The number of effective sanctions imposed on jobseekers by the VDAB inspection service during the first half of this year, such as the temporary or permanent cancellation of benefits, is 30 percent higher than in the same period last year. This is evident from figures from Flemish Minister of Work Jo Brouns (CD&V).
In the first half of 2021, the inspection service still proceeded to 4,783 effective sanctions. This year there were 6,225 during the first semester. If the ‘ultimate agreements’ that are laid down for those who do not comply with their previous agreements with the VDAB are also taken into account, there is an increase from 5,163 sanctions to 6,594.
In addition, 5,219 ‘signals’ were also given, a kind of last warning to jobseekers on benefits (unemployment benefit, income guarantee or integration benefit) or to young people during professional integration time. In 2021, the number of signals was a lot higher with 7,629.
According to Minister Brouns, the close follow-up of the files by the VDAB will lead to more sanctions. Certainly the absence of registered appointments led to an increase in the number of files that were forwarded to the control service. According to Brouns, it is important to gain insight into the reason why someone does not accept registered appointments.
The number of work refusals and evaluations of young people during vocational integration is also increasing. “We hereby establish that the new approach to succession is bearing fruit,” says the minister.
Search behaviour
The reason for the decrease in the number of signals is as yet unclear. Brouns asks the VDAB to clarify this. “After all, it remains important to clearly address job seekers about their search behavior and not just to sanction them.”
Minister Brouns emphasizes that it remains his explicit objective to help job seekers find a sustainable job, which is precisely the reason why the VDAB has started a new mediation model. But “if a jobseeker does not cooperate in his or her journey to a new job, it is important to send a signal as a society that we do expect this”.
Also according to Wim Adriaens, the managing director of the VDAB, the increase in the number of sanctions shows that the new mediation approach, “which focuses more strongly on the follow-up of job seekers”, is bearing fruit.
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