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19 AVRIL 2014. - An Act to fix certain aspects of the development of working hours of operational professional members of the emergency and fire and emergency medical services of the Brussels-Capital Region and to amend the Civil Safety Act of 15 May 2007 (1)

PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER 1^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER 2. - Development of working hours of operational professional members of emergency areas
Art. 2. This chapter transposes the Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 4 November 2003 on certain aspects of working time development, with regard to operational professional members of the emergency areas and the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Art. 3. For the purposes of this Act:
1° "the law of 15 May 2007": the law of 15 May 2007 on civil security;
2° "workers": operational professional personnel in emergency areas, referred to in Article 103, paragraph 3, of the Act of 15 May 2007 and operational professional staff of the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region;
3° "employers": emergency areas referred to in Article 14 of the Act of 15 May 2007 and the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region;
4° "work time": any period during which the worker is at work, at the disposal of the employer and in the exercise of his or her activity or duties.
5° "time of rest": any period that is not working time;
6° "house guard service": an uninterrupted period of not more than 24 hours, during which the worker is required to be present at the workplace. This period is fully recorded as working time;
7° "remember service": a period during which the worker declares himself available, without being in the barracks, to follow a call for an intervention. Only the intervention period is recorded as working time;
8° "commandant": the area commander referred to in section 109 of the Act of 15 May 2007, or the Chief Service Officer of the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region;
9° "fire services inspectors": the inspectors of the Fire Services Inspection referred to in Article 9, § 2, of the Civil Protection Act of 31 December 1963 or of the general inspection of the Civil Security Services referred to in Part VII of the Act of 15 May 2007.
Art. 4. Sections 5, 7 and 8 are not applicable to workers in executive positions with an autonomous decision-making power in respect of their working time in their entirety.
Art. 5. § 1^er. The worker's weekly working time may not exceed a four-month reference period:
an average of 30 hours;
2° 48 hours on average, if the following conditions are met:
(a) at the time of the coming into force of this Act, more than half of the workers in the emergency relief zone or the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region are working in a work plan of more than thirty-eight hours on average per week;
(b) having complied with the procedures set out in the Act of 19 December 1974 organizing the relations between the public authorities and the trade unions of the agents under these authorities, including the social conciliation procedure referred to in chapter IIIquater of the above-mentioned Act, with respect to the working regimes of which the average hours per week are between thirty-eight and forty-eight, and with respect to the additional compensation therein.
Areas and the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region that have adopted a weekly working time of more than thirty-eight hours on average, in accordance with paragraph 1^er, 2°, conform to the end of a ten-year period. The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, extend this period once a maximum of ten years.
For the four-month reference period:
- the period 1^er January to April 30;
- the period 1^er May until 31 August;
- the period 1^er September to December 31.
§ 2. The working time may not exceed the absolute limit of sixty hours per week, including the additional hours referred to in Article 7.
It is not taken into account, for the application of the limit set out in paragraph 1^er, overtakings for execution:
- work undertaken to deal with an accident occurring or imminent;
- work ordered by an unforeseen necessity, with the information of the official designated by the King.
The exceedances referred to in paragraph 2 shall be compensated by an equivalent recovery leave taken within fourteen days.
§ 3. The duration of each work benefit shall not exceed twenty-four hours except in the cases provided for in § 2, paragraph 2.
§ 4. Each work benefit of twelve hours to twenty-four hours shall be followed by a minimum rest period of twelve consecutive hours.
Art. 6. § 1^er. In each emergency area and in the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region, the working regimes are fixed in accordance with the provisions of Article 5.
The various schedules that are scheduled at the zonal level in accordance with the applicable work regimes are included in the working regulations.
§ 2. Pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of Work, the Commander or his delegate determines the distribution of barracks and recall services. The distribution is communicated to the worker at least three months in advance, except in the event of an emergency. The terms of the recall services are included in the working regulations.
Services referred to in paragraph 1^er cannot be imposed during the worker's annual leave.
If the worker cannot be available, he or she is required to request, as soon as possible, an adaptation of the work schedule and to indicate the reasons.
Art. 7. § 1^er. The worker who, pursuant to Article 5, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 1°, works maximum thirty-eight hours, may take up to ten additional hours per week, on the basis of an individual agreement of the worker to provide custody interventions or services in the barracks.
