A number of important changes have been made regarding temporary agency workers.
Exemption from the obligation to keep a register of temporary agency workers
To calculate the number of workers for the employment threshold, not only the company’s own personnel, but also the temporary agency workers 'used' by the company must be taken into account.
Therefore, companies are legally obliged to keep a special register, i.e. an annex to the general personnel register, with specific information about all temporary agency workers ‘used’ by the company during the reference period (i.e. the 2nd quarter of 2019).
Companies employing more than 100 employees could obtain an exemption from this obligation to keep a register of temporary agency workers if, by 30 May 2019 at the latest, they have arranged for a unanimous declaration from the Works Council that the company does indeed employ more than 100 employees and this declaration has been recorded in the minutes of the Works Council meeting. See also our ALTIUS newsflash on this subject.
The right to vote for temporary agency workers
The most important and most surprising development is undoubtedly the right to vote for temporary agency workers. To be allowed to vote, the temporary agency workers must meet the following two technical and cumulative conditions during two different reference periods:
Reference period |
Duration of the employment with the user |
Between X-6 months and day X, i.e. between 1 August 2019 and day X (depending on the chosen election date between 11 and 24 February 2020) |
at least three months of uninterrupted employment with the user OR in the case of interrupted employment periods a minimum of 65 working days in total |
Between X and X+77 |
26 working days |
Such cumulative conditions could in practice give rise to practical problems. Indeed, on day X (i.e. between 11 and 24 February 2020, depending on the chosen election day) the employer will already have to draw up and communicate a provisional voters’ list, but at that time it is not yet possible to know which temporary agency workers will work at least 26 days between day X and day X+77 (2nd seniority condition).
The Employment Ministry’s position on this point is that on day X, the employer must include temporary agency workers who meet the first seniority condition (3 months uninterrupted or 65 days interrupted seniority) and potentially the second seniority condition on the provisional voters’ list. If it turns out afterwards that certain temporary agency workers finally do not meet the second seniority condition, then they can be removed from the final voters’ list.
However, they can only be removed from this list in the case of a unanimous decision by the Works Council, the CPPW or the trade union delegation. If the latter were to refuse the removal, then these temporary agency workers would remain on the voters’ list and could potentially present themselves at the polling station on the day of the elections, even if they are no longer working in the user's company at that time.
The new law thus gives temporary agency workers the right to vote, subject to certain conditions. However, they cannot file their candidacy for election.
Yet, like employees, temporary agency workers will be able to lodge certain complaints and initiate legal proceedings (for example against the information on day X).