There is hardly any enthusiasm for the full-time four-day working week regime (where employees only work four days, but with longer hours and keep their full-time wage) in Belgian companies: just 0.8% of Belgian employees use this regime.
Just under 3% of companies employ someone who works according to the four-day working week system, according to a recent analysis by HR expert Acerta Consult, now that the results of the pilot study on the four-day week by the Federal Planning Bureau are expected.
"The four-day model remains an exception in our labour market," said Liesbeth Goethals, legal expert at Acerta Consult. "Although the number of employees opting for this regime is rising, their share remains low."
She stressed that performing a full-time working week on four days means working long hours, "which is not feasible for everyone and in every sector." Meanwhile, some alternatives (such as 1/5th parental leave) are preferred, as people receive benefits for their fifth working day, while they do not work longer hours.
More enthusiasm in bigger companies
Four in ten companies with more than 500 employees (39.2%) have at least one full-time employee working under the four-day regime. In companies with 200 to 500 employees, this is the case for 19.3%.
"It is not surprising that the four-day regime is more common in (very) large companies. These companies usually have more possibilities to ensure continuity and process everything administratively," said Goethals.
"Still, it remains a limited number of companies: only 2.85% offer the regime. Within that small group, it is mainly among large companies that it is used – there, about 40% use it for at least one employee. So it remains a little-used system."
Acerta surveyed 224,000 workers with full-time employment contracts, employed by 20,000 private sector employers. The sample reflects the Belgian private labour market for status, gender, age, work regime, region and size of firms.