The worker who, pursuant to Article 5, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 2°, works between thirty-eight hours and forty-eight hours per week, may take a number of additional hours per week, on the basis of an individual agreement of the worker to provide custody interventions or services in the barracks. This number corresponds to the maximum difference between the average weekly working time and 48 hours.
By derogation from paragraph 2, the number of additional hours per week may not exceed the difference between the average weekly working time and fifty-two hours for the worker who, at the date of entry into force of this Act, was a professional and voluntary member in two fire services in the territory of the same emergency area, without exceeding the maximum of ten hours per week.
§ 2. This additional work time is subject to additional compensation, which is equivalent to the basic remuneration and is dependent on the hours claimed.
§ 3. The agreement referred to in § 1^er must be recorded in writing between the worker and the employer prior to the delivery of the additional hours.
This writing may be electronically prepared.
This agreement is set out in a specific document that states at least:
- the number of additional hours that will be preceded or that may be preceded per week;
- the duration of the agreement;
- the terms of notice of the agreement.
The employer retains this workplace agreement for a period of five years. This writing must be in a readily accessible place so that fire inspectors and officials referred to in section 24 of the Act of 14 December 2000 setting out certain aspects of working time in the public sector may be aware of at any time.
§ 4. Each of the parties may terminate the agreement referred to in § 1^er with a written notice of three months. The agreement may be terminated with mutual consent, without notice or with a lower notice period.
§ 5. The worker may not be prejudiced by the employer by the fact that he is not prepared to perform the additional work time referred to in this section.
Art. 8. When the working time per day exceeds six consecutive hours, the worker is given a half-hour break, with the exception of interventions whose nature is such that taking a break is impossible. In case of such interventions, the worker pauses when the intervention is completed.
During this break, the worker remains available to respond to a call for an intervention.
The specific modalities of the break are set out in the working rules.
Art. 9. For each seven-day period, the worker is entitled to a rest period of at least thirty-five consecutive hours.
Art. 10. The worker can be busy on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and at night if he works on continuous service.
Art. 11. The worker who is occupied between twenty hours and six hours is entitled to accompanying measures.
Art. 12. § 1^er. The worker referred to in section 11, who is at least fifty years old and who may justify a professional activity of at least twenty years in one or more of these working regimes, has the right to apply for work in a work regime where work is not between twenty hours and six hours, for serious medical reasons recognized by the occupational doctor.
For serious medical reasons recognized by the occupational doctor, the medical reasons that could result in injury to the worker's health if he continued to work under section 11.
§ 2. The worker referred to in section 11, who is at least fifty-five years old and who may justify a work activity of at least twenty years in one or more of these work plans, is entitled to apply for work in a plan not covered by that section.
Art. 13. § 1^er. The worker who meets the conditions laid down in Article 12 §§ 1^er or 2, and seeking work not referred to in section 11 shall apply in writing to the employer.
§ 2. The employer has a period of six months to provide, in writing, the worker with a job not referred to in section 11.
§ 3. If no work is available, the worker referred to in Article 12, §2, may, at his or her convenience, retain his or her employment in the working regime in which he or she is occupied or be made available to the authority that employs it.
The worker's ability to retain his or her employment in the working regime in which he or she is occupied cannot play in respect of the worker referred to in Article 12, § 1^erbecause of serious medical reasons.
Art. 14. When a worker referred to in section 11 is pregnant, she may obtain work in a work plan not covered by that section, provided that she makes a request in writing:
1° for a period of at least three months before the presumed date of delivery and at least three months after birth;
2° or upon presentation of a medical certificate which attests to the need for the health of the mother or child:
- during other periods during pregnancy;
- for a period of up to one year following delivery.
However, where a day shift is not technically or objectively possible or cannot be reasonably required for duly justified reasons, the worker is exempt from work.
Art. 15. The worker referred to in section 11 has the right, for compelling reasons, to apply for temporary employment in a work regime not covered by that section.
The employer endeavours to preferably meet this demand to the extent of available employment and worker qualifications.
Art. 16. § 1^er. When the occupational physician, following a medical examination carried out either at the time of his intervention or at the request of the worker referred to in section 11, finds that the worker suffers from health problems related to the fact that he is occupied in a work referred to in that article, he shall, before proposing the transfer or separation, carry out appropriate complementary examinations. He enquired about the social situation of the worker, examined on the spot the measures and adjustments that could keep the worker in his position despite his or her possible impairments. The worker may be assisted by the person of his or her choice.
