Almost half of Walloon SMEs (48.5%) and over a third of Brussels' SMEs (35.2%) are reportedly struggling with scheduling due to recent changes in the school holiday calendar, a survey conducted by HR service provider SD Worx showed.
The new school holiday reform has been in place since the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Since then, there have been regional differences in Belgium. In Wallonia, the summer holidays have been shortened by two weeks, while the spring and autumn holidays have been lengthened by one week. Meanwhile, Flanders' holidays have remained the same (eight weeks during the summer).
Two years on from an initial survey, conducted at the inception of the school holiday reform in Wallonia and Brussels, SD Worx conducted a further study with 870 SME directors nationwide. Results revealed on Monday indicate that 48.5% of the surveyed SMEs in Wallonia are now facing increased difficulties regarding staff schedules and taking leave. Just over 30% experienced these same concerns in June 2022.
In the Brussels-Capital Region, over a third of the surveyed SMEs (35.2%) corroborate these scheduling difficulties (up from one quarter in 2022), while a mere 3.6% affirm the school calendar reform has simplified matters.
In Flanders, where the school calendar hasn't been disrupted, the trend is predictably inverse. Only 5.8% of the questioned Flemish SMEs admitted planning problems; however, this rate increases to 15% in Flemish Brabant, which borders Wallonia and Brussels.
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SD Worx emphasised that the size of SMEs yields different results. Specifically, one in five companies with fewer than 100 employees have been negatively impacted by the school holiday changes, whereas this rate escalates to 42% among firms with over 100 employees.
"School holidays in the Dutch and French-speaking education systems have not coincided for over a year now. This change remains a challenge for employers: it is a real adjustment for SMEs in terms of work organisation and holiday planning," stated Alexia van Zuylen, SME consultant at SD Worx, in a press release.
"Parents of school-age children can now take two weeks off, whereas before they mainly took them during the summer vacations. It is important to have a good idea of everyone's preferences and to plan vacations well in advance to ensure continuity."
