The employers, who employ on 1 January 2013 more than 20 workers (fulltime equivalents, calculated on the basis of the DIMONA-statement, including permanent workers and temporary workers), must establish and implement, for the first time in 2013, an “employment plan for elder workers”.
Elder workers are workers aged 45 and above.
At a time where one is encouraging workers to continue working up to the legal pension age of 65 and beyond, the notion “elder” workers seems rather inappropriate for persons aged 45 and above.
Within the context of the promotion of the employment of elder workers, the principles of this employment plan for elder workers were laid down in the “law program” of 29 March 2012 (B.O.G., 6 April 2012).
However, the legislator left the honour to further define the contents of this obligation in principle in the first place to the partners of industrial relations. The partners of industrial relations did not left this opportunity unused and they entered into CLA n° 104 on 27 June 2012 within the framework of the National Labour Council (rendered compulsory by R.D. of 24 October 2012, B.O.G., 8 November 2012).
In principle the CLA n° 104 substitutes the statutory stipulations of the “law program”. This legislative technique, attributing, completely in line with the tradition of the social dialogue, a primordial role to the partners of industrial relations, did, unfortunately, not result in clear-cut regulations. Quite to the contrary ! The drafting of the CLA n° 104, read in conjunction with the statutory stipulations of the “law program”, created a lot of confusion and left a number of gaps.
Via our newsletter and website, we will provide you as soon as possible with more information concerning these new obligations, once the confusion and the gaps will have been cleared out.
