Law on Feasible and Manageable Work - Simplification of part-time work (1)

The Law on Feasible and Manageable Work simplifies and modernises certain aspects of part-time work. The emphasis is on reducing administrative red tape for employers.

This reduction concerns:

• The content of the terms & conditions of employment (work regulations);
• Drafting of employment contracts;
• Measures relating to notification and monitoring of hours worked.

Entry into force and transitional provisions

These measures do not come into force on 1 February 2017 but from the 1st day of the 7th month following publication of the law in the Belgian Official Gazette, i.e. on 1 October 2017.

Transitional provisions have been set out for employers employing workers with variable part-time working hours prior to 1 October 2017. Such employers have an additional 6-month period dating from 1 October 2017 in which to bring their terms & conditions of employment (work regulations) into line with the new provisions of the law of 5 March 2017.

Until the amended work regulations come into force, and no later than 31 March 2018, the “old” regulations remain applicable.

The additional adaptation period does not apply to employers that, prior to 1 October 2017, do not yet employ workers with variable part-time working hours.

The law of 5 March 2017 does not amend the Royal Decree of 25 June 1990, which treats certain work performed by part-time workers as overtime work.

A new royal decree - currently being drafted - will be used to amend the Royal Decree of 25 June 1990 and will bring the “credit” of overtime worked without any supplementary payment by part-time workers to 3 hours and 14 minutes per week in the reference period, with a maximum of 168 hours.

Terms & conditions of employment (work regulations)

The terms & conditions of employment (work regulations) must indicate the start and end of the normal working day, the time and duration of breaks and normal days off.

Variable part-time working hours

The law of 5 March 2017 removes, from 1 October 2017, the obligation to list this information separately for each variable part-time work week: the terms & conditions of employment (work regulations) are no longer required to contain the different (and multiple) variable working hours.

This obligation is replaced, for workers with variable working hours, by the obligation to provide for a “general temporal framework” in the work regulations containing:

• The daily core period during which work can be scheduled;
• The days of the week during which work can be scheduled;
• The minimum and maximum daily working hours; where the part-time work week is also variable, the maximum and minimum weekly working hours;
• The manner and timeframe in which workers will be notified of their working hours.

The notice must fix the individual hours of work and must, in all cases, be in written form and signed by the employer, its representatives or agents; it must be brought to the attention of part-time workers at least 5 business days in advance in a reliable, appropriate and accessible manner.

The 5-day time period may be modified by a collective labour agreement made binding by royal decree but cannot be less than one business day.

Working hours may be communicated individually or collectively, provided that the working hours are determined separately for each worker.

The notice may be in paper or electronic (new) format.

Fixed part-time working hours

Currently, the work regulations are required to mention all fixed part-time working hours in force in the company.

Where the working hours are worked according to a cycle, the hours of which are stated in the work regulations and extend over more than one week, the work regulations must also set out the fixed order in which the daily working hours follow each other.

From 1 October 2017, it will no longer be obligatory to include all fixed working hours applicable in the work regulations.

The employment contract, the rules regarding notification and monitoring control of hours worked will, in a way, replace this obligation (below).

Written employment contract

A part-time employment contract must be recorded in writing for each worker individually, no later than when the worker commences performance of his or her contract. This rule already exists.

The contract must mention the work week (the number of hours per week) and the agreed working hours (the days and times of work).

- The working hours may be fixed: fixed working hours determine the days and times of work in advance in a precise manner.

It may involve fixed working hours combined with a fixed work week or an arrangement based on a cycle (a succession of daily working hours in a fixed order set down in the contract) extending over more than one week. It must, at all times, be possible to determine when the cycle starts.

Example

	Even weeks	Odd weeks
Monday	From 7 am to 11 am
Tuesday	From 7 am to 11 am	From 7 am to 12 noon
Wednesday	From 7 am to 11 am	From 7 am to 12 noon
Thursday	From 7 am to 11 am	From 7 am to 12 noon
Friday		From 7 am to 12 noon
Saturday
Sunday
Total	16 hours	20 hours

- The part-time working hours may be variable: the days and times of work are not fixed in advance.

The applicable working hours are fixed according to the rules set down in the work regulations (the general temporal framework).

By way of derogation from the principle whereby the written document must include the work week and hours, it is “only” necessary to mention, firstly, that the working hours will be determined in accordance with the general framework set down in the work regulations and, secondly, the agreed part-time work week.

Variable working hours can be agreed:

• With a fixed work week. The work week remains unchanged (e.g. 20 hours/week) but the days and times of work are not precisely set in advance.
• Or in accordance with an average work week over a reference period (e.g. 20 hours over a quarter). The average weekly working hours calculated according to the rules, set down in Article 26 bis (1)(7) of the law of 16 March 1971, must be adhered to, on average, over a reference period of one quarter. A collective labour agreement or, in its absence, the terms & conditions of employment (work regulations), may extend this reference period up to a maximum of one year.

In the absence of a written document in compliance with the above (no written document, late written document, absence of required information), the worker may choose the part-time work week and working hours that are most favourable to him or her from those applied in the company.

In summary - From 1 October 2017)

Type of working hours	Information mentioned in the employment contract
Fixed working hours	Working hours + work week
Variable working hours	Work week + variable working hours determined in accordance with the general temporal framework in the work regulations applicable to variable part-time working hours

Source: Articles 56 to 67 of the Law of 5 March 2017 on Feasible and Manageable Work, Belgian Official Gazette, 15 March 2017

Author: Brigitte Dendooven

29/03/2017