National Labour Council proposes specific employer contributions for excessive use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts
27 Sep 2022
On 19 July 2022, the National Labour Council (hereafter ‘the Council’) issued their biennial evaluation of the use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts, as required by Collective Bargaining Agreement (‘CBA’) no. 108. In their evaluation, the Council found that the use of this type of successive daily contract continues to be an important tool for companies that are looking for a high degree of flexibility, e.g. in times of crisis or to increase competitiveness on the international market. However, the use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts should not form part of a company’s business model and should only be used in exceptional circumstances. Indeed, the long-term use of such contracts puts the temporary agency workers involved in a precarious position. Although the evaluation shows that the excessive use of successive daily contracts has decreased over the past two years, the Council proposes the introduction of an accountability contribution to further limit the use of this practice.
Background
In order to fully understand the Council’s proposal, it’s important to recall the general principles that are applicable in this respect. CBA no. 108, which deals with temporary work and temporary agency work, defines successive daily temporary agency worker contracts as follows: ‘[...] temporary employment contracts with the same user concluded for a period not exceeding 24 hours, which immediately follow each other or which are separated at most by a public holiday and/or the usual days of inactivity which, in the user’s company, apply to the category of workers to which the temporary worker belongs.’
Companies can only use this type of successive daily contract to the extent that there’s a sufficiently tangible need for flexibility. Moreover, when doing so, they must provide specific information to the employee representative bodies and follow a specific consultation procedure.
Accountability through the payment of specific social security contributions
General principles
In their evaluation, the Council proposed the introduction of specific social security contributions for employers which make excessive use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts. As the scope is limited to the use of temporary agency worker contracts, contracts involving the following workers are explicitly excluded from the new accountability contribution: pensioners, people working a flexi-job and occasional workers in the hospitality industry (joint committee no. 302), agriculture industry (joint committee no. 144) and horticulture industry (joint committee no. 145).
Reference period and contribution amount
The Council proposes the below specific contributions, the amount of which increases proportionally to the number of successive daily contracts concluded by an employer with the same temporary agency worker within a six-month period (1 January to 30 June and 30 June to 31 December). Note that the below thresholds must therefore be assessed per individual temporary agency worker active with the company-user.
| Number of successive daily contracts per six-month period for the same temporary agency worker | Contribution amount |
|---|---|
Up to 39 successive daily contracts |
No contribution due |
40 - 59 successive daily contracts |
10 x the number of successive daily contracts |
60 - 79 successive daily contracts |
15 x the number of successive daily contracts |
80 - 99 successive daily contracts |
30 x the number of successive daily contracts |
100 or more successive daily contracts |
40 x the number of successive daily contracts |
Reimbursement in exceptional circumstances
In the Council’s proposal, a social security contribution will automatically become due if one of the above thresholds is met. The National Social Security Office (‘NSSO’) will keep track of the thresholds and will collect contributions directly from employers. However, as mentioned above, the use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts is not forbidden, only strictly limited. As such, if companies can demonstrate that there were exceptional circumstances that warranted the use of successive daily contracts, they can reclaim these contribution amounts.
Monitoring of the effectiveness of contributions
In order to curb companies’ excessive use of successive two-day contracts to circumvent the new accountability contribution, the Council proposes to set up a monitoring system to keep a close eye on the situation.
Entry into force
The Council would like the new accountability social security contribution to enter into force as of 1 January 2023. This, however, seems very unlikely. Indeed, this new system not only requires legislative changes but also operational ones, e.g. for the NSSO to be able to track employers’ use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts. Although limiting the use of such successive daily contracts is part of the current government’s coalition agreement, it remains to be seen whether they’d make the swift implementation of the Council’s proposal a priority, especially given the other major challenges they currently face.
Conclusion
It’s currently unclear when the new accountability social security contribution would enter into force but we will of course keep you posted on any developments. If, in the meantime, you have any questions about the use of successive daily temporary agency worker contracts or are looking for alternatives to achieve a more flexible workforce, don’t hesitate to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact us
