General Conditions « Permanent Placement » – Manpower Belgium

« Manpower Permanent Placement » (hereinafter Manpower) is a division of Manpower (Belgium) NV/SA and provides services of recruitment and selection of staff for a permanent job with the client.
These general terms and conditions shall apply to any contract concerning the recruitment and selection between Manpower and the client, to the exclusion of all others, unless otherwise agreed prior, expressly and in writing. The remaining clauses, to which there has been no written deviation, remain fully applicable. The agreement is concluded, and the general terms and conditions shall be deemed to have been accepted by the client, as soon as Manpower proposes a candidate to the client. A candidate shall be deemed to have been proposed as soon as the candidate’s information is transmitted to the client, irrespective of the method of transmission. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise in writing, a candidate, who’s application is transmitted by the client, will automatically be considered to have been submitted by Manpower at the time of reception of the candidate’s application from the client.
Manpower will make the necessary effort to submit each candidate to a thorough screening according to the standards and resources, generally applicable in the sector. This does not, however, absolve the client of its examination duty and its duty to assess independently the suitability of a candidate, before entering into an agreement with that candidate.
At the start and during the term of the vacancy, the client shall provide all information to Manpower that may be of interest to the vacancy, including, but not limited to, a correct and full description of the vacancy and the desired competencies. The client shall treat all candidates in a correct and respectful manner and will not take actions that may invade the privacy of the candidate, are discriminatory or otherwise prohibited by law.
Every presentation of a candidate is strictly confidential, and the client is forbidden to forward any information about the candidate or propose candidates to third parties. If a violation of this article results in the employment of a candidate by a third party, the client will pay the full fee which Manpower would have been able to claim if the candidate were employed directly by the client. A third party will also comprise, but not limited to, a sister company, subsidiary, or any other company with which the client is connected.
The total fee of Manpower is payable as soon as the candidate is employed and shall be owing and due for each employment commenced within 12 months of the presentation of the candidate to the client. A candidate shall be deemed to be employed as soon as the agreement between the candidate and the client is signed and this regardless of whether it is an agreement as an employee for definite or indefinite duration, or whether via a third party or as a self-employed person. In addition, the employment will be considered effective, regardless of whether they are subject to a condition precedent or resolutive condition.
Unless explicitly agreed otherwise in writing, the total fee owing and due to Manpower amounts to:
– 21,5% in case of an annual remuneration package up to 32.000 €;
– 24,5% in case of an annual remuneration package between 32.001 € and 41.000 €;
– 26% in case of an annual remuneration package between 41.001€ and 50.000€;
– 28% in case of an annual remuneration package of 50.001€ and higher.
This fee is calculated on the annual remuneration package that corresponds to a full-time position during the first year of employment. In case of a part-time employment, the placement fee will be calculated on the annual remuneration package corresponding to a full-time position.
The « annual remuneration package » is defined as the gross annual wage offered to the candidate, including, but not limited to, any premium or commission, holiday pay, end-of-year bonus, employers’ contributions in insurances, value of the company car (annual worth set at 6.000€), travail allowances, meal vouchers and all other benefits which will be awarded to the applicant, in case it concerns employees (blue and white collar). If the candidate is « self-employed », the selection fee will be calculated on the income, profits and benefits to which he will be entitled to, as well as all possible additional benefits. On top of this selection fee will be added: publication cost in written press, accommodation costs and transport allowances abroad and assessment fees.
The client undertakes to inform Manpower about employment of a candidate within 5 business days after signature of the agreement, as an employee or as a self-employed worker, between the client and the candidate and to provide Manpower within that same timeframe of a copy of that agreement. If the client fails to comply with this obligation, Manpower will invoice an amount of 15.000€ (excl. VAT) as an agreed flat-rate compensation. Manpower will however be entitled to claim higher compensation provided it can prove the extent of the damage.
The client shall communicate within 5 business days after signature of the agreement (employee or independent worker) between the client and the candidate, all necessary information, including, but not limited to, a correct PO-number (Purchase Order), in order to allow Manpower to raise a valid invoice. The absence of a correct PO-number does not absolve the client of its obligation to pay the full amount of the invoice within the agreed upon timeframe. If it is necessary for Manpower to issue a corrective invoice due to the absence of any of the necessary invoice information, including a correct PO-number, Manpower will have the right to charge an additional administrative cost to the client.
