Only a tiny proportion of full-time employees in Belgium currently work four days per week despite having been legally entitled to do so since November last year.
According to a recent survey by Securex, an employment consultancy, just one in two hundred employees now work four days each week.
The study, which was based on a sample of more than 120,000 workers, also found that the proportion of employees opting for the shorter working week has barely increased over the course of this year, rising from 0.45% in January to 0.52% in November. (The study originally ran until September but was extended by two months following a request by Le Soir.)
The published figures are even lower than previously estimated by fellow employment consultancy Acerta, which reported last month that just 0.73% of Belgians now work four days per week.
They are also below those formerly estimated by Securex itself, which reported in April that 0.73% of full-time employees had opted for a shorter working week.
Under the terms of the Federal Government's Labour Deal, introduced in November 2022, full-time workers in Belgium's private sector have been legally permitted to request spreading their weekly working hours over four days rather than five, whilst retaining their full salary and benefits.
In addition, the Labour Deal allows employees to work weeks of alternating intensity, namely one five-day week of 45 hours followed by another of 31 hours spread over four days.
According to Le Soir, this possibility "seems to be more popular" than that of consistently working four days each week. However, data relating to the former option was not studied by Securex.
'The measure was not intended to apply to all employees'
Securex noted that there are several possible reasons why so many people are reluctant work four days per week. The first is pressure from employers, of whom more than a quarter (25.7%) believe that the shorter working week is inappropriate for – or even detrimental to – their business.
The second reason is workers' own lack of knowledge about the scheme, as well as their belief that any such request will simply be rejected by their bosses.
Furthermore, Securex reported that many workers are worried about having to put in longer hours over the four working days, and are concerned about possible impact this could have on their mental well-being, productivity, and family life.
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Contacted by Le Soir, a spokesperson for Employment Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS) said that the Federal Government is unconcerned by the fact that so few employees have chosen to work four days per week.
"The measure was not intended to apply to all employees but to meet the specific needs of some of them," the spokesperson said.
In April, a spokesperson for the Minister had made similar remarks, claiming that the "measure is voluntary on the part of the employee". However, the spokesperson also implied that more employees would likely take up the scheme over the following months.
"[The measure] can only be introduced after a social consultation procedure within the company and at the request of the staff member," the spokesperson said at the time. "It is not unusual that implementation happens gradually."
