Leave dates within a company can be set either individually by means of an agreement between the employer and each employee or collectively (for the company’s staff) in case of a closure of the company.
Do you choose this last way to set leave dates? Then do not forget to inform your employees of the collective closure period of your company by 31 December 2022 at the latest!
Procedure for setting the dates of the collective annual leave
Except when the joint committee has decided otherwise, the setting of the dates of collective closure must result from a decision of the works council. In the absence of a works council or a decision of the works council, the periods of collective closure shall be set in an agreement between, on the one hand, the employer and, on the other hand, the trade union delegation or, in the absence hereof, the employees.
The agreement may also regard the use of the balance of days of leave that would not have been taken during the closure.
Notification measures
The dates of collective closure of the company must imperatively be stated in the employment regulations. As soon as an agreement has been reached on the setting of the dates of collective leave, the employer must post it, send a copy to the employees and provide a copy to the directorate of the social legislation inspectorate that is competent for the company.
Our advice
The annual leave regulations do not provide for a deadline for setting collective leave within the company. However, your employees are likely to take leave days (based on their work performed in 2022) from 1 January 2023. So please make sure you have completed all the required formalities no later than 31 December 2022!
We can help you by providing you with a model notice of the dates of the collective annual leave in 2023.