Belgium: agreement in parliament to make parental leave more flexible (in brief)

On 4 July, Vincent Van Quickenborne, who chairs the social affairs committee in Belgium's lower house, announced that an agreement had been reached on six separate bills, allowing six laws that are currently deadlocked to be adopted in the coming months. In particular, this involves a proposal to make leave on social grounds more flexible. Deputies agreed to allow the timetable of an individual's parental leave to vary from one week to the next, with the approval of their employer. For example, an individual could work part-time one week, not work the next but then work full-time the week after that. At present, such a worker would need to take the same amount of time off, keeping the same work timetable, every week. It could also make the taking of holiday more flexible for workers.