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The unions are pushing for clearer rules about teleworking and for workers to have the right to be unreachable.
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Belgians have started teleworking en masse to contain the corona virus. Before the virus outbreak, only 7 percent worked mainly at home, now there are many more employees.
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According to the unions, teleworking is not sufficiently clear. “Today there are only vague agreements”, Mathieu Verjans of the Christian trade union ACV tells VTM Nieuws. He wants to negotiate a new regulatory framework with employers’ organizations.
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‘If collective agreements are made, it becomes clear to everyone,’ says Verjans. One of the things the unions want to enforce is that employees get a right to inaccessibility. In that case, when they don’t need to respond to phone calls or emails, they capture in black and white.
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French example
For example in France there is one right to disconnect. Companies must record how employees are entitled to be unreachable. Several large companies, including BMW in Germany, have already implemented this principle.
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Kris De Schutter, lawyer specializing in employment law at Loyens en Loeff, points out that, although there is no right to inaccessibility in Belgium, Belgian employment law already creates a lot of opportunities.
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‘There is an obligation to respect the work-life balance,’ says De Schutter. ‘To ensure this, employers must organize consultation with their staff in the Committee for Protection and Prevention at Work.’ Every company employing at least 50 people must have such a committee.
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Limitations
De Schutter also points out that there are limits to what companies can demand from their employees. “Being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that’s not possible. If a company were to demand it, the employee can go to court and impose fines. ‘
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According to De Schutter, almost all companies and employees are therefore looking for a happy medium. “I don’t see any major problems that would require new rules quickly.”
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