If the centrepiece of your Christmas lunch or dinner is an impressive joint of meat, it might be wise to track down a supplier now. Turkey can be found in all major supermarkets (consider a boned and stuffed bird for easier roasting and carving), but buying a goose requires a little forethought. A...

The bulk of Brussels’ expat community is here to work, be it for European institutions, international NGOs, multinationals or Belgian businesses. So it’s only natural that the bulk of expat-oriented real estate services is targeted to this demographic, whose professional requirements present...

Pieter Vermant, 24, from Malderen talks about what he earns and how he spends it What is your job? Since the beginning of March I’ve been working at Barry Callebaut in Lebbeke-Wieze as an electro-mechanic in the maintenance division. I’m responsible for preventive maintenance of the machines for...

The Brussels-Capital Region has approved a subsidy of €1.1 million for the restoration of 10 of the most important facades of buildings on the Grand Place, or Grote Markt. The grant is the latest stage of a campaign to clean up all of the façades on the historic square, said Brussels’ minister-...

Some 400 diplomats and politicians attended a memorial service yesterday for Nelson Mandela in Brussels’ Sint-Michiels and Sint-Goedele Cathedral. Federal interior minister Joëlle Milquet spoke during the service, describing Mandela ( pictured ) as “a wise and courageous man” who was able to...

It will soon cost companies less to employ Belgium-based staff as the country’s pay gap with its three biggest neighbours is set to fall in 2014. The annual report of the Central Business Council (CRB) shows that Belgium’s salary gap will be reduced from 2012’s average of +4.8% to +3.5%. The drop...

Increasing workloads are being blamed for higher levels of stress among Belgium’s workforce, according to a survey of 4,000 employed Belgians. The European Social Fund found that compared to conditions among workers five years ago, nearly one out of every two of the country’s workers today are...

In a controversial step, Belgium’s Senate voted 50-17 in favour of legalised euthanasia for terminally ill children. The bill must still pass in the Lower House before entering into law. If approved, Belgium, one of the only countries in the world to permit doctor-assisted dying since 2002, would...

The Flemish Agency for Education Services (AgODI) is demanding that 188 teachers pay back back-pay they received by mistake. Some teachers are being asked to repay as much as €20,000. In total, AgODI is looking to retrieve €400,000. Until the beginning of 2012, the law stated that AgODI should...