In a case before the Labour Court of Appeal of Brussels, a dismissed employee claimed that the 300 EUR flat rate allowance, which she received in addition to the a reimbursement of actual costs, was covert pay and had to be included in the basic annual salary for the calculation of the indemnity of lieu. However, the Labour Court of Appeal of Brussels did not follow the reasoning of the concerned employee. Since the employee was a sales representative for a luxury brand, both expense allowances covered different costs in the opinion of the Court of Appeal. The flate rate expense covered taxi-, parking, carwash- and clothing costs, where the reimbursement for actual costs was related to costs which the employee had to make in her contacts with clients (restaurant costs, …). As the nature of both expense allowances was different, the flat rate allowance could not be considered covert pay in the opinion of the Labour Court of Appeal.
Belgium