2020 social elections - start your engines
30 Apr 2019
In today’s Belgian Official Gazette, the 2020 Social Elections Act (“the Act”), cementing the legal framework within which the next social elections will take place, was published. The Act confirms that the social elections will run from 11 May to 24 May 2020 and it does not change the social elections procedure dramatically. The Act, however, does contain a number of interesting novelties, as outlined below. Although the 2020 social elections still seem to be a long way off, you will notice that some of the elections’ reference periods have already started, making it important to start thinking about your social elections strategy today.
Key takeaways
The 2020 social elections reference period already started on 1 October 2018.
From 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2019, companies have to keep a record of the number of temporary agency workers they employ.
If certain conditions are met, temporary agency workers will get a vote in the social elections organised by the company they are working for.
Electronic voting is further facilitated.
Reference period
A company has to organise social elections for a Committee for Prevention and Protection at the Workplace (“the Committee”) if it employs an average of 50 employees during a certain reference period. If the company employs an average of 100 employees during this reference period, it also has to organise social elections for a Works Council.
This reference period, during which it has to be determined whether the thresholds for organising social elections are met, was adjusted by the 2020 Social Elections Act (“the Act”). The reference period used to coincide with the calendar year, which resulted in the social elections procedure - starting in December - commencing before the end of the reference period. As a result, the social elections procedure started at a point in time at which it might not yet be clear for a company whether it had to organise social elections altogether.
This timing issue has been remedied by the Act, which provides for an adjusted reference period. The duration of the reference period remains the same - 4 quarters - but the entire reference period is pushed forward by one quarter. As a result, the reference period for the 2020 social elections started on 1 October 2018 and will end on 30 September 2019, well before the start of the 2020 social elections procedure in December 2019.
Counting temporary agency workers
When determining whether the threshold for organising social elections is met, the number of temporary agency workers in the company during a specific reference period has to be taken into account, after applying a specific calculation method. Up until now, the reference period during which the number of temporary agency workers had to be calculated, was the final quarter of the general social elections reference period (see above). The specific reference period has also been pushed forward, to the 4th quarter preceding the quarter during which the social elections take place. For the 2020 elections, this reference period therefore started on 1 April 2019 and will end on 30 June 2019.
During this specific reference period, all companies have to keep a special personnel register, detailing the interim workers they employ. As the reference period already started on 1 April, companies should already be recording their temporary agency workers in this register.
Temporary agency workers can vote
The most significant change to the social elections regulations is the fact that temporary agency workers will for the first time get a vote in the social elections of the company where they are working (“the user”), provided that they meet the following two criteria:
having worked at the user for at least 3 consecutive months or - in the case of interrupted periods of employment - for at least 65 days during the reference period that starts on the 1st day of the 6th month before “X” and ends on “X” (the day on which the social elections notification has to be posted, 90 days before election day); and
having worked at the user for at least 26 working days during the period between “X” and “Y-13” (13 days before election day).
Electronic voting
In keeping with our ever-increasing technology-enabled surroundings, the Act further facilitates the possibility of electronic voting for the 2020 social elections. Moreover, the Act introduces the possibility for the Works Council, the Committee or - in the absence of both - the employer in agreement with the union delegation to decide that employees can vote electronically from their usual workstation instead of in a dedicated voting booth.
How PwC Legal can help
PwC Legal can assist you throughout the 2020 social elections procedure. Whether you are looking for a detailed memorandum or step-by-step guidance, our social elections specialists will put together a tailor-made support plan for you.
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