In the case presented to the Supreme Court, an employer paid supplementary childcare allowances on top of the legal childcare benefits to employees with children who fulfilled certain conditions with regard to function and seniority. The National Social Security Office argued that these supplementary payments needed to be qualified as salary and were therefore subjected to social security contributions as their allotment conditions (function and seniority) had nothing to do with those of the legal childcare benefits. The Supreme Court rejected this argument and confirmed that it suffices that the supplementary payments aim to compensate for the loss of income, or the increase of costs due to the raising of a child, for them to be exempt from social security contributions.
Belgium