Workers in Belgium Can Ask for a 4-Day Week With No Loss of Pay

Workers in Belgium can now ask their boss for a four-day week without any loss of pay.

The change, part of a wider package of labour reforms, was announced on Tuesday. It sees Belgium become the latest country to adopt some form of four-day-week legislation.

Employees will be allowed to do their normal work over four days rather than five if their employer agrees. Employers can refuse, but need to give a formal reason for doing so in writing.

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo told a press conference: “We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger.

“Although the coronavirus is widely seen as having a negative impact on employees, it has forced us to work more flexibly and combine our private and working lives. This has led to new ways of working.

The system would condense a 38-hour week into four days, with an additional day-off making up for the longer working days.

Campaigners welcomed the move but criticised the fact that normal working hours will be compressed into fewer days, rather than reduced.

Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “We welcome more flexibility for workers to choose when they work but compressing a normal five day week into four-days is not the answer to tackling burnout, stress and overwork.

“It’s essential that the move to a four-day week involves a reduction in working hours, with no loss of pay for employees.

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“To ensure the four-day week is implemented properly and the benefits are shared by all workers, trade unions must be at the heart of this transition.”

The reform could take months to enact as it will have to be approved by federal legislators.

This year Belgium also announced that civil servants will be granted a “right to disconnect”, barring bosses from contacting them outside normal working hours, except for in exceptional circumstances.

Various countries are considering introducing four-day weeks, with trials either underway or proposed in Scotland, Spain, Iceland, Wales and Japan.