Check In At Work: all you need to know

In order to protect workers’ rights on construction sites, and also to prevent social dumping and fraud, the Belgian authorities have set up a system called Check In At Work (also known as Checkin@work or CIAW) for registering attendance at construction sites. This article looks at what CIAW is, who it affects, and how you can use construction software for attendance monitoring and document management to ensure that this legal obligation is met.

Check In At Work: what is it all about? 

CIAW is an online service in Belgium for registering the presence of construction workers with the National Social Security Office. Meeting the requirements of the service is compulsory for any construction project in Belgium with a total cost of €500,000 (excluding VAT). 

However, Belgium is not the only country to require the registration of attendance on-site. For example, in Sweden, attendance registration is now mandatory regardless of the construction project’s budget. And, since 12 May 2019, it is also mandatory in Spain. Internationally, presence control regulations are increasingly being introduced or strengthened.

Who is affected by Check In At Work? 

At the beginning of each working day, every person who is present on-site must have been registered with the service. Otherwise, the consequences can be significant: fines can be as much as €6,000 per individual and can also be accompanied by a penal sanction. 

Knowing exactly who is affected by the regulation is the first step towards avoiding any unpleasant surprises. The list below shows who must be registered with CIAW if they carry out work on a building site:

• employers
• workers
• foreign workers
• independent workers
• temporary workers.

Who is responsible for daily registration?

Employers and contractors are usually responsible for the registration of not only all their workers but also their subcontractors and independent contractors. However, self-employed workers and subcontractors can register independently. 

It is important to avoid any ambiguity about who is responsible for registration, which is why this is usually specified in a contract. For example, an employee can be responsible for their own registration if this is agreed with the employer. If not, the employee can check that the registration has been made by their employer.

When to register?

Registration must be carried out daily, for each working day and before the person starts work. In addition, it is possible to notify CIAW of the worker’s presence up to 30 days in advance. This can then be modified or cancelled, as required – for example, in the event of a stoppage on-site or an employee’s absence due to illness. Changes can also be made up to the end of the working day in question. 

It is important to note that when a worker is present on different sites on the same day, separate registrations must be made for each site. 

Ensuring compliance with Check In At Work by using construction software 

Keeping track of each worker is one of the most challenging tasks for a construction company. When there are large numbers of personnel involved, it is very difficult to ensure that the administrative status of each and every worker is in order, especially when some might be working on multiple jobsites on the same day. Here, we show how digital technology can make compliance with CIAW obligations much, much easier.

1. Attendance Monitoring

Monitoring the presence of your workers on-site is not easy, but the construction industry has strong regulations around this. And this is with good reason: unfortunately, the construction industry is one of the most dangerous environments to work in. So, how can you ensure that the administrative status is correct for all of your workers who are present on-site? 

An Attendance Monitoring solution will help you to avoid unwelcome fines and to reduce additional risks. Specifically, this digital solution enables you to:

• check that each worker on-site is properly declared to the CIAW administration and that the administrative status of each worker is as it should be (the right documents are uploaded and are all in order, the company is properly declared, etc)
• authenticate each person based on documentation and a photograph
• bring in a new person, making the CIAW declaration, if necessary, and adding mandatory documents to the system
• record the checks that are carried out.

Your Attendance Monitoring solution is the vital relay between social security, your subcontractors, your worksites and your headquarters.

2. Document Management

Here once again, digital technology can help. With a Document Management solution, you will have a clear and complete view of everyone’s administrative status – your workers, interims, subcontractors, etc – as all are registered or centralized on a single platform. The software automatically identifies any missing or invalid documents and invites the user to follow this up. In addition, by using artificial intelligence technology, this software can automatically “read” a document that is being imported, collecting all the necessary information and performing automatic checks to verify its validity.

In this way, managing the administration for your workers is made easier, faster and more efficient. This helps to ensure that you comply with all relevant legislation, including CIAW. 

Check In At Work with Traxxeo

In conclusion, as high-performing digital solutions for complying with CIAW, attendance monitoring and document management software can bring construction companies multiple benefits in terms of:

• administrative management, with gains in the field and at the HQ
• productivity for worksite managers, due to less paperwork and being empowered by efficient digital tools
• company reputation and finances, thanks to the reduced risk of fines and also cost-effective investments in digital solutions as opposed to hardware
• change management and progressing further along the path towards high-performing digital solutions that are gradually being adopted by the industry, in order to become the leaders of tomorrow.

With 12 years of experience, Traxxeo has developed best-in-class digital solutions for the needs of any construction company across the world. The Presence Control & Document Management solutions will allow your company to ensure full admin order of workers on your sites and supply the right applications to each user. Trainings and accreditations can also be managed using these solutions to ensure maximal on-site safety.

Simplify your Check In At Work