Twenty-three per cent of French-speaking workers receive no compensation for overtime they were obliged to work, it emerged on Friday from a study produced by Protime, a company specialising in human resources. More than half (54%) of the active workers in French-speaking Belgium do not generally have time to carry out all their tasks, according to the study. The phenomenon concerns the under-34 age group in particular (58%).
A little over one worker in five (22%) is paid for overtime worked and 55% are compensated through a "time-off in lieu" or conditional days basis. But nearly a quarter work for nothing.
The number of hours spent in the workplace is only recorded for 23% of workers and hours worked for only 16%, it further emerged.
"Workers who systematically work overtime run the risk of exceeding their limits. This excess also threatens their private/professional stability, because they are not given the legally required rest periods outside the workplace," the Protime spokesperson commented.
The study was conducted last September from a sample of about a thousand francophone workers.
The Brussels Times
A quarter of francophone Belgians work unpaid overtime
