HR: overview of changes in 2018

Spotlight
15 March 2018

The beginning of this year has seen several legal initiatives with a direct impact on the HR management and policy of a large number of companies. We offer you an overview of the most important changes for both labour relations and social security.

Context

The early months of this year have been marked by the adoption of several important acts in the field of employment law: The act of 15 January 2018 containing various provisions on employment introduces a number of changes. The draft act on reinforcement of economic growth and social cohesion also contains a number of measures with an impact on HR management and policy. In addition, the tax shift entailed a rate reduction for social security contributions from 1 January 2018, and a Royal Decree of 9 January 2018 introduced "soft end careers" for workers aged 58 years and above. 

Labour relations – the Act of 15 January 2018

The act of 15 January 2018 containing various provisions on employment introduces the following changes, among others:

  • Mystery calls: The new provisions on mystery calls are discussed in a separate contribution .
  • Partial resumption of work and replacement: From now on, a worker who resumes work partially after a disability, but who still has a disability of at least 50%, may be replaced for the hours that he/she cannot work within the framework of his/her usual work regime. Until now, a replacement contract was only possible if the employment agreement was fully suspended, and thus not in case of partial resumption of work. 
  • Outplacement in the event of disability: Since 1 January 2014, employers have been obliged to offer outplacement to all workers who have been dismissed with a notice period of 30 weeks or more. If a severance payment is made, an amount equivalent to 4 weeks of remuneration has to be deducted from the total amount of the payment to cover the costs of outplacement.  From now on, within 7 days after the day on which he has become aware of his dismissal, a worker can prove that he is unable to follow the outplacement for medical reasons by means of a medical certificate from his family doctor and, if the employer so requires, from a second doctor commissioned by the employer. If this condition is met, the employee has no right to outplacement and the employer cannot deduct the 4 weeks of remuneration from the global amount of the severance payment. 
  • Economic unemployment: From now on, an employer is prohibited from using economic unemployment if he calls upon subcontractors to carry out work that could have been done by his workers. This measure is logical, since economic unemployment is only possible in the event that an employer cannot provide work to his workers for reasons beyond his control. If an employer violates this prohibition, he will have to pay the normal remuneration to his workers for the days during which he subcontracted to third parties the work usually done by his workers. 
  • Withholdings on remuneration: An employer may only withhold the remuneration of his workers in the restricted cases provided for by the act on the protection of remuneration. At present, an employer cannot withhold the contribution of a worker for a benefit in kind (housing, electricity, heating, etc.) from his remuneration. The act now establishes a framework which allows the King, upon the proposal of the competent joint committee, to authorise withholding such contributions from a worker's remuneration. 
  • Electronic employment agreement: At present, an employment agreement signed electronically is only equated with a paper employment agreement if strict conditions are met: the electronic signature must be created using an electronic identity card or another method with the same security conditions. A European regulation extended this possibility to all qualified electronic signatures as of 1 July 2016. Belgian legislation was adapted to this regulation and now authorises any means of electronic signature allowing confirmation with certainty of the identity of the parties, their consent to the content of the agreement and the maintenance of the integrity of the agreement. Furthermore, employers will soon be allowed to archive their own electronic employment records (instead of having to use an electronic archiving service provider). However, the entry into force of these provisions depends on when the relevant provisions of the Economic Law Code enter into force, and the date for this has not yet been determined.  

Labour relations – the draft act on reinforcement of economic growth and social cohesion

Although the draft act on reinforcement of economic growth and social cohesion has not been adopted yet, it is important to point out two of its key measures:

  • Modified notice periods: Notice periods in the event of dismissal by the employer during the first months of the employment relationship are modified and will be as follows:
Seniority        

Notice period before entry into
force of the act

Notice period after entry into
force of the act
 Less than 3 months  2 weeks  1 week
 3-4 months  4 weeks  3 weeks
 4-5 months  4 weeks  4 weeks
 5-6 months  4 weeks  5 weeks

The notice periods for seniority in excess of 6 months are unchanged. 

  • Right to disconnect from work: As soon as the draft act on the reinforcement of economic growth and social cohesion enters into force, employers will be required to organise a consultation on this subject in the Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPW) on a regular basis and whenever this is requested by the workers' representatives on the CPPW. The agreements following such consultation will be integrated into the work regulations or will be the subject of a collective labour agreement. 

Social security – tax shift

In 2015, the legislator adopted an act reducing the social security contributions rate for employers in the profit sector. This reduction has taken place in several steps. The last step entered into force on 1 January 2018: since that date, employer's social security contributions amount to 25% of the gross remuneration of the workers. 

Social security – soft end careers

From 1 January 2018 onwards, an exoneration from social security contributions is granted for compensation paid in the context of lightening the workload of older workers aged 58 years or above. Compensation paid by the employer (or by an income security fund where the granting is ruled by a sectoral CLA) to compensate for the loss of remuneration will be exonerated throughout the entire private sector, subject to strict conditions (existence of a sectoral CLA or, in the absence thereof, a company CLA or a modification of the work regulations, in the context of a plan for the employment of older workers, specifying which measures can give rise to an indemnity; indemnity not in excess of the remuneration loss; at least 4/5 work, etc.).