What is the purpose of the personal working time adjustment?

The flexible organisation of individual working time is intended to facilitate participation in training.

Who can benefit from a personal working time adjustment?

A personal working time adjustment may be granted to workers undergoing training who are part of a company/section of a company which has flexible working hours or which allows such a mode of organisation to be set up.

A personal working time adjustment allows employees to adjust daily working hours according to their personal preferences, while respecting, however, the legal limits of working hours (maximum 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week) and respecting the service needs and justified desires of other employees.

What adjustments are possible?

In the agreement on individual access to continuing training, social partners issued recommendations to the partners involved in the management of flexible working time regulations:

  • specific solutions may be considered for the management of working time deficits at the end of the reference period (the maximum amount of the deficit per reference period may be increased and the period within which the deficits must be absorbed may be extended);
  • the mandatory presence periods may be adjusted on an individual basis according to the specific needs of workers undertaking training;
  • the total range including fixed and flexible time (start and end of working hours) may be extended beyond normal limits.

Note: the adjustments must comply with legal limits for working time, namely a maximum of 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

Is the company required to grant a personal working time adjustment to the worker?

A worker undergoing training does not have an absolute right to benefit individually or collectively from a flexible working scheme. Companies can refuse:

  • to introduce a flexible working time adjustment for the benefit of an employee;
  • to arrange working hours as recommended by social partners (see above).

However, the company’s refusal must be motivated by service needs or by the company’s rational organisational imperatives. An internal body within the company may be set up in consultation with the employee representatives to settle any disagreements concerning the assessment of the grounds cited regarding flexible working time.