On the eve of a new Consultative Committee dedicated to managing the coronavirus pandemic, the employers' organisations FEB, UWE, Beci and Voka are asking authorities to put an end to mandatory teleworking.
Rather than it being an obligation, the organisations are calling for working from home to only be a recommendation, Belga News Agency reports. For long periods since the start of the pandemic, teleworking has been imposed as a means of reducing in-person contact through travel and mixing with colleagues.
Current rules only allow workers to go to their workplace once a week, provided that teleworking is compatible with their profession. But employers federations believe these measures can come to an end.
"Now that the coronavirus figures have started to fall, it is time to put telework regulation back in the hands of companies and opt for a recommendation," they argued in a statement.
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Employers point out that not everyone has the opportunity to telework and that everyone is different: a general obligation is therefore not suitable for everyone.
Voka had already sent a message to this effect last week, calling for more flexibility in the face of Europe's strictest teleworking policy.
On Wednesday, the Neutral Union for the Self-Employed (SNI) also considered that the compulsory scheme was "no longer tenable." Later, Flemish Work Minister Hilde Crevits also spoke out in favour of relaxing current rules.
