Elastic and flexible working time

In the context of the spring 2016 budget control, the Minister of Work has announced the deposition before July of a draft law that aims at reforming the 'working times'.

The structural reform of the working times is intended to:

• give the enterprises the possibility to adjust the working time to production necessities;
• and give the workers the possibility to gear their working time to their private life.

This reform should enter into force on 1 January 2017 and relies on two pillars:

• a pillar for general and direct action;
• a flexible menu for the sectors.

Pillar for direct action

The reference period over which the weekly working duration must be observed will legally be determined at one year (in theory the reference period now is one quarter). So as a rule the working time will have to be evaluated over one year.

Unless otherwise stipulated by the sector, the daily and weekly thresholds will respectively be 9 hours and 45 hours. The internal threshold above which compensatory rest must be awarded before new overtime hours may be performed will be raised to 143 hours.

All workers will be entitled to a credit of 100 hours (in some sectors even 360 hours) extra per year. These hours worked under an individual agreement cannot be compensated but must be paid or listed on a career account. This scheme of overtime hours is additional to the 'traditional' scheme of overtime hours.

The objective of 5 training days per worker and per year must be made concrete by sectoral collective bargaining agreements or by the introduction of an individual training account per worker. SMEs with less than 10 workers will be exempt from this training obligation. For enterprises with less than 20 workers a specific scheme will be elaborated.

Every worker will individually be entitled to two training days per year for 2017 and 2018.

The general pillar also provides for a framework for occasional teleworking.

Flexible menu

The sectors and maybe also the enterprises will still have room for manoeuvre. The draft law contains indeed some specific measures that can be 'activated' by the joint commissions.

Besides, these joint commissions will be allowed to derogate from the legal base schemes of the pillar (to recall, the internal threshold and the credit of overtime hours paid or listed on the career account).

The 'menu' is determined by two concepts:

1. flexible work;

2. workable work.

Flexible work

In general, the sectors (and even the enterprises) will be allowed, conform to the European directive, to 'lengthen' the working time to 11 hours per day and 50 hours per week, provided that an annual average of 48 hours is observed.

Besides, and this is fundamental (!), the reference period of 1 year (see above) can be lengthened to 6 years (generalisation of the plus minos conto arrangement of joint commission No 111).

With a view to 'flexible work' the draft law provides for:

• the introduction (under specific conditions) of a temporary agency contract for an indefinite period;
• the reform of the system of employers groupings;
• the simplification of part-time work.

Workable work

Workable work is:

• career saving or career account composed of overtime hours, training days, leave days...;
• the adjustment of the time credit systems;
• flexible working times;
• the granting of leave days to colleagues with seriously ill children.  

Source: agreement in the context of the spring 2016 budget control.