The exceptions to the unified status, including for the construction sector
Employment Law
28 March 2014
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The Unified Status Act entered into effect on 1 January 2014 and introduced a new dismissal arrangement, composed of new notice periods and a transition scheme for current employment contracts. There are two exception regimes to this general arrangement with divergent notice periods. Divergent advance notice periods The following divergent advance notice periods apply to the exception regimes, inspired to some extent by the notice periods of the CLA no. 75:
| Seniority | dismissal by the Employer | resignation by the employee |
| Less than 3 months | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| 3 to 6 months | 4 weeks | 2 weeks |
| 6 months to 5 years | 5 weeks | 2 weeks |
| 5 years to 10 years | 6 weeks | 3 weeks |
| 10 years to 15 years | 8 weeks | 4 weeks |
| 15 years to 20 years | 12 weeks | 6 weeks |
| More than 20 years | 16 weeks | 8 weeks |
These advance notice periods apply to both new and existing employment contracts. In other words, no transition scheme applies on the basis of built-up seniority until the end of 2013, as in the normal arrangement. Temporary exception The temporary exception regime applies to sectors in which, on 31 December 2013, advance notice periods were determined that were lower than the periods defined in the CLA no. 75. The targeted sectors include the construction sector (PC 124), clothing and ready-to-wear garments (PC 109), upholstery and wood processing (PC 126), etc. The shortened advance notice periods apply temporarily through 31 December 2017, unless the sectors choose to enter into the general system more quickly. As of 1 January 2018 the general arrangement must apply to all these workers. Structural exception The structural (permanent) exception applies for employees who cumulatively satisfy the following conditions: - belong to a sector in which on 31 December 2013 advance notice periods were determined that are lower than the CLA no. 75; - have no permanent place of employment; - and usually perform one of the following activities on temporary and mobile construction sites: excavation work, earthworks, foundation and reinforcement works, hydraulic engineering works, road works, agricultural works, installation of utility conduits, structures, assembly and disassembly of (in particular) prefabricated elements, joists and columns, installation or outfitting works, restoration works, renovation, repair works, dismantling works, demolition works, preservation works, maintenance, painting and cleaning works, cleanup works, finishing activities belonging to one or more of the above-mentioned works. This concerns not only workers from the construction sector (PC 124), but possibly also workers from the metal sector (PC 111) and upholstery and wood processing (PC 126). For these workers, the divergent advance notice periods permanently apply. Future? The divergent arrangement is justified in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Law by reference to the scarcity of employees on the job market and, with regard to the structural derogation, prevention of the systematic use of limited-term contracts. The Council of State raised major questions about this justification, in particular with regard to the structural derogation for temporary and mobile construction sites. The question arises whether this rule isn´t being used to once again create an unjustified distinction in treatment between employees. We will therefore have to wait and see whether these derogations will survive a new review by the Constitutional Court. To be continued…