2024: A new year, new employment policies!

As always, the new year brings a number of changes in the area of human resources policy. Some changes took effect in December 2023, while others will take effect on January 1. In any case, these changes mean that your employment policy needs to be updated. First, as you may have read in our newsletter dated April 11, 2023, starting in 2024, sick days taken during a vacation period will no longer result in the loss of vacation days. An employee who becomes ill will still be able to take the vacation at a later date. An amendment to the employment regulations is therefore necessary. The employment regulations must specify what an employee must do in the event of illness during vacation: - The employee must immediately provide their temporary address if it differs from their known place of residence. - A medical certificate must always be provided. The exception allowing an employee to forgo providing a certificate for the first day of incapacity for work up to three times a year does not apply. The employment regulations must also clarify that the employee has the option to request that vacation days “lost” due to illness be taken immediately after the end of the period of incapacity for work. Employees who wish to do so must submit their request to the employer no later than when the medical certificate is submitted. If the employee wishes to take those vacation days later in the year, this does not need to be explicitly requested. For companies with at least 50 employees, the employment regulations must now also include the name of the confidential advisor. As of December 1, 2023, it will be mandatory to designate one or more confidential advisors: - If you employ at least 50 employees. - Or at the request of a union delegation or, if there is none, of the employees. Finally, as we noted in our newsletter of January 24, 2023, companies with at least 50 employees have been required since December 17, 2023, to provide an internal reporting channel as part of the mandatory whistleblower policy. As an employer, you will be required to ensure that information about the available reporting channels is clear and accessible. This can be done through an internal policy or by amending the employment regulations. In short, there are several reasons to update your employment regulations. Employers who are only making changes due to the new vacation rules and the appointment of a confidential advisor will not be required to follow the normal procedure for amending the employment regulations. All that is required is to provide each employee with a copy of the amended employment regulations (with a receipt), and the new employment regulations must also be communicated to the competent directorate responsible for overseeing social legislation (via www.arbeidsreglement.belgie.be). If you wish to implement special provisions or provide information about your whistleblower policy, you will need to adopt the employment regulations through the works council or, if there is no works council, after consulting with the staff. Crauwels Advocaten is happy to assist you with any questions you may have regarding the amended labor regulations and the employment regulations. We look forward to helping you make 2024 a worry-free year.