The Pen | Marc Lambotte, Managing Director Agoria

Veni, vidi, flexi

On the contrary, employers and employees have fought side by side in recent months to cope with the tide. However, the battle is not yet over, the crisis has not yet been averted. This is why Agoria is asking the government to work on measures that will allow employers and employees to deal flexibly with peaks and troughs in their level of activity. Because only with the necessary flexibility will we be able to successfully restart our economy and emerge victorious from this crisis together. 

The corona crisis has affected everyone. But its impact has proved very variable for different workers as well as companies. For example, there are companies that feel a peak coming in the fall, to cope with deferred activity, while on the other hand we see companies or subsectors (e.g. aviation) that expect a lot less work due to a drop in demand or due to deferred investments. The government responded to this with a number of welcome measures: temporary unemployment due to force majeure, Corona parental leave, Corona overtime, relaxation of posting ... All created to deal with the corona crisis. But the battle is not yet over. Even in the second half of the year and in 2021, it is to be expected that the level of activity for companies and employees will continue to fluctuate strongly. This is why Agoria makes a number of proposals to face this period as resiliently as possible.

The government must continue to respond to the need for flexibility to cope with the peaks and troughs in activity levels of companies and workers. We call for a continuation of a number of existing measures, including easy access to temporary unemployment. In addition, we ask for support for initiatives whereby staff of companies with a decline in activity can temporarily work in other companies. Furthermore, we ask for a temporary extension of existing measures. We are thinking of temporarily increasing the annual limits: for voluntary overtime, at the request of the employee, from 120 hours to 220 hours; for overtime eligible for reduction in withholding tax, from 180 hours to 220 hours; for payment of catch-up rest for overtime, at the request of the employee, from 91 hours to 220 hours.

Why is this important? The corona crisis has a variety of impacts on the level of activity of companies. Some will face a (temporary) shortage of work, while others will have to catch up or cope with an additional influx. A successful recovery policy provides a framework that helps all companies get through this difficult period and bridge to a normalized state. #letstechtogether