Marginal part-time in Europe: 2018’s expansion of flexi-jobs in Belgium

In Belgium, a flexible arrangement that does not, however, go as far as allowing on-call work and also functions as a policy instrument against undeclared work has been introduced. In fact, one of the compensatory measures introduced by the Belgian legislature in 2015 to compensate for the introduction of the so-called “white cash register,” i.e. a measure to prevent undeclared work in the “hospitality sector” (hotels, restaurants and bars), was to adopt a new employment status called travailleur exerçant un flexi-job. The popularity of this status is predominantly driven by the favorable fiscal and para-fiscal treatment—i.e. social security contributions—hence the compensatory nature of this scheme. With regard to the implications for labor law, we first briefly describe the main conditions that must be met for a worker to be engaged as a “flexi-jobber” and the social protection given to these workers. The second part first relays the concerns of the National Labour Council and Council of State, to consequently indicate why the Constitutional Court did not annul the statute. The third and final part describes the legislature’s recent multidimensional expansion of the statute and why this is a significant development.

Publication year:2018