to discuss your questions.
🤝Together
💡Tips & tricks that can help you prepare for your return to work.
💡Tip 1. Try and get a good understanding of your own abilities and challenges.
💡Tip 2. Keep a folder containing all the information about (the impact of) your brain injury.
💡Tip 3. Understand that the path back to work is not straightforward or clear.
💡Tip 4. Bring someone along to important appointments, such as an appointment with your employer or with the occupational doctor .
As much as you want to arrange everything yourself, taking someone with you can be very useful.
💪Opportunity: the healthcare professional can support you to be prepared for the interview and attend the appointment with you.
Certainly, you have the option to apply for part-time work.There are two part-time work schemes available:
💰Salary: Transitioning back to work through part-time arrangements will impact your salary. Details on these consequences can be found in the following question.
💡Tip: It is advisable to discuss the number of working hours with your treating doctor, occupational physician, and employer.
This varies based on the specific part-time arrangement in place.
⚖️ Legislation: Starting from October 1, 2022, the occupational physician or a nurse assisting the doctor is required to reach out to you after four weeks of work incapacity. This contact aims to provide you with information regarding potential return-to-work options.
Yes, if you are affiliated to a union.
💪Opportunity:
your local militant can advise and inform you about the possibilities of resuming work with your own or another employer.
the militant, if you want, sometimes joins a discussion with your employer.
🤝Together: you can also visit your union secretariat, for a free career counselling session.
A career counselor will work with you on your career question.
This system works through career guidance vouchers.
💡Tip: Every employee is entitled to career cheques every six years.
You can always submit a request to (partially) resume work.
If you wish to resume work part-time, approval from Medex or the insurer is required, depending on the department or agency you work for.
🚧Challenge: To accurately estimate your percentage of permanent disability, it is crucial that the advisory doctor of the industrial accident insurance is well informed about the progress of your part-time return to work.
💪Opportunity: It is essential to report what is going well. Additionally, it is important to discuss the things that are more challenging.
After all, many consequences of a brain injury are not visible, but they have a significant impact on your (remaining) work options.
💡Tip: If you have specific questions about returning to work after a work-related accident, schedule an appointment with a Fedris social worker.
Certainly,
this is contingent upon the specific part-time arrangement in place.
Engaging in part-time work due to illness does not impact your vacation days or holiday pay.
However, part-time work due to disability or chronic illness results in a proportional reduction in your vacation days.
Additionally, working part-time due to disability or chronic illness influences your holiday pay.
If you find yourself unable to continue in your previous job due to a brain injury or if you do not see opportunities with your current employer, several individuals can provide support:
🚧Challenge: It is crucial to determine your work goals.
💪Opportunity: Discovering fitting employment and a compatible employer requires exploration, patience, and sometimes a bit of luck.
During job interviews, it is beneficial to emphasize why you are well-suited for the position. When discussing your brain injury, focus on its implications for work performance and strategies to facilitate your success.
You are not obliged to inform your employer about your health or your medical history.
However, you are obliged to tell your employer everything that is important to perform your job.
🚧Challenge: it sounds easy in theory, but in practice there is often a thin line between what you say and what you don’t.
💪Opportunity: think carefully beforehand about what you want to share with whom and how.
No, this is a personal choice.
💪Opportunity: if you return to work after a brain injury, you can be open with your employer, your supervisor and/or your colleagues by informing them about (the impact of) your brain injury.
🤝Together: sharing the invisible consequences of a brain injury (e.g. reduced long-term concentration, hypersensitivity to stimuli or fatigue) can help your employer to think about options: how can you still continue to work with your brain injury?
If you have utilized your sick leave entitlement, the possibility of a medical pension may be considered.
When your sick leave quota has been exhausted, your supervisor can request the Medex pension committee to conduct an assessment.
To answer this question, it is important to know what 'consolidation' means.
💰 Salary: Your salary will be maintained both during temporary disability and after consolidation (permanent disability).You have the option to request to (partially) return to work at any time. If you intend to resume work part-time, approval from Medex or the insurer is necessary, depending on your department or agency.
🚧Challenge: Determining the right timing to return to work following your brain injury remains a personal choice.
You notify your illness to the medical oversight organization, Mediwe vzw.
💰Salary: Your salary will be maintained throughout your illness until your sick leave quota is depleted.