It’s 7:30 AM. Your cleaning teams are heading to six different client sites across Brussels and Antwerp. One supervisor is already on-site at a hospital. A subcontractor’s crew is starting at a new office building. And somewhere in your inbox, there’s an inspection notice you haven’t opened yet.
If that scenario feels familiar, you’re not alone. Since the CIAO obligation (Checkinandout@work) became mandatory for the cleaning and maintenance sector in 2024, thousands of Belgian companies have had to rethink how they track the presence of every worker, on every site, every day.
The challenge isn’t the principle it’s the detail. Which services actually fall under CIAO? What are the thresholds? What’s exempt? And how do you manage this across a mobile workforce without drowning in admin?
This guide breaks it all down: what the law requires, which cleaning activities are covered (and which aren’t), and how to automate the entire process so compliance runs in the background while your teams focus on the work.
Quick Navigation
- What Is the CIAO Obligations?
- Why Cleaning and Maintenance Are Covered
- Which Cleaning Services Require CIAO Registration?
- When CIAO Is NOT Required: The Exemptions
- Quick Reference Table: CIAO Applicability by Service Type
- The Risks of Non-Compliance
- How to Automate CIAO Registration
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the CIAO Obligation?
CIAO stands for Checkinandout@work Belgium’s electronic attendance registration system managed by the NSSO (Rijksdienst voor Sociale Zekerheid / ONSS). It requires every worker performing certain types of work on a client site to register both their arrival, breaks and departure in real time.
The system was introduced to combat undeclared work, improve workplace safety, and ensure fair competition between companies that play by the rules and those that don’t.
If you’re already familiar with CIAW (Check-in-at-Work) from the construction sector, CIAO follows the same principle but with a critical difference: it requires both check-in and check-out times, and it applies to the cleaning and maintenance sector since 2024.
| Aspect | CIAW (Construction) | CIAO (Cleaning & Maintenance) |
| Mandatory since | 1 April 2014 | 1 September 2024 |
| Sector | Construction, infrastructure, renovation | Cleaning, maintenance, facility services |
| Registration type | Check-in only (evolving to in + out) | Check-in AND check-out (from day one) |
| Threshold | Works > €500,000 (with subcontractors) | More than 30,000 euros without a subcontractor, more than 5,000 euros with 1 subcontractor and less than 5,000 euros with 2 or more subcontractors |
| Reporting to | NSSO (RSZ) | NSSO (RSZ) |
| Who registers | Employer / contractor | Each worker individually (employees, self-employed, temps, trainees) |
⚠️ Important: Since 1 January 2024, the threshold amount for the Declaration of Works (article 30bis) in the cleaning sector has been abolished. A Declaration of Work is now required regardless of the contract value meaning CIAO registration applies to virtually all third-party cleaning assignments.
Why Cleaning and Maintenance Are Covered
The CIAO obligation for the cleaning sector was introduced by the Programme Law of 26 December 2022 and further refined by the Law of 5 November 2023. The obligation took effect on 1 September 2024.
You are subject to CIAO registration if your activity meets all three conditions:
1. Your work consists of cleaning or maintenance that aims to clean a property on behalf of a third party
2. The activity qualifies as “cleaning work” within the meaning of the VAT code (which most property-related cleaning does)
3. A Declaration of Works (article 30bis) must be submitted to the NSSO
Your Joint Committee affiliation does not determine whether CIAO applies. While Joint Committee 121 (cleaning and disinfection) is most directly affected, the obligation is not limited to this committee. Any company performing qualifying cleaning or maintenance work on a property for a third party must comply.
Which Cleaning Services Require CIAO Registration?
