Social elections 2024: agreement on postal vote

When appropriate and provided that certain conditions are met, an agreement must be obtained on the postal vote during the electoral procedure. 

Cases in which the postal vote is authorised

Postal vote is authorised:

• in the event of a substantial distribution of the staff (e.g. shops distributed throughout the country employing only one or two persons per establishment, transport companies whose drivers are often on the road, companies which repair devices at the premises);
• in the event of a suspension of the execution of the employment contract;
• in the event of night work if, for the category of staff concerned, the following conditions are met:
  • the number of workers employed between 8 pm and 6 am on the day of the election shall not exceed 5 % of the number of workers employed on that date;
  • the number of workers employed between 8 pm and 6 am on the day of the election shall not exceed 15;
• when the workers do not work during the opening hours of the polling stations.

Agreement on postal vote

An agreement between the parties is required for the postal vote.

At the latest on day X + 56 (between 9 and 22 April 2024), the employer must have obtained the agreement on the postal vote of all the representatives of the organisations representing the workers and of the organisations representing the executive staff having nominated candidates for the category of staff referred to.

Mind that the cases in which the electoral procedure has to be terminated early will be explained at a later stage.