The federal cabinet has given the green light to the extension of flexi-jobs to all sectors Employment Minister David Clarinval (Francophone liberal MR) has announced. The employers’ organisation Unizo has welcomed the move. “This decision could have come sooner,” they say. “But the most important thing is that it is here now.”
The flexi-job scheme has been in place since 2015. It was introduced to allow people who were already in work or retired and wanted to take on extra work to lend a hand in the hospitality sector.
Since then, the scheme has been expanded and refined. It is now being extended to all sectors, as agreed under the government’s coalition agreement. Another change involves allowing full-time employees to take on a flexi-job in their own company. This should bring the system more into line with the reality in sectors such as hospitality.
Opt-out system
Flexi-jobs are now available to all private and public sectors, except for those that do not wish to participate, says Minister Clarinval. ‘There is, in fact, an opt-out system.’
‘Whereas flexi-jobs used to be possible only in sectors where there was an agreement between trade unions and employers, the situation is now the reverse. Today, sectors must enter into an agreement if they wish to rule out flexi-jobs.’
According to Clarinval, this is “a significant step forward” for anyone who wants to work more and be better paid for it. He emphasises that most reactions have been positive. The employers’ organisation Unizo has also voiced satisfaction.
“Flexi-jobs are truly immensely important for many companies,” Unizo says. “For many businesses, they are the difference between serving customers or having to turn them away. In sectors where it is particularly difficult to find staff today, this makes a tangible difference on the shop floor. That is why it is so important that all entrepreneurs can now make use of these flexi-jobs.
Some critics too
However, there is also criticism of the new measure. There are fears that jobs will go to people wanting to hold a flexi-job, meaning that permanent employees will get fewer hours of work.
‘That’s not true,’ says Clarinval. ‘There will indeed be some abuse here and there, but research shows that flexi-jobs actually create jobs. Restaurants, for example, will be able to open at times when they previously lacked the capacity to do so.’
‘It is therefore an important lever for our businesses, which can respond more easily to peaks in activity by temporarily calling on workers. This strengthens their competitiveness.’
‘The government will also introduce measures to prevent abuse,’ he adds, leaving open exactly what those measures will be.
Clarinval will present the bill to parliament before the summer. ‘I hope it can be voted on during the plenary session at the end of July. Hopefully, the measure will then come into force by September.’