The scope of CIAO in the cleaning sector is broad. Here’s a breakdown by service category:
General Cleaning and Window Maintenance
These are the most common services that fall under the obligation:
- Commercial and office cleaning regular cleaning of offices, reception areas, meeting rooms, and communal spaces
- Residential building maintenance cleaning lobbies, stairwells, elevators, and parking garages in apartment complexes
- Post-construction cleaning cleaning performed before or after renovation, construction, or demolition work
- Window cleaning interior and exterior glass cleaning at any height, including facades and bay windows
- Private domestic cleaning cleaning services for individuals (important: this excludes the service voucher / dienstencheques system)
Specialised Cleaning and Infrastructure Maintenance
Specialised services linked to maintaining the condition of real estate also fall under CIAO:
- Technical system cleaning ventilation ducts, extractors, chimneys, and air handling units
- Solar and photovoltaic panel cleaning maintaining energy efficiency through regular panel maintenance
- Public space cleaning sweeping and cleaning streets, highways, parks, squares, and public infrastructure
- Cleanroom and laboratory maintenance full cleaning and rehabilitation of controlled environments
Drainage and Technical Maintenance
Specific technical maintenance tasks tied to property infrastructure are covered:
- Unblocking and descaling clearing sanitary pipes, rainwater drains, and grease traps
- Sewerage maintenance cleaning and maintaining manholes, emptying septic tanks
When CIAO Is NOT Required: The Exemptions
Not every cleaning activity triggers CIAO registration. Understanding the exemptions helps you keep administration lean and avoid over-reporting:
- Service vouchers domestic cleaning performed through the Belgian service voucher system is fully exempt from CIAO
- In-house cleaning if a company or institution (e.g., a school or hospital) cleans its own premises with its own directly employed staff, CIAO does not apply. The obligation only covers third-party services
- Movable asset cleaning cleaning vehicles, buses, trains, aircraft, or containers. CIAO applies to immovable property (buildings and infrastructure), not mobile assets
- Winter services snow removal and salt spreading on roads and public infrastructure
- Emergency services urgent cleaning requested by Civil Protection or the police following disasters, accidents, or emergencies
💡 Key distinction: The obligation is tied to work on immovable property for a third party. If you’re cleaning a building you own, or cleaning a movable asset like a bus, CIAO does not apply. If you’re cleaning someone else’s building, it almost certainly does.
Quick Reference: CIAO Applicability by Service Type
Use this table as a quick compliance check for your operations:
| Service Type | CIAO Required? | Notes |
| Office and commercial cleaning | YES | All third-party commercial cleaning |
| Residential building common areas | YES | Lobbies, stairs, elevators, garages |
| Window cleaning (all heights) | YES | Interior and exterior |
| Post-construction / renovation cleaning | YES | Before or after building works |
| Solar panel cleaning | YES | Linked to building maintenance |
| Ventilation / chimney cleaning | YES | Technical system maintenance |
| Street and public space cleaning | YES | Including highways and parks |
| Cleanroom / lab rehabilitation | YES | Controlled environments |
| Sewer and septic tank maintenance | YES | Drainage infrastructure |
| Private cleaning (non-voucher) | YES | Private individuals, outside service voucher |
| Domestic cleaning (service vouchers) | NO | Dienstencheques system exempt |
| Vehicle / bus / train cleaning | NO | Movable assets excluded |
| Container cleaning (mobile) | NO | Movable assets excluded |
| Snow removal / salt spreading | NO | Winter services excluded |
| Emergency cleaning (Civil Protection) | NO | Disaster response excluded |
| In-house cleaning (own staff, own premises) | NO | Not a third-party service |
The Risks of Non-Compliance
With social inspections on the rise in the cleaning sector, manual tracking isn’t just inconvenient it’s risky. Here’s what’s at stake:
Financial penalties
Fines for missing or incorrect CIAO registrations can reach up to €6,000 per violation under the Social Criminal Code. For systematic non-compliance, penalties escalate quickly especially when multiple workers and sites are involved. In the broader context of Belgian social legislation, fines related to attendance registration violations can accumulate to €12,000 per day in the most severe cases.
Inspection consequences
A failed inspection doesn’t just mean a fine. It can trigger increased audit frequency, reputation damage with clients (especially in public procurement), and delays on payment for subcontracted projects.
Operational blind spots
Beyond the legal risk, not registering attendance means you don’t know who’s actually working where. That makes scheduling harder, invoicing less accurate, and dispute resolution nearly impossible when a client questions hours worked.
The real cost: A cleaning company with 50 mobile workers operating across 20 client sites faces hundreds of registration moments per week. A single missed registration per day could result in €30,000+ in annual fines before accounting for admin costs and lost contracts.
