Tags: Employment
New rules on temporary unemployment as of 1 September 2020: start making preparations now
From 1 September 2020, new rules on temporary unemployment will enter into force.
Belgium’s implementation of the new EU Posted Workers Directive: What is the impact for employers posting workers to Belgium?
With the Act of 12 June 2020, Belgium is implementing EU Directive 2018/957 amending Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers, by providing, amongst others things, adjustments to the Act of 5 March 2002 relating to labour, salary and employment conditions when posting workers to Belgium (“Posting Act”).
Share-related benefits granted by a foreign parent company: new Esko ruling strengthens the NSSO’s position that social security contributions are due
Share-related benefits granted by a foreign parent company: new Esko ruling strengthens the NSSO’s position that social security contributions are due
10 quick-and-key questions on a safe return to work with Covid-19
With the exit from the lockdown now in full force, more companies are bringing their staff back to their work premises.
We have listed 10 quick-but-key questions that every business manager or HR specialist must deal with during this restart.
No retroactive suspension of the notice period in the event of ‘corona’ temporary unemployment
Up until now, there has been no suspension of a notice period served upon an employee who has been made temporarily unemployed under the ‘corona’ regime. Such a notice period started during the corona temporary unemployment and continued to run during this period. Given, as a consequence, employers would be able to dismiss employees ‘cheaply’, a draft bill was submitted in Parliament to have the notice period suspended in the event of corona temporary unemployment. The draft bill was criticized as it provided for a retroactive application of this new rule. After having obtained the Council of State’s opinion, which stated that the law cannot have retroactive effect, the Chamber of Representatives has now voted for the law without retroactive effect. However, the new law does apply to notice periods served after 1 March 2020 for periods of corona temporary unemployment that fall after the entry into force of the law.
Employment Ministry’s and DPA’s new positions on checking employees’ temperatures
The controversial issue of whether employers can check their employees’ temperatures has been much debated. Both the Employment Ministry and the Data Protection Authority (DPA) have recently changed their positions in this respect. The Employment Ministry allows temperature checks, but only during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided that the decision to introduce such checks, as well as the method of implementation, is included in the company’s work rules in line with the procedure provided for in Collective Labour Agreement Number 100 on the performance of alcohol and drug tests.
Postponing of the social elections procedure due to Covid-19
As already announced in our previous newsflashes, the social partners have decided to suspend the current social election procedure because of the coronavirus crisis and to restart the procedure after the summer.
On 24 March 2020, the National Labour Council (NLC) issued an opinion that highlighted the implications of this postponement for companies. This NLC opinion has now been transposed into a law which has been voted in Parliament on 23 April 2020.
This article outlines the most important consequences for employers.
Day X+35: the filing of the candidates’ lists
On X+35 at the latest (i.e. between 17 and 30 March 2020 depending on the chosen election day), the candidates’ lists per category of personnel (blue- and white collar workers, young workers and managerial personnel) must be filed with the employer by the recognised national trade unions (or their authorised agents), i.e. the ABVV/FGTB, ACV/CSC and ACLVB-CGLSB. For companies employing at least 15 managers (‘kaderleden/cadres’), the representative managers union (NCK/CNC) can file a separate list for managerial personnel or the managers can file an ‘internal list’ if such list is supported by at least 10% of the company’s managers (for the Works Council elections only).
Night work in e-commerce in 2020: nothing new under the sun?
With e-commerce growing at an unprecedented rate all over the globe, in the past few years the Belgian legislator has taken several measures – both temporary and permanent – to make Belgium a more attractive hub for e-commerce activities.
Day X: posting of the notice announcing the date of the elections
On day X, i.e. between 11 and 24 February 2020, depending on the chosen election day, the Works Council and/or the CPPW, or, in their absence, the employer, must provide the employees with the following written information:
(1) The name(s) and address(es) of the Technical Business Unit(s);
(2) The date and time schedule of the elections (day Y);
(3) The election calendar;
(4) The number of mandates for the Works Council and/or the CPPW per body and per category of employees;
(5) The person in charge of the distribution of the voting letters;
(6) The provisional voters’ lists or the place(s) where they can be consulted;
(7) The list of high-level executive personnel (‘leidinggevend personeel/personnel de direction’) (including their names and the content of their function) or the place where they can be consulted;
(8) The list of the managerial personnel (‘kaderleden/cadres’) (including their names and the content of their function) or the place where they can be consulted (for the Works Council election only);
(9) If applicable, the right to vote electronically.
Although this obligation relies on the Works Council and/or the CPPW, it is the employer that usually prepares the information, which is then posted after the approval of the Works Council and/or the CPPW.
’Cash for car’ crashed
On 23 January 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the law introducing a mobility allowance (cash for car).
The 2020 Action Plan of the Social Information and Investigation Service : its highlights and focus areas
The Social Information and Investigation Service (“SIOD/SIRS”) has published its 2020 Action Plan “Fight against Social Fraud and Social Dumping”. This plan reveals the strategy and the top priorities of the inspection services for 2020. The 2020 Action Plan is built around five strategic objectives, resulting in 55 specific actions. We summarize the highlights of the 2020 Action Plan below so that you can see at a glance if and when your sector is being targeted this year.