Elections on 9 June 2024: can your employee be absent from work if he is an assessor?

On Sunday 9 June 2024, elections will be held for the European Parliament, the House of Representatives and the Regional and Community Parliaments.

Some employees who normally work on Sundays will, on this occasion, be appointed as assessors for a polling station or a counting station.

Can these employees be absent from work and, if so, are they entitled to pay for the hours not worked?

A brief recap of the rules.

Leave of absence for certain electoral duties

You are obliged to authorise your employee to be absent from work to carry out certain electoral duties when his work schedule requires him to work at the time when he has to carry out such duties.

This is leave of absence or circumstantial leave, the duration of which varies according to the level at which the elections are held and the type of station.

In practical terms, for the elections on 9 June 2024, your employee may be absent:

• for the time required if he has to carry out the duty of assessor at a main polling station or a single polling station for the legislative elections (House of Representatives and Regional and Community Parliaments);
• for the time required, up to a maximum of 5 days, if he has to carry out the duty of assessor in a main counting station for the legislative elections (House of Representatives and Regional and Community Parliaments);
• for the time required, up to a maximum of 5 days, if he has to carry out the duty of assessor in a main polling station for the European Parliament elections.

On the other hand, unless otherwise stipulated in an agreement, the employee is not entitled to leave of absence:

• if he is an assessor in a polling or counting station other than a main station;
• if he is the chairperson or secretary of a station.

Employee’s obligations

To qualify for leave of absence with continued pay (see below), your employee must:

• give you prior notice (preferably in writing);
• use the leave for the purpose for which it is granted;
• where applicable and at your request, provide proof (supporting document) of the reason for the leave (i.e. the electoral duty giving entitlement to leave of absence).

Paid leave of absence

If your employee is absent from work to carry out an electoral duty under the scheme of leave of absence and fulfils his obligations (see above), the absence will be paid.

You must pay this employee his normal pay for the hours/days of leave of absence that coincide with the hours/days he would normally have worked.

Source: art. 30, § 1 of the employment contracts Act of 3 July 1978; art. 2 of the Royal Decree of 28 August 1963 on the continued normal pay of employees for days of absence on the occasion of family events or in view of the fulfilment of civic obligations or civil missions.