How to Automate CIAO Registration
Manually tracking attendance for distributed cleaning teams via phone calls, paper forms, or WhatsApp messages doesn’t scale. Every forgotten check-in is a compliance risk. Every late registration is an admin headache.
The most reliable approach is to automate the entire flow: workers register, data syncs to the NSSO, and your dashboard shows compliance status in real time.
Multiple registration methods for different situations
Not every site is the same. Hospital entrances work differently from office buildings or outdoor infrastructure. A good system offers multiple ways to register:
- Mobile app workers check in and out from their phone, with GPS verification
- Vehicle badge automatic registration when a worker enters or leaves a company vehicle heading to a site
- Site terminal a fixed badge point at the entrance of larger client locations, ideal for sites with multiple teams or subcontractors
Automatic NSSO sync
Every registration should be transmitted to the NSSO’s Checkinandout@work platform automatically in real time, without manual file uploads or CSV exports. This eliminates the most common source of compliance failures: delayed or forgotten submissions.
Real-time compliance dashboard
Supervisors and HR need to see at a glance which workers are registered, which sites have active check-ins, and whether any registrations are missing. A real-time dashboard turns compliance from a weekly admin task into a live operational view.
Payroll and billing integration
The same attendance data that feeds the NSSO should also flow into your payroll system and client invoicing. When time tracking and CIAO registration are unified, you eliminate double data entry and ensure every worked hour is accounted for both for compliance and for revenue.
How Suivo Supports Cleaning and Maintenance Companies
Suivo is a Belgian IoT platform built for companies with mobile teams. For the cleaning and maintenance sector specifically, the platform connects CIAO compliance with broader workforce management:
• CIAO-ready from day one automatic NSSO registration via mobile app, vehicle badge, or site terminal, with real-time data sync
• Time registration and absence management capture hours, breaks, and absences in the same system, feeding directly into payroll via integrations with SD Worx, Partena, Acerta, and others
• Scheduling plan teams across multiple client sites with visual resource scheduling, and see availability in real time
• Audit-proof reporting timestamped, GPS-verified logs that provide a complete compliance trail for inspections
• Local support in NL/FR/EN fast, in-country assistance for compliance questions and technical setup
What makes Suivo different from standalone CIAO tools is that attendance registration isn’t a separate module it’s part of a unified platform that also handles time tracking, fleet management, and scheduling. Your CIAO data connects directly to payroll, billing, and operational planning one system, one truth.
For a side-by-side comparison of compliant platforms, see our guide to the best digital time registration tools in Belgium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for CIAO registration the employer or the worker?
Under the current legislation, registration is the responsibility of each individual worker. This applies to employees, self-employed workers, temporary agency workers, and trainees. They must register their physical presence at the workplace in real time using the Checkinandout@work application. In practice, the employer is responsible for providing the tools and systems that make this possible.
Does my Joint Committee determine whether CIAO applies to my company?
No. While Joint Committee 121 (cleaning and disinfection) is most affected, the CIAO obligation is not limited to any specific committee. It applies based on the nature of the work: if your activity involves cleaning or maintaining a property on behalf of a third party and requires a Declaration of Works to the NSSO, CIAO applies regardless of your JC affiliation.
What happens if a worker forgets to check out?
A missing check-out creates an incomplete registration, which may be flagged during a social inspection. Automated systems can send reminders to workers who haven’t checked out and alert supervisors to missing registrations preventing the issue before it becomes a compliance problem.
Can I use a mobile app for CIAO registration?
Yes. The NSSO accepts any registration method as long as the data is transmitted accurately and in real time to the Checkinandout@work platform. Mobile apps are the most practical solution for cleaning companies with mobile teams, especially when combined with GPS verification and offline capability.
How does CIAO relate to broader time registration requirements?
CIAO is specifically about attendance registration for the NSSO. However, from 2027, broader time registration obligations will apply to more sectors and companies in Belgium. Companies that invest in a unified platform now covering CIAO, time tracking, and payroll integration will be ready for both current and upcoming requirements.
Don’t let paperwork slow down your cleaning teams.
Automate CIAO compliance, time tracking, and scheduling in one platform.
