Time credit and thematic leave – entitlement to leave and entitlement to benefits out of sync
Feb 09, 2023
In the framework of their 2023-2024 budget arrangements, the Federal Government decided to reduce the entitlement to benefits in the system of thematic leave, time credit and career break as of 1 February 2023.
It’s important to point out that the system of time credit, thematic leave and career break is specific, in the sense that an employee’s entitlement to leave is laid down in collective bargaining agreement no. 103, but the entitlement to the accompanying benefits (paid by the National Employment Office - NEO) is laid down by Royal Decree. The changes that entered into force on 1 February 2023 only concern the entitlement to accompanying benefits and don’t affect the entitlement to the actual leave. This means that, going forward, an employee could be entitled to leave, without also being entitled to benefits from the NEO.
Time credit to take care of one’s child
Several changes were made to the entitlement to benefits in the system of time credit to take care of one’s child (which is not to be confused with parental leave):
The age limit for the child that opens up the entitlement to time credit benefits is lowered from eight years old to five years old in case of full-time time credit;
The maximum total period of time credit is lowered from 51 months to 46 months for periods of time credit that start as of 1 February 2023. This equally applies for periods of time credit that already started before said date, however, only if the employee had taken up less than 30 months of time credit by 1 February 2023;
As of 1 June 2023, the seniority condition that is required to be entitled to this type of time credit benefits will be increased from 24 months to 36 months.
Time credit (all motives except end-of-career time credit) – changes to employment condition
In order to be entitled to full-time time credit benefits as of 1 February 2023, an employee must – during the 12 months preceding their request for time credit – have been working full-time or, alternatively, working part-time during the 24 months preceding the request. Conversely, no employment condition is applicable for the entitlement to leave in case of full-time time credit leave.
To be entitled to benefits in a system of 1/2nd time credit as of 1 February 2023, an employee must – during the 12 months preceding their request for time credit – have been working full time. This again deviates from the entitlement to leave in case of 1/2nd time credit, which only requires the employee to have worked 3/4th of a full-time employment during the same 12 month period.
No changes are made to the system of 1/5th time credit; this continues to require full-time employment during the 12 months preceding the request for time credit; both for the entitlement to leave and the entitlement to accompanying benefits.
Abolishment of seniority - or age-related supplements
The increased benefit amount linked to a seniority of at least five years and the increased amount granted to employees aged 50 and over who take up 1/2nd, 1/5th or 1/10th thematic leave is abolished in all sectors.
Conclusion
As the above overview shows, the right to leave and the right to accompanying benefits in the systems of time credit, thematic leave and career break no longer necessarily run in sync as of 1 February 2023. As an employer, it’s important to keep the recent modifications in mind and inform your employee accordingly, in order to avoid that employees who take time off or reduce their working hours in one of these systems find themselves in a situation where they’re not entitled to any benefits.
If you have questions regarding these recent changes or require more information, don’t hesitate to reach out; we’d love to hear from you.
