New sectors exempt from employing young workers under a 'CPE' (first job agreement)

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.

JC 126 (upholstery and woodworking industry), 129 (production of pulp, paper and cardboard) and 221 (paper industry) have made use of this possibility.

Employers coming under JC 126, 129 and 221 are exempt from the obligation to hire young workers aged under 26. The exemption applies:

-       For JC 126: from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017;

-       For JC 129 and 221: from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016.

Remark: JC 140

As regards JC 140 (transport and logistics), we have announced in our Infoflash of 15 December 2015 that the exemption from employing young workers with a CPE, laid down in the royal decree of 16 November 2015 only intended the employers who come under JC 140.02 (taxis) and not all employers who come under JC 140.

The legal correction is currently done by means of the royal decree of 8 February 2016 published in the Belgian Official Gazette of 17 February 2016.

Employers coming under JC 126 and 140.02 for their manual workers are fully exempt, even if they employ non-manual workers and their staff consists of more non-manual workers than manual workers.

Sources:

• Ministerial Decree repealing the Ministerial Decree of 16 November 2015 with regard to the exemption to employ young workers for the companies coming, for their workers, under the competence of the joint commission for transport and logistics, Belgian Official Gazette of 17.02.2016;
• Ministerial Decree of 16 February 2016 with regard to the exemption to employ young workers for the companies coming, for their manual workers, under the competence of the joint commission for the production of pulp, paper and cardboard (JC 129) and coming, for their non-manual workers, under the joint commission for the non-manual workers in the paper industry (JC 221), Belgian Official Gazette of 23.02.2016;
• Ministerial Decree of 8 February 2016 with regard to the exemption to employ young workers for the companies coming under the competence of the joint commission for the upholstery and woodworking industry, Belgian Official Gazette of 18.02.2016.

Author: Anne Ghysels

09/03/2016