N-VA wants to put an end to abuse of job-search leave: “Those who are granted leave to apply for jobs should actually use it for that purpose”

Employees who take job-search leave during their notice period should actually use that leave to look for a new job. With a new bill, N-VA parliamentary group leader Axel Ronse wants to tighten the current system and prevent abuse.

Currently, employees are entitled to paid job-search leave during their notice period. This leave can amount to up to one day per week. According to N-VA, the problem is that the system is currently very difficult to monitor. Someone who, for example, searches job websites at home or writes a job application can easily do so outside working hours. Yet employees can currently take job-search leave for these activities. Moreover, the entitlement remains in place even after someone has already found a new job.

Job-search leave is not a day off

“Job-search leave is intended for applying for jobs, not for taking a paid day off at home,” says Ronse. “A job interview during working hours is perfectly legitimate. So is an appointment with an employment service. But browsing job websites at home can be done in the evening. An employer should not have to sacrifice a paid working day for that.”

The bill therefore makes a clear distinction. Activities that are genuinely aimed at finding a new job and cannot take place outside normal working hours will remain eligible. These include a job interview, registering as a jobseeker or activities related to outplacement. Activities that can also be carried out outside working hours, such as browsing job websites, will no longer qualify as job-search leave.

Employees must be able to provide evidence

The bill also reverses the burden of proof. Employees will have to demonstrate that their job-search leave was actually used to look for work. They could, for example, provide an invitation to a job interview as evidence. The name of the prospective employer does not have to be disclosed: anonymised supporting documents will still be accepted.

Once an employee has found a new job, the right to further job-search leave will end. Only necessary steps related to the new position will remain eligible, such as undergoing a medical examination or providing documents to the new employer.

Back to the original purpose

“We are preserving the right to job-search leave, but returning it to its original purpose,” says Ronse. “Someone who is dismissed deserves the time to find a new job. But that right also comes with a responsibility. The employer continues to pay the employee’s salary during that leave. It is therefore only reasonable that the leave is actually used for its intended purpose.”

Finally, the bill also refers to the rules in neighbouring countries. The Netherlands and France have no general statutory right to job-search leave. In Germany, the statutory right is limited to actual job interviews, and the burden of proof lies with the employee.