Search form

menu menu

New law allows employers to ‘try before they hire’

12:52 30/07/2013

Temp agencies will be allowed to provide candidates to employers to fill permanent jobs in Belgium from September 1, reports Staffing Industry. The client will be able to try the candidate on a temporary contract before hiring. Before the new law published earlier this month, temporary work agencies could only provide workers to end-user businesses on temporary assignments. Furthermore the use of temporary agency workers was highly regulated as it had to fall under one of the prescribed reasons: to replace an absent permanent employee worker, to replace a permanent employee who was dismissed, or to face a temporary rise in demand. With the new legislation, temp agencies will able to improve their strategic partnership with employers and help find suitable candidates for hard-to-fill positions. Employers will soon be allowed to use temporary workers on a try-and- hire basis. For every vacancy an employer could try up to three candidates. The employment contract must have a minimum duration of one week and up to 6 months; the total duration of the try-and-hire process for the same position cannot exceed nine months. Prior to that, union representatives must be informed but their consent is not necessary.

Written by The Bulletin