Working with minors

Permission

For many matters, you need the written consent of the parents or guardian of minors. For example, to process data or to create image material (GDPR), or to travel abroad with a minor without their parents (parental consent). It is therefore strongly recommended to build this reflex into your practice and to request consent from the parents or guardian for special activities such as an excursion or a weekend.
It is best to request consent for the use of image material at the moment of registration or at the start of your activities, so that everything is in order from the beginning.

Medical record

In addition to consent for image use, it is useful (though not mandatory) to request a medical form from the children you work with, especially when going on camp. This allows you to immediately provide the correct information to healthcare workers if something happens, ensures you are aware of any allergies, and helps you keep track of any medication that needs to be taken. A medical form may be kept for a maximum of 1 year and must be destroyed after that period. You must therefore request this information each year from returning participants. Changes can always occur. For minors, the medical form must always be completed by the parents or guardian. A template in Dutch below.

Child Labor Law

Extract Criminal Register For Supervisors

To better protect minors and to avoid any infringement of their physical, psychological or sexual integrity as much as possible, the Flemish Government introduced the obligation to request and check an extract from the criminal record for new employees in certain functions. The decree has been in force since 1 February 2023. The Department of Culture, Youth and Media prepared a clear document in which you can read everything. Below we summarise the most important points, but we recommend reading the full document as well if you work with minors.

What is it about?

The official description is: “Decree imposing the obligation for certain organisations to check an extract from the criminal record as referred to in Article 596, second paragraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for certain new employees.”

• The term “certain organisations” refers to the following: organisations that organise specific activities involving contact with children and young people, such as education, psycho‑medical‑social support, youth assistance, child protection, animation or supervision of minors. This therefore also includes theatre activities with minors!
• An extract from the criminal record is an official document that can be obtained from the municipality where the person is registered. It contains any criminal convictions in the name of the person concerned. It replaces the former “certificate of good conduct”.
• In the context of this decree, it concerns model “Article 596.2”, also known as the minors model. The applicant should mention this when submitting the request in their municipality so that the civil servant can issue the correct model.

Obligation to check

The decree imposes a verification obligation for every new employee. You must request the extract before deciding to appoint the person. However, you may only request it if you genuinely intend to appoint the candidate. The extract may be no more than 1 month old at the time it is submitted.

As an organisation, you are required to carry out the verification of the extract, and this applies when the following four conditions are met:

• The new employee will carry out an activity that falls under the description in the first point above (e.g. director of a theatre production involving minors; even if not all participants are minors).
  
• The employee will have direct contact with minors on a structural basis. (Structural does not mean it must be a long-term engagement; for example, a one‑week contract for a theatre camp is also intensive and considered structural). Note that online contact with minors is also considered direct contact.
  
• The employee is an adult or will be at the time of appointment.
  
• The employee is appointed by means of an agreement or a unilateral appointment. This refers to employees with an employment contract (including student workers!), employees with an agreement under the framework of association work (art. 17), statutory civil servants, student interns, and self‑employed workers (e.g. freelancers).

When does the check not need to be carried out?

• For volunteers, recognised youth organisations are exempt from checking volunteers. All other organisations (including youth groups that are not recognised within the youth work sector) must also check out volunteers.
  
• If an employee has already submitted an extract within the same year to the same organisation, it does not need to be requested again.
  
• In the case of an agreement with a legal entity (e.g. a company or non‑profit), the check does not need to be carried out if the legal entity confirms that they have already performed the check (e.g. you collaborate with a non‑profit for the direction of your next production).
  
• If you make a non‑structural agreement with a self‑employed person (e.g. a one‑off afternoon workshop).

When must the check be carried out again?

When your organisation receives the extract, you must assess it according to its contents.

• In the case of a blank criminal record, no assessment is needed.
  
• When convictions are listed, this does not automatically mean that the person in question poses a danger to minors. It may, for example, concern a traffic offence. Be sure to read chapter 5.2 of the document from the Department of Culture, Youth and Media if this situation occurs (see the top of this chapter).
  
• In certain cases, there is no room for assessment. This is the case, for example, when an additional penalty listed in Article 382 bis 1°, 2° or 3° (sexual offences against minors) appears on the criminal record. In addition to the reference to that article, the phrase “disqualification from the right” will also be mentioned.

Privacy

Judicial data is extremely sensitive information. The GDPR therefore imposes strict rules on how to handle this type of data.

• The extract may only be checked for new employees. (Directors or other staff who are already working on 1/02/2023 may therefore not be checked now).
  
• It is not safe to request the extract by email. You can use secure digital alternatives (such as https://send.tresorit.com) or request the extract on paper.
  
• In your organisation’s privacy statement, you must specify which categories of people have access to the data (e.g. “the board of your association” or “coordinators of the youth division”).
  
• Personal data may never be kept longer than necessary. After the appointment, you must therefore destroy the extract. To prove that you carried out the mandatory check, you should note in your administration that the check was performed.
  
• The people who carry out the check must, of course, treat the information confidentially and may not disclose it in any way (not even verbally).

Liability

If the formality of requesting the extract is respected, there can be no liability if something still goes wrong despite the check. Organisations are expected to decide to the best of their ability and to act in good faith, with caution and care. The safety of minors must take precedence.