Do flex workers get wages continued during holidays?

Do flex workers get wages continued during holidays?

A lot of holidays come up in the spring. For the payroll administration this can be quite complicated, because what about the continued payment of wages for flex workers during these holidays?

Right to continued payment

In principle, a temporary worker is entitled to continued payment of actual wages on public holidays. By actual wage is meant: the current gross wage amount determined by time period, excluding vacation allowance, reservations, bonuses, allowances, overtime, compensatory hours, etc.

However, there are a number of conditions attached to this. One such condition is that it must be a generally recognized public holiday that does not fall on a Saturday and/or a Sunday. It is also important that no work is performed because of the holiday. In addition, the day must normally be a working day for the temporary worker.

Generally recognized public holidays

The following public holidays are generally recognized public holidays in the Temporary Employment Agreement:

• New Year's Day
• Easter Monday
• King's Day
• Liberation Day in anniversary years
• Ascension Day
• Whit Monday
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

For the continued payment of flex workers during a public holiday, a distinction is made between a temporary employment contract with a temporary employment clause and a temporary employment contract without a temporary employment clause for a fixed or indefinite period. We explain the differences below.

Agency work employment contract with agency clause

In the case of an agency work employment contract with an agency clause, an employment agency can choose from two options for continuing to pay wages during a public holiday:

• The temporary employment agency reserves 3.04% of the temporary worker's actual wages. This is increased by the waiting day compensation in accordance with Article 25 Paragraph 4. On a public holiday, the actual wage is paid from the accrued public holiday reserve, insofar as the reserve is sufficient.
• The private employment agency continues to pay the actual wage on public holidays.

As a temporary employment agency, you must inform the temporary workers in writing of this choice. The choice is fixed for at least one calendar year. If the choice is changed, the rights previously acquired by the temporary worker must first be finalized.

Temporary employment contract without temporary employment clause

In a temporary employment contract without an agency clause, a temporary worker is entitled to continued payment of the actual wage on public holidays (on which no work is performed on account of that public holiday).

Does the public holiday fall on a fixed working day?

If the flex worker has a fixed scope of work with fixed working days, then it is immediately clear whether the public holiday would normally be a working day. In this case, the temporary worker is entitled to continued payment of wages. If the fixed working days are not clearly defined, then the seven out of thirteen rule applies.

If the temporary worker has worked at least seven times on the same day in the 13 weeks prior to the holiday, this is considered a normal working day and the temporary worker is entitled to continued payment. If the temporary worker started working less than 13 weeks ago, the flexworker must have worked more than half the number of weeks on the day in question in order to be entitled to a paid public holiday. Please refer to article 27 CLA for Temporary Workers.