Belgian employees can now opt to work four days a week without losing their salary, joining a growing list of countries offering this benefit. The decision is part of the coalition government’s series of labor market reforms that will also give workers the right to silence work-related messages after hours, without fear of retaliation.
‘We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger,’ Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference announcing the reform package. To enhance the quality of life of Belgians and enhance their work-life balance, new measures will allow employees to work up to 38 hours over four days rather than five.
Additionally, workers will be able to clock in a greater number of hours over the course of a week so they don’t have a long work week. However, such requests must be approved by the supervisor and the worker must justify their response in writing. In addition to that, the new labour laws have also proposed changes to night work. With the new rules, night work pay cannot be paid until after midnight instead of the current cut-off time of 8 p.m. The proposed rules are still in the draft stage and will need to be approved by the legislature.
Nonetheless, unions will have their say on a draft bill prior to amendments, then the legislation will be examined by the Council of State advising the government, before the parliament votes. It is expected to take effect around the middle of this year. Among the other reforms approved by the multi-party Belgian government are individual employee training, and a test program allowing employees in the e-commerce sector to work during the night. A four-day workweek was piloted in Iceland between 2015 and 2019, and it has since become the choice of 85% of the country’s workforce, reports The Guardian.
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