In which currency should the remuneration be paid?

In a judgement of 6 March 2023, the Employment Appeal Tribunal of Antwerp dealt with a strange question: can an employee agree to be paid in bitcoin?

The employee involved had agreed with his employer that the commission fees would be paid in bitcoin. But he challenged this after being dismissed. Although the employee acknowledged he’d received the agreed amount in bitcoin, he thought the employer should still have to pay the same commission by means of a normal bank transfer.

Payment methods are strictly regulated under Belgian law by the Act of 12 April 1965 on the protection of workers’ remuneration.

Article 4 of the Act stipulates that remuneration should be paid in a currency legally valid in Belgium when the employee is working in Belgium. When the employee is working outside Belgium, the remuneration should either be paid in a currency that’s legally valid in Belgium or a currency that’s legally valid in the country where the employee is working.

Article 47 bis of the Act stipulates that if remuneration is paid in a way violating article 4, it should be considered as not paid. This is considered a rule of public policy so it’s not possible to deviate from this rule on a contractual basis.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal cited these provisions, determined bitcoin is not legal currency and concluded that the employee could claim the payment of the commission. The fact the employee had an email receipt of the amount due in bitcoin was considered irrelevant. The employer was ordered to pay the commission a second time.

Few employers will agree to pay an employee in bitcoin, but the same reasoning could be invoked in relation to the restrictions on the payment of the remuneration in benefits in kind stipulated in article 5 of the Act of 12 April 1965. According to this provision, the benefits in kind can only amount to 20% of the gross remuneration. They can amount to 40% if the employer provides the employee with a house. To assess compliance with this threshold, the value of the benefits in kind should be assessed in writing when the employee starts working or when the benefit in kind is introduced.