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is a SNCB/STIB monthly card calendar month-to-month?
Hello. I will move to Belgium this week to start a job in Brussels. Have found a place to live, sorted my registration in the town where I'll live, signed the job contract.
Just 2 things I couldn't figure out, forgot to ask, or ran out of time to investigate when I was there before Easter to finalise the job:
(1) I'll be living in Brabant-Walloon and commuting to Brussels with a MOBIB SNCB/STIB monthly Journey Railcard that I'll have to buy and then later be reimbursed for. Do monthly travel cards only go calendar month to calendar month (as in, I need to buy it/activate it from the 1st day of the calendar month, and it's good for that calendar month? or can a "monthly card" start anytime during the month, as in, from 15 April to 14 May)?
also
(2) Are most monthly salaries (Belgian contract, Belgian company) paid on or near the 1st of the month, for the previous month's work? (So, hopefully, I will be paid in early May for the 2 weeks I'll work from 15 April...) It's one thing I forgot to clarify with my employer.
Sorry for such trifling questions! I realise I can easily figure it out when I'm in Belgium at the end of the week, but would be helpful to know now for my planning as my budget will be very very tight for my first few weeks in Belgium!
Jessica
Hi, if you look at: http://www.stib-mivb.be/abo-plus-sncb.html?l=en
this explains the SNCB/STIB card, it is available monthly, 3 monthly or annual. The date of starting can be pre-set by you and can be anything really.
These can be ordered online: http://www.stib-mivb.be/points-de-vente-verkooppunten.html?l=en&news_rid... or you can go to any sales outlet: http://www.stib-mivb.be/storelocator.html?l=en
Belgian wages are normally paid at the end of the month but this depends from company to company so you need to check with the companies Admin.
Unless you are assured beforehand, I would not take is as a certainty that you will be paid for the last 2 weeks of April at the end of that month.
My wife's salary was in our account on 20th of each month so payroll approval must have been done and sent to the bank some days before that.
Whilst the last day - or last working day - of the month is common, it is by no means universal so check to avoid an unpleasant surprise!
If your cashflow is going to be tight for a while, you should also be aware that Belgian employers traditionally pay for holiday periods, in effect, a year in arrears. In some cases, this can lead to situations where you receive next to no pay at the time for a month that you have actually worked. Over the total period of your employment in Belgium, even if it is with several different employers, it all balances out and you will ultimately receive all the money you are entitled to but this doesn't help much if you are tight for cash when you first start.
You might find it worthwhile discussing this with the personnel office of your future employer. Whilst they will find such arrangements perfectly normal, they will have discovered that any other employee recruited from overseas finds it confusing, and asking questions certainly won't be held against you.
