Summer sales start

Today, 1 July, sees the start of the summer sales, which will last until 31 July. In Belgium, there are two official sales periods: the winter sales which last from 3 to 31 January and the summer sales which last from 1 July to 31 July.

A new set of state reforms also come into effect as of today. From 1 July:

-          Self-employed workers will receive the same child allowance as employees. At the moment, a self-employed worker is entitled to €84.43 for their first child against €90.28 for an employee.

-          Pregnant women and other adults will be able to get a free vaccination against whooping cough. For pregnant women, vaccination is best done between weeks 24 and 32 of pregnancy. Babies can thus inherit antibodies against whooping cough through their mother.

-          It will be prohibited for financial products to invest in virtual money, namely bitcoins. Such products are deemed too risky and complex for the consumer.

-          The immediate fine for drivers who are caught with 0.5 to 0.8 per mil of alcohol in the blood will rise from €150 to €170.

-          The police will be able to use devices during drink driving checks that detect the presence of alcohol in the air. If alcohol is detected, police can then proceed to a normal breath test. The change is hoped to make drink driving checks quicker and more efficient.