Your payroll administration Q2.2024

As usual, we’re kicking off spring with an overview of the key developments affecting your payroll administration. 

1. SHORT LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR SOLEMN COMMUNION OR PARTICIPATION IN THE SPRING CEREMONY

An employee is entitled to one day’s short leave of absence when his/her child or a child of the spouse/co-habitant celebrates their solemn communion or takes part in the spring ceremony. 

If this day coincides with a Sunday, a public holiday or an ordinary inactivity day, the employee may be absent on the ordinary activity day immediately preceding or following the event. 

If an employee wants to take a short leave of absence, he must notify you in advance. 

 2. HOLIDAY PAY

We are gradually dreaming of a nice holiday, because the double holiday pay will also be paid out soon. The double holiday pay for white-collar employees amounts to 92% of the gross monthly salary. Blue-collar employees receive their holiday pay from a holiday fund. 

Holiday pay is usually paid in the month of May or June. 

3. COLLECTIVE LABOUR AGREEMENT 90 – BONUS PLAN

Through a bonus plan, you can give your employees extra motivation. A bonus plan is attractive because:  

• it increases your attractiveness as an employer; 
• it provides extra motivation for your team or organisation to achieve specific objectives; 
• you as an employer can enjoy favourable social and tax treatment of up to EUR 4,020 per employee. 

For implementation, you need to comply with a number of conditions:  

• The objectives must be clear, verifiable and transparent, yet achievement must be apparently uncertain at the time the bonus plan is implemented; 
• The bonus is collective: you either award it to all employees or to a specific group; 
• You must inform the employees; 
• You comply with the deadlines and procedure. 

Our team is ready to support you in drawing up, optimising and implementing your bonus plan. Do not wait too long, as a plan with a 12-month reference period must be submitted to the competent authorities by 30 April 2024 at the latest. If you opt for a shorter reference period, the bonus plan must also always be submitted to the competent authorities at the latest before 1/3rd of the reference period has passed. 

4. DON’T FORGET TO RENEW THE VOLUNTARY OVERTIME AGREEMENTS ON TIME!

Since 1 July 2023, your employees can again perform voluntary relance overtime. As with regular voluntary overtime, this requires the employee’s prior written agreement. This agreement on the performance of voluntary relance overtime has a limited validity of 6 months. 

So if you last concluded or renewed an agreement at the expiry of 2023, now is the time to renew it. 

Specifically, during the calendar year 2024, your employees can perform 120 regular voluntary overtime hours and 120 voluntary relance overtime hours, provided that the total number of regular voluntary overtime hours and voluntary relance overtime hours performed cannot exceed 220 hours. 

5. MILEAGE ALLOWANCE

After an increase in the first quarter, the maximum exempted amount of the mileage allowance for both commuting and professional travel again experienced a slight decrease. In the second quarter, this allowance amounts to EUR 0.4265 per kilometre, compared to EUR 0.4269 per kilometre in the previous quarter. 

Besides the quarterly indexed mileage allowance, there is also an annually indexed mileage allowance. This annual allowance is still set at EUR 0.4280 per kilometre until 30 June 2024. 

6. SOCIAL ELECTIONS

The deadline X+35 is approaching. This is the deadline for submitting the candidate lists. If no or only one employee stands for election, the procedure stops here. This means that you cannot set up a works council or Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work, as they can only meet validly if there are at least two employee representatives. 

Note that you still have to fulfil some obligations: 

• As an employer, you post notice of the discontinuation of the procedure in the places where the notice of the date of the election was also posted. You will find a model form on the website of the FPS ELSD. You should mention the decision to terminate the electoral procedure and the reason for this; 
• At the same time, you send a copy of this notice to the Director-General of the General Directorate for Labour Law and Legal Studies of the FPS ELSD by post or electronically via the web application of the FPS ELSD; 
• In addition, by registered letter, send a copy of the decision to the representative workers’ and executives’ organisations concerned (unless the copy was transmitted via the web application). 

The election procedure can also be partially stopped on day X+79 for one or more employee categories. 

No candidates? In our newsletter you can read why an informal dialogue can still be useful for your company.