Partial work resumption: deviation from the minimum duration per period worked

After a period of full incapacity for work, an employee may receive temporary permission from the examining medical officer of the health insurance fund to resume adapted work due to reduced work capacity. In the event of a partial resumption of work, it is assumed that the employee's employment contract is not changed, but that certain modalities of the performance of the contract are modified.

When the employee resumed work part-time, did legislation on part-time work have to be complied with? Did the minimum weekly duration of 1/3rd of a full-time employee have to be observed? Did the minimum duration per period worked have to be observed?

Until now, the legislation on part-time work resumption did not provide an explicit exception. Thus, in principle, the employee who resumed work had to be employed according to a work schedule in accordance with the relevant legislation. This means that he or she had to be employed at least 1/3rd of the weekly working hours of a full-time employee in the company and at least three hours per period worked.

As we explained in a previous Infoflash, employees who partially resume work can now be employed under an employment regime of less than 1/3rd of a full-time employee.

As of 28 October, a derogation from the minimum duration per period worked (3h) is also provided for employees working in the context of a partial resumption of work. These employees can now be employed for a work period of less than three hours.

Source: Royal Decree of 18 September 2022, amending the Royal Decree of 18 June 1990, establishing the derogations from the minimum duration of the periods worked, Belgian Official Gazette of 18.10.2022.