Many Flemish companies are now being accused of adjusting their work rosters to accommodate the flexi-job workers they employ. A flexi-jobber is an employee who works a side job with flexible hours alongside their main job or retirement and as a result enjoys special tax-free and social security-exempt conditions.
The Christian trade union ACV says it is receiving an increasing number of complaints about the system. According to ACV chair Ann Vermorgen, it is turning the world on its head. She fears that the flexi-job system could well end up displacing regular employment.
“We see that flexi-jobbers are sometimes given the best hours, whilst the leftovers go to permanent staff,” says Vermorgen. “Due to the expansion of the flexi-job scheme to include more sectors of employment, there is an increasing influx of people with the flexi-job status into the workplace,” she explains. “People on regular contracts then have to adapt, because flexi-jobbers can often decide when it suits them to work. A permanent employee cannot do that.”
“We’ll have to evaluate this in the longer term, but we’re already noticing that it’s becoming a major problem, it’s leading to tension in the workplace.” Ann Vermorgen is a lukewarm supporter of the system. “A regular employee works for a regular wage and cannot earn extra income tax-free, but a flexi-jobber can do so earning up to 18,000 euros a year. That, too, creates tension.”
But the trades unionist does realise that the battle over flexi-job status has been fought and lost. “From an employment law perspective, there’s not much I can do about it, but rosters are normally part of employment regulations or are subject to consultation.”
Vermorgen points out that the scheme was originally intended to ease pressure on permanent staff, for example in the hospitality sector. “Now it’s effectively becoming a permanent arrangement. I’m really worried; it’s definitely crowding out regular employment.”