2024 Social Elections… Time for Action

*On October 1, the reference period begins to determine whether your company must hold employee elections in 2024.* Employee elections are held every four years to appoint a committee for prevention and protection at work and/or a works council. If your company employs an average of at least 50 employees, you must establish a committee for prevention and protection at work. Companies with an average of at least 100 employees must also establish a works council. The next elections will take place in 2024. That may seem far away, but it isn’t. After all, the calculation of the number of employees in the company is not based on the year 2024, but on the average number of employees over a one-year reference period. And that period begins as early as October 1, 2022.

The law stipulates that employee elections must be organized at the level of a technical business unit (TBE). This concept does not always correspond to a legal entity, such as a public limited company (nv), a private limited company (bv), a nonprofit association (vzw), etc. For example, several public limited companies (NV) may together form a single TBE, making them large enough to be required to hold employee representative elections. Whether several companies form a single TBE depends on economic and social criteria. Do they have their own personnel policies and separate accounting systems? Are they located far apart? Do they have a separate, independent day-to-day management? Do their employees engage in joint activities? If the TBE has at least 50 employees, it must organize labor elections.

To determine whether the threshold of 50 or 100 is reached, you must take into account the average headcount during the reference period. Please note: this includes all individuals employed under an employment or apprenticeship contract, including managers, flexi-job workers, and students. Some temporary workers are also included in the count, although specific rules apply to them. Part-time employees who work at least 3/4 of full-time hours are counted the same way as full-time employees. Those who work less than 3/4 of full-time hours count as half a unit. Those who are not employed for the entire reference period are counted on a pro rata basis.

The reference period begins on October 1, 2022, and ends on September 30, 2023. In other words, if your company has around 50 or 100 employees over the next 12 months, you should keep in mind that the average headcount during this period will determine whether or not you must hold employee elections in 2024. Hires, layoffs, temporary workers, part-time employment, etc., will all have an impact on this requirement over the coming period. Crauwels Advocaten is happy to assist you with any questions you may have regarding employee elections, the day-to-day operations of consultative bodies, the rights and obligations of employee representatives, and more. This way, you’ll already know what to expect in 2024.