You are almost there! Voting in the social elections within companies take place as of today, Monday 13 May 2024. Once the voting is closed, certain formalities still need to be completed. That is, unless the results of your elections are contested.
Once the voting has closed, you, as an employer, still have the following obligations:
- Once the chairman of each polling station has provided the minutes to the employer, then these minutes must also be uploaded through the web application of the FPS Employment (if this web application would not be used, then you would need to send the minutes to the FPS Employment and also to the unions concerned by registered mail). When uploading the minutes, you will also have to complete some statistical data (concerning the results of the elections and the ratio of female to male employer representatives).
- Posting of the results on day Y+2 (between 15 and 28 May): the employer posts a notice in the company premises with the results of the elections and the composition of the Works Council (WC) and/or the Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPW), as well as the employer's delegates and their substitutes.
- Retaining the notices posted until day Y+17 (between 30 May and 12 June). All the messages that have been posted in the company in the course of the process should stay posted until this date. However, there are two exceptions: the results as posted on Y+2 should remain posted until Y+86 (between 7 and 20 August), as well as a new notice indicating where the previous forms can be consulted. Upon request, the employees can then consult those documents until Y+86.
- Retaining the election documents until day Y+25 (between 7 and 20 June). The employer receives these documents from the chairs of the polling stations on day Y+1 in a sealed envelope, which he must keep until day Y+25, unless an appeal is lodged against the results of the election (see below), in which case he must deliver this envelope to the tribunal.
- First meeting of the WC/CPPW at the latest on day Y+45 (between 27 June and 10 July). This "installation meeting" of the newly elected WC and/or CPPW must be organised before this date. During this first meeting the internal regulations which deal with the modalities of the functioning of the body will be adopted. A meeting in which the basic information is discussed must also be organised in time. If a judicial appeal is lodged, however, the former WC and/or the former CPPW continue to operate until the new composition becomes definitive.
- From a legal point of view, an appeal may be lodged against, among others, the declared results of the election and against the employer's delegates until no later than the 13th day after the posting of the results (i.e., day Y+15, between 28 May and 10 June). The labour tribunal will deliver a decision on day Y+69. Within 15 days after the notification of this decision, an appeal can be lodged against this decision before the labour court (delivering a decision on day Y+144). If the election process is declared partially or entirely null and void, the partial or the entire process must be restarted within three months after the judgment has become final. For the 2024 elections, the Act now provides that in the event of a purely material error in the minutes of the election results, the parties can correct it themselves, without having to go to the labour tribunal first. This requires an agreement between the employer and all trade unions that nominated candidates. However, the Act specifies that this possibility does not apply to a correction of an error in the minutes that affects the ranking or the special dismissal protection of the elected and non-elected candidates.
Action point
Display the last notices and organise a first meeting of the WC and/or CPPW within the required time limit. Prepare the internal regulations that will be proposed to the WC and/or CPPW during the first meeting. We are happy to assist you with the formatting or updating of your internal regulations
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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