Four-day working week and alternating work week for federal officials

Private-sector employees have already been able to divide their full-time job over four days instead of five since 20 November 2022. Furthermore, it is also possible to divide the work performance over a two-week cycle under an alternating work week arrangement.

Both these systems have now also been introduced for federal civil servants and will be formalised in the Royal Decree on leave and absences for government personnel via an amending decree dated 21 December 2023. 

The aforementioned Royal Decree was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 29 February 2024; however, the provisions have been in force since 1 January 2024.

What do the systems entail?

The four-day work week is a labour regulation in which (i) normal services are performed over four days; and in which (ii) the daily limit of working hours of a full-time federal official is set at 9.5 hours.

The alternating work week is a work arrangement organised according to a cycle spread over a period of two consecutive weeks in which the performance in the first week is offset by the performance in the second week, in order to comply with normal weekly working hours on average. The two-week cycle may exceptionally be increased to a four-week cycle during the third quarter of the year and outside the third quarter in case of an unforeseen event affecting the staff member. This is to allow working hours to be organised according to the modalities of the childcare arrangements during the summer holidays and to accommodate unforeseen events.

Optional for all parties

Each federal government organisation decides for itself whether to implement the full-time four-day work week or the alternating work week arrangement, and also decides on the practical modalities for implementing the schedules (e.g. days of the week/the daily time period during which working hours can be determined, etc.). 

Once a government organisation has implemented one or both schedules, staff members can apply to join. An application covers a period of minimum 3 and maximum 6 months and may be renewed each time. However, a staff member cannot be required to work according to the full-time four-day working week/ alternating week arrangement. 

Exemptions

The aforementioned employment arrangements do not apply to part-time employees. Furthermore, these arrangements cannot be combined with shift work or continuous work. 

The attorneys at Reliance Littler are at your service in case of any queries.