Working four days a week instead of five is possible today: here’s how this measure works

Working 4 days instead of 5 is possible from this Monday, November 21. A 4-day week, but with the same number of hours: the working time is therefore not reduced. This arrangement is possible for private sector employees, but not compulsory.

Concretely, the employee who wishes can make the request to his boss. The idea is to work a little more for 4 days, to have the fifth day off.

Example: for a 38-hour week, the worker can work 9:30 a.m. from Monday to Thursday, and therefore not come to work on Friday.

The number of hours remains the same, but they are concentrated in fewer days. The measure will not be applicable everywhere. In the Horeca, for example, the 4-day week will be difficult to imagine. The employer can therefore refuse the worker’s request, but in this case he must justify his refusal. If the request is accepted, it is applied for 6 months, and renewable at will.

The measure struggles to convince

The four-day week was part of the deal for employment carried by the Minister of Labor Pierre Yves Dermagne (PS). It remains to be seen to what extent it might be applied. Employers and employees are quite pessimistic. The bosses fear that it is too difficult to implement. For the unions, it will not reduce the stress or the workload, which will simply be heavier on the remaining days.