Belgium: social partners agree to reform time credit

Time credit for no motive.  In Belgium, time credit allows suspending, totally or temporarily, one’s labor contract.  It can be combined with other leaves, such as parental leave or a leave to care for a parent.  There are three types of time credit leaves: with motive – to raise children, to care for a sick parent –, without motive and time credit at the end of one’s career.  Over the years, the multiplication of systems started to burden businesses’ personnel management and social security, which is partly paying for the time credit.  After government negotiations last fall and in keeping with the social partners’ new collective agreement, time credit for no motive, which could last up to 5 years until now, is now limited to the equivalent of one year throughout the career (i.e. 12 months full time, or 24 months part time by 3-month periods, or 60 months of 1/5th career reduction by 6-month periods).  Any worker with 5 years’ professional experience and in the same company for 24 months can ask for it.
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(i.e. 12 months full time, or 24 months part time by 3-month periods, or 60 months of 1/5th career reduction by 6-month periods). Any worker with 5 years’ professional experience and in the same company for 24 months can ask for it.


Time credit with motive and at the end of the career. Workers can also get a 36-month time credit with motive (as opposed to 48 months before) to take care of children under the age of 8, care for a sick parent, or attend training. For this system, spending 2 yea

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