Exemption from employing young workers under a ‘CPE’ (first job agreement) in JC 140.03, 118 & 220 and 327.01

When certain conditions are met, employers are obliged to employ a given number of young workers aged under 26, unless they are exempt from this obligation.

Hiring obligation

Employers of the private sector employing at least 50 workers on 30 June of the previous calendar year are obliged to employ young workers aged under 26 at a given percentage of their total staff calculated in full-time equivalents: 3 % for the merchant sector and 1,5 % for the non-merchant sector.

Employers who employed less than 50 workers on 30 June of the previous calendar year must not meet this obligation.

Possible exemption

The act on the CPEs allows the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue to grant full exemption from this obligation to the sectors on request. This exemption is granted when the sector spends at least 0,15% of the quarterly wage bill in favour of 'risk groups' and, in addition to this, makes special efforts with regard to the hiring of workers.

The JCs 140.03 (joint subcommittee for the companies for the transport of goods and handling on the account of a third party), 118 and 220 (companies of the food industry) and 327.01 (joint subcommittee for the Flemish sector of the sheltered and social workplaces and the ‘maatwerkbedrijven’) having availed of this option.

Employers coming under JC no. 140.03, 118 or 327.01 for their manual workers and/or JC no. 220 or 327.01 for their non-manual workers are exempted from the obligation to hire young workers aged under 26. The exemption applies from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2019.

Employers coming under JC no. 140.03 for their manual workers are fully exempted, even if they employ non-manual workers and their staff consists of more non-manual workers than manual workers.

Sources: Ministerial decree of 30 July 2018 with regard to the exemption of the obligation to hire young workers for the employers coming under the joint committee 140.00 for the transport and logistics and belonging to the subsector for the transport of goods and handling on the account of a third party, Belgian Official Gazette 29.08.2018; Ministerial Decree of 30 July 2018 with regard to the exemption of the obligation to hire young workers for the companies coming under the joint committee for the food industry (JC 118) for their manual workers and coming under the joint committee for non-manual workers of the food industry (JC 220) for their non-manual workers, Belgian Official Gazette, 29.08.2018; Ministerial decree of 30 July 2018 with regard to the exemption of the obligation to hire young workers for the companies coming under the joint subcommittee for the Flemish sector of the sheltered and social workplaces and the ‘maatwerkbedrijven’, Belgian Official Gazette, 29.08.2018.

Author: Anne Ghysels

06/09/2018