What does the employment deal mean for you hr-policy?

The employment deal was introduced at the end of 2022. This deal contains a series of measures to raise the employment rate in our country to 80% by 2030 while improving the work-life balance at the same time. Which initiatives came out of the bus? And how do you align your HR policy with this? We shed light on five relevant provisions.

#1 Four-day work weeks and alternating weekly schedules

In the labor deal, the Flemish government is fully committed to flexibility. For example, she introduced the four-day workweek. This means that employees can perform their full-time job in four days instead of five. Specific? Colleagues who work 40 hours a week, therefore, perform 10 hours on a working day to reach their total. This gives them one extra day off per week. A second novelty is the alternating weekly schedule. Here, full-time employees can work more hours in one week, up to a maximum of 45 hours. The following week, they enjoy more free time thanks to the compensated performance. In both cases, the employee requests this.

#2 Training and development

Standing still is going backward, the Flemish government also understood this message. That is why the right to training is firmly anchored in the employment deal. From ten or more employees, you must provide one training day per year for each full-time team member. Does your company employ at least 20 people? Then all full-time employees are entitled to four training days per year. From 2024, a fifth training day will be added. In addition, all companies with 20 employees or more must draw up a training plan. Here you state the courses offered and their target group.

#3 Right for disconnection

Quickly answering some e-mails at night? You cannot expect this from your employees. The employment deal containt the right for disconnection. This enforces companies with at least 20 employees to lay ground rules for the use of digital resources. This si done via the collective employment agreement, or the employment regulations, in which you take in guidelines for phone use in holiday periods. Above all, employers commit to not contacting their employees outside working hours.

#5 Notice period

Changing jobs is becomming easier. Do you have to fire an employee? He can start his new job already within the notice period. In this case, you can figure out a compensation regulation with the other organization. For elder employees, there is an extra term set. When you fire them and they are facing their notice period of at least thirty weeks, they can use the thirt term of this perdiod to broaden their chances within the job market. This is done in multiple different ways: outplacement, coaching, training, … They keep their paycheck, without extra costs.