Our role

Joint Committee 309

The Joint Committees are bodies in which the social partners (employer and employee representatives) – for each economic sector – negotiate and consult with each other. The intention is to bring together companies with comparable activities, so that the social partners can conclude agreements on the employment conditions that are appropriate for those activities. These agreements are concluded in the form of collective labour agreements (CLAs).
As an employer’s delegation, the BASE follows the work of Joint Committee 309, the Joint Committee for stockbroking firms.

Joint Committee 309 is different from Joint Committee 310, which is responsible for the banking sector.

Field of application JC 309

Membership of Joint Committee 309 is open to:

• Any stockbroking firm as defined in Article 47, §1, 1°, 2°, 3° and 4°, of the Act of 6 April 1995;
• Any credit institution as defined in Article 13 of the Act of 22 March 1993, the activity of which is principally to provide professional investment services as defined in Article 46, 1° and 2°, of the Act of 6 April 1995;
• Any investment advice company as defined in Article 123 of the Act of 6 April 1995.

Composition JC 309

StartFin- training program

In implementation of the sectoral agreements concluded in the Joint Committee for stockbroking firms (JC 309) in 2007, the social partners have established the StartFin training program. The latter aims to develop initiatives to promote the training and employment of groups at risk among workers in the sector.

Startfin is financed by the Joint Fund for risk groups, which itself is funded by employer contributions and is jointly managed by the social partners in Joint Committee 309.

The StartFin program includes a variety of courses based on 5 types of seminars:

1. Banking techniques
2. Social skills
3. Office automation and new skills
4. Languages
5. Compliance

These seminars include a series of courses tailored to individual needs. They are frequently renewed according to the challenges facing the sector.

For whom?

The training programs are available to all employees of a stockbroking firm/bank that falls under the competence of the Joint Committee for stockbroking firms (PC 309), if those employees belong to one of the following categories:

• employees at least 50 years old,
• employees of at least 40 years old who have been threatened with dismissal,
• employees who have been working for less than one year and who were not working at the time of their entry into service,
• employees with a reduced ability to work,
• young employees who are not yet 26 years old and who are trained in an apprenticeship system or in the context of individual vocational training in a company,
• employees experiencing significant adaptation difficulties due to a reorganization or to computerization,
• employees who do not have sufficient relevant experience at the time of their entry into service,
• low-skilled employees.

How to register?

At the initiative of the employee:

• Via the website http://www.startfin.be/
• Then validation by the employer.

At the initiative of the employer:

• Training on demand

Complete the following forms as desired:

• Training programs ‘on demand’
• Language courses
• Other trainings
• Then send the completed forms to the secretariat of the BASE (st@febelfin.be)

Decision making:

• Prior approval by the board of directors of the BASE;
• Contribution subject to agreement of the Joint Fund for Groups at Risk and according to the terms and conditions set by it;
• The Joint Fund for Groups at Risk does not cover any travel expenses claimed by the company;
• The content of the training cannot relate directly or indirectly to the company, to procedures and/or products specific to the company or to the development of the latter;
• Requests for intervention must be submitted within one month of the end of the training or receipt of the invoice;
• No intervention will be granted if there is no effective participation.

Protection fund for deposits and financial instruments

Depositors’ assets with their financial institutions enjoy a very high level of protection. One of the measures is the repayment guarantee for deposits when an institution defaults. This guarantee for private individuals, associations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises was increased in 2008 from EUR 20,000 to EUR 100,000.

The guarantee system also applies in the event of a possible loss of securities in an account with a financial institution. The amount of that cover was maintained at EUR 20,000. There are other protective measures for those securities, including the direct right of return for clients, so that the securities are excluded from the estate of a bankruptcy.

The Act of 22 April 2016 transposing Directive 2014/49/EU on deposit guarantee schemes and containing various provisions put an end to the mission of the Protection Fund for Deposits and Financial Instruments (hereinafter the ‘Protection Fund’) in the field of organization and the administration of the Belgian deposit guarantee scheme. Deposit protection is now exclusively regulated by the Guarantee Fund for financial services. For the time being, the Protection Fund remains the designated institution for the organization and management of the protection scheme for financial instruments in accordance with Directive 97/9/EC on investor-compensation schemes. This website therefore only contains information about the protection of financial instruments.

The BASE is responsible for the participation of the stockbroking firms in the Protection Fund for Deposits and Financial Instruments up to the point where the remaining assets are fully distributed.

Ombudsfin

Ombudsfin is competent for the out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes in financial matters.

Ombudsfin is headed by the Ombudsman, an impartial mediator who tries to resolve a dispute between a client and his bank, a stockbroking firm, an asset manager, an investment adviser or a credit company.

The Ombudsman issues a non-binding opinion on the case submitted. If the client does not agree with the content of the advice, he retains all rights to seek redress in court.

Ombudsfin is competent for certain complaints from companies.

The BASE is responsible for the participation of the stockbroking firms in Ombudsfin.

The College of Mediation

The Mediation College’s mission is to deal with the most complex complaints or complaints that raise questions of principle. The College is made up of equal numbers of experts appointed by business and financial sector federations. The Chair and the Vice-Chair are independent experts.

Participation in the governance of Febelfin

Since 2003, the BASE has been a constituent sub-association of Febelfin.

At the level of external governance, the BASE benefits from special representation on the Febelfin Board of Directors.

As for internal governance, Febelfin’s day-to-day activities are divided among the Business & Support Lines, each with their own responsibilities. The BASE is therefore represented on various committees.