The invoices of Manpower are payable within 15 days after the invoice date, net and without discount, unless contrary written agreement. If payment is made other than by bank transfer or direct debit, the cost of collection shall be charged to and paid by the client. Failure to pay the invoice within 15 days after the invoice date, an interest of 10% annually will be automatically and without prior notice added to the invoice amount. In addition, if an invoice remains unpaid for more than 30 days after the expiration date, parties agree, that, by operation of law, a flat-rate compensation of 15% will be applicable on all outstanding sums with a minimum of 125€ and a maximum of 12.500€. The late payment of one invoice makes all other invoices immediately owing and due without prior notice, regardless of the initial agreed payment terms. Manpower is entitled to deduct, automatically and without prior written notice, all unpaid amounts (including all interests, recuperation and legal costs) from any reimbursement to which the Client may be entitled for whatever reason.
Each invoice is deemed accepted by the client, if not disputed by registered letter, within 8 days after receipt, containing a detailed description of the reasons of the dispute.
The Client shall pay to Manpower all recovery costs, if an invoice remains unpaid 16 days after invoice date. Manpower retains the right to suspend all running assignments or to consider the agreement as dissolved without payment of any compensation to the client. The client will also indemnify all losses and damages, suffered by Manpower as a result.
To guarantee the repayment of all outstanding sums, the customer gives Manpower in pledge:
– all current and future claims and receivables opposite or at Manpower, where Manpower, as debtor of the arrears, expressly acknowledges to take note of this pledge,
– all present and future claims on third parties, for whatever reason, such as trade receivables and other claims against clients, resulting from performances and services, claims from returns on goods and property, claims against credit or other financial institutions, claims concerning compensation of damages, pensions, insurance payments, indemnities relating to social security, or claims on the government in the framework of the tax regulations.
Pursuant to art. 1226 and following of the Civil Code, if the client terminates this agreement unilaterally and prematurely, the client will pay Manpower damages equal to the sum Manpower would have been able to invoice if the agreement was fully implemented. This also applies in case of nullity of the agreement between the client and Manpower, resulting from the non-compliance by the client of its legal obligations or resulting from the incorrect or incomplete information provided by the client prior to or during the left-time of this agreement. Manpower reserves the right to claim higher compensation provided it can prove the extent of the damages.
Manpower shall not be liable if it is established that the candidate does not meet expectations, unless there is evidence that a serious fault or fraud was committed by Manpower. The liability of Manpower, both contractually and non-contractually, is limited to the amount of the invoices for that mission, paid within the agreed payment terms by the client. Manpower shall not be liable if a foreign candidate cannot start or continue working due to the absence of the necessary residence and/or work permit. Manpower will not for any reason be liable for any damages and losses caused by the proposed candidates. The client shall indemnify Manpower against all liability and damage claims from third parties.
Decreasing warranty provision: If the employment relationship with the candidate is terminated within 12 weeks of the candidates start date, Manpower will, at its own choice, either propose a new candidate free of charge or refund part of the placement fee to the client. This refund amount is calculated on the success fee (being ½ of the total fee), paid in a timely manner by the client. This refund amount equals 8,32% of this success fee for each full week that the candidate was not employed during these 12 weeks. Manpower is also entitled to deduct, automatically and without prior written notice, all unpaid amount, arrear interests and recuperation costs (including all legal costs and attorneys’ fees) from any refundable amount.
The warranty period will be limited to 12 weeks after the start of the performance, unless parties have explicitly agreed otherwise in advance and in writing. This warranty period is calculated from the start date, mentioned in the contract of employment (or self-employment) and the date of any termination of this agreement. Holidays, sickness days and other absence days, assimilated as social security days, shall form part of this period of 12 weeks.
This warranty provision shall not apply if:
a. The employment is withdrawn by the client before its start date without valid and demonstrable reason;
b. The reason of termination does not relate to the qualifications, skills or behavior of the candidate;
c.   The candidate role has become obsolete because of operational reasons or client restructuring;
d.   The termination is the result of an urgent reason (serious misconduct) on the part of the client:
e.   The termination is the result of an unfulfilled condition precedence or resolutive condition in the agreement between the client and the candidate:
f.   The agreement with a foreign worker cannot start or continue, due to the absence or expiration of the necessary residence end/or work permit;
g.   The employment contract is terminated by mutual agreement;
h.   An invoice is not paid to Manpower within the terms in clause 10;
i.    Manpower has not been notified of the termination by registered letter within 14 calendar days after the end date of the employment, with explanation of the reason(s) of termination;
j.   The client has violated the conditions as provided for in article 5:
If, in case of a dispute, one or more provisions in these general terms and conditions or in the commercial agreement is declared invalid or unenforceable by the competent court, such invalid provisions remain binding to the extent permitted by law. This invalidity is without prejudice to the other provisions of the contract. These remain unaffected and will be executed as to respect the general spirit, context and objectives of the agreement.
The agreement is binding for all signatory parties, as well as their possible legal successors.
Disputes and/or non-payment will fall under the exclusive competence of the Courts of Brussels. Belgian law will be the sole applicable law.