Social Elections 2024: take into account temporary agency workers when calculating your workforce!

The next social elections will take place, in principle, between 13 May 2024 and 26 May 2024.

A committee for prevention and protection at work and a works council must be set up respectively in companies (in the sense of technical business unit) which usually employ on average at least 50 or 100 employees during a reference period.

Temporary agency workers put at the disposal of the (user) company are taken into account, according to certain procedures, when calculating the workforce.

Reference period

The calculation of the average number of temporary agency workers put at the disposal of the (user) company is made out over the reference period from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.

In concrete terms, the total number of calendar days during which each temporary agency worker (who is not replacing a permanent worker whose performance of the employment contract is suspended) was registered in the “register of temporary workers” (to be kept by the user company) during this reference period is divided by 92 (if a temporary worker's actual working hours are less than 3/4 of the hours he would have worked if he were employed full time, the total number of calendar days is divided by 2).

Register of temporary workers

The user company must keep an appendix to the personnel register, i.e. a “register of temporary agency workers”, during the second quarter of the year 2023 (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023).

The “register of temporary workers” must mention for each temporary worker put at the disposal of the user:

• his registration number; each temporary agency worker will be assigned a number in the register according to a continuous numbering system and in the chronological order in which he is put at the disposal of the user;
• his first and last name;
• the start date of his employment;
• the end dat of his employment;
• the temporary employment agency that employs him;
• his weekly working time.

An exemption from keeping this register is provided for when the works council finds, under certain conditions, that the threshold of 100 employees is exceeded.

To be continued...

At the end of December 2022, the National Labour Council issued Advice No. 2,340 regarding the preparation for the 2024 social elections.

It has pronounced itself on a number of issues where adaptation of the legislation will be necessary.

A draft bill is being prepared.

The most important adaptations will be the following, subject to legal confirmation:

• social elections date: between 13 May 2024 and 26 May 2024;
• end date of the suspension of the electoral procedure, especially in the case of temporary unemployment;
• single condition of seniority for temporary workers to have the right to vote;
• technical requirements for the computer system used for electronic (remote) voting;
• continued digitisation of certain stages of the procedure.

We will be sure to get back to you as soon as we have more details.

Sources: Advice No. 2.340 of the National Labour Council, www.cnt-nar.be; www.news.belgium.be.

Do you want us to calculate the workforce of your technical business unit? Do you need advice or customized support for your social elections? Do not hesitate to contact us via esv2024@partena.be.