Economic unemployment ‘Energy’ treated as actual days worked for the annual leave

Economic unemployment ‘energy’ is treated in the same way as the system of temporary unemployment due to lack of work for economic reasons with regard to all the rights of employees resulting from the application of these systems of temporary unemployment.

This absence is taken into account for the annual leave

Reminder: the right to annual leave and its duration depend on the number of days worked by the employee in the previous calendar year (= called "holiday qualifying year" or "reference year").

However, certain absences during the holiday qualifying year (or reference year) are treated as actual days worked for determining the right to annual leave and its duration but only in specific cases and within certain limits laid down by the legislator. This means that days of work interruption resulting from temporary unemployment ‘force majeure’ due to lack of work for economic reasons are fully treated as actual days worked for the purpose of calculating the holiday pay and the duration of the annual leave.

Economic unemployment ‘energy’ is a special system of temporary unemployment due to lack of work for economic reasons. Consequently, the days of work interruption resulting from this special system are treated as actual days worked for the annual leave.

Source: Royal Decree of 30 March 1967 determining the general terms and conditions for the implementation of the laws relating to the employees’ annual leave, Belgian Official Gazette of 6 April 1967