The physician shall communicate to the employer and the worker the measures to be taken to remedy the exaggerated risks and requirements that he or she has identified as soon as possible. The proceeding, pursuant to the trade union status, of the Committee on Prevention and Protection at Work is informed.
§ 2. If at the end of these examinations, the occupational physician proposes a spreading measure, the worker is informed.
If possible, the employer occupies the worker in another work plan than the one referred to in section 11, taking into account the recommendations of the occupational doctor.
Art. 17. Workers in employment regimes referred to in Article 11 shall have equal rights to those of workers who are not employed in such schemes in respect of:
1st union representation and participation;
2° general and vocational training;
3° hygiene, safety and medical care;
4th social infrastructure.
Art. 18. Workers are entitled to an annual paid holiday leave with a minimum duration of twenty-six working days for full daytime benefits.
The minimum period of vacation leave with pay may not be replaced by a financial allowance, except in case of termination of employment.
Art. 19. The employer has, at the workplace, a register containing the day-to-day benefits of workers in a chronological order.
This registry may be held electronically.
Art. 20. The monitoring of compliance with this Act is carried out by fire inspectors and by officials referred to in section 24 of the Act of 14 December 2000 setting certain aspects of working time in the public sector and in the manner provided for in each of these services.
Art. 21. Section 4 of the Act of 14 December 2000 establishing certain aspects of the development of working time in the public sector is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"Chapters III and IV of this Act are not applicable to operational professional members of the emergency areas and the Fire and Emergency Medical Service of the Brussels-Capital Region. "
Art. 22. This chapter comes into force on 1^er January 2015.
CHAPTER 3. - Amendments to the Civil Security Act of 15 May 2007
Art. 23. In section 68 of the Civil Security Act of 15 May 2007, as amended by the Act of 21 December 2013, the following amendments are made:
1° § 2 is replaced by the following:
"§2. Endowments of the municipalities of the area are set annually by deliberation of the council, based on the agreement reached between the various communal councils concerned.
The agreement is obtained by 1^er November of the year before the year for which staffing is planned.
For the first registration of the communal endowment, the prezone council may decide to post the date of 1^er November 2014 and reach agreement no later than 1^er November 2015. "
2° the article is supplemented by a § 3 written as follows:
§ 3. In the absence of such an agreement, the allocation of each municipality shall be determined by the provincial governor, taking into account the following criteria for each municipality:
- the residential and active population;
- the area;
- cadastral income;
- taxable income;
- the risks present in the territory of the commune;
- the average time of intervention in the territory of the commune;
- the financial capacity of the commune.
A weighting of at least 70% is attributed to the "residential and active population" criterion.
The Governor shall notify each municipality of the amount of the communal endowment it is responsible to bear on or before December 15 of the year preceding that for which the endowment is scheduled.
For the three years following the integration of fire services into emergency areas, the Governor shall take into account, in the setting of the communal endowment, the liability of the municipalities in respect of royalties referred to in Article 10, § 4, of the Civil Protection Act of 31 December 1963.
The Governor may decide on specific payment modalities for the payment of communal endowments.
The municipal council may appeal to the minister against the decision of the governor within twenty days of the day after notification to the municipal authority.
The Minister of the Interior shall decide on the appeal within forty days of the day after the day on which he was received.
It shall forward its decision no later than the last day of that period to the Governor, the Area Council and the Community Council.
If no decision has expired, the appeal is deemed to be rejected.
The appeal decision is to be entered in the communal budgets as at 1^er November of the year before the year for which the staffing is planned. ";
3° the article is supplemented by a § 4 written as follows:
§ 4. The municipality shall pay the amount of the communal endowment established under this section on an account opened on behalf of the area to a financial organization.
If there is no payment within thirty days of the notice of the council referred to in § 3 or the expiry of the period of appeal or of the appeal procedure referred to in § 3, the governor shall defer the amount due in the budget of the commune. This amount is transferred upon requisition of the Governor, from an account opened to a financial organization by the debiting commune on an account opened to a financial organization by the financial zone. ".
Art. 24. In section 220 of the Act, replaced by the Act of 21 December 2013, § 1^er is replaced by the