© - ATH all rights reserved - Edition 2024 10 EMPLOYER’S GUIDE 2024 PRINCIPLE OF COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT Any private employer can establish a collective company agreement on its chosen subject. In principle, the company agreement cannot deviate from public policy provisions. But in limited cases, a company collective agreement can deviate from the law in a way that is unfavourable to the employee. Furthermore, the company agreement now takes precedence over the sector agreement for many subjects. So it is possible to deviate from the sector agreement to better adapt to the company. Note that many systems can only be implemented if a collective agreement provides for this (fixed working days contract, annualisation of working hours, night working…). Ask us how the various provisions in different sectors fit together so you can find out the options for negotiation open to your Company. NEGOTIATION WITH A UNION REPRESENTATIVE Company collective agreements must in principle be signed with union representatives. A union representative can only be appointed in companies with up to 50 employees. For the agreement to be valid, the signatory unions must account for more than 50 % of the votes cast in favour of the representative trade unions in the first round of the last elections. Ask us about the options for approving an agreement that does not achieve a majority. NEGOTIATION WITHOUT A UNION REPRESENTATIVE • C ompanies with less than 11 employees In these companies, a collective agreement can be implemented by referendum. The employer proposes a draft agreement to the employees and the validity of the agreement is subject to ratification by 2/3 of employees. The agreement can relate to any subject open to negotiation. Companies with between 11 and 20 employees without a staff representative and without a union representative can also use a referendum to establish a collective agreement. Some collective agreements make turnkey contracts available to companies with less than 50 employees. COMPANY AGREEMENT 4 What you need to know : By negotiating a company collective agreement, certain rules of employment law can be adapted to the company’s needs. Thus, in a number of cases, the company agreement can deviate from the provisions of the collective agreement even in a sense that is less favourable for employees. A company agreement can even be established for a small company.
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