Elections on 9 June 2024: can your employee take leave if elected?

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

Some employees will then be elected.

Can they, therefore, take time off from work to exercise their mandate or office and, if so, are they entitled to pay for hours not worked?

A brief reminder of the rules.

Political leave

An employee who holds a political mandate has the right to take time off from work, within the framework of political leave, to exercise his mandate (or office).

Mandates (or offices) entitling to political leave

Not every political mandate entitles an employee to political leave.

Specifically, your employee will only be entitled to political leave if he exercises one of the following mandates (or offices) after the elections of 9 June 2024:

• chairman or member of the Joint Community Commission (Brussels Capital Region);
• chairman or member of the Flemish Community Commission (Brussels Capital Region);
• chairman or member of the French Community Commission (Brussels Capital Region);
• chairman or member of the Parliament (Council) of the German-speaking Community;
• member of the executive college of one of the above-mentioned institutions.

Duration of the political leave

If your employee exercises one of the above mandates (or offices), he is entitled to be absent from work for a maximum of 1 day per month.

Employee’s obligations

Your employee who exercises one of the above mandates (or offices) has the following obligations:

• to provide proof of this (preferably in writing) upon exercising his mandate (or office);
• to use the leave for the purpose for which it was granted, i.e. to carry out the tasks arising directly from the exercise of his mandate (or office).

However, your employee is not obliged to notify you of the dates when he will be absent; nonetheless, for work organisation reasons, we think it is justified to ask him to notify you in advance of his absence.

Paid political leave

If your employee is absent from work within the framework of political leave granted to exercise one of the above mandates (or offices) and fulfils his obligations (see above), the absence will be paid. 

The amount of pay you owe is calculated in accordance with public holiday legislation, but is set at a maximum of EUR 4,668.15/month (in effect from 1 May 2024).

You can obtain reimbursement of gross wages and employer's contributions from the institution concerned, subject to certain formalities.

Protection against dismissal

The employee who is a candidate for one of the mandates (or offices) mentioned above is protected against dismissal.

He must notify you of this by registered letter within six months preceding the election; protection against dismissal starts upon receipt of this letter.

If elected, the employee is protected against dismissal for the entire duration of the mandate and for the six months immediately following it.

However, if the employee is not elected, the protection ends three months after the election, provided that he is actually on the candidate lists (if not, the employee remains protected against dismissal until the election).

If you dismiss this employee during the protection period without justifying a reason unrelated to his candidacy or exercising a political mandate (or office), you must pay him a protection payment equal to six months' wages.

Sources: Act of  19 July 1976 imposing leave for exercising a political mandate; Royal Decree of 28 December 1976 on the duration and the conditions for the use of the leave, granted by the Act of 19 July 1976 imposing leave for exercising a political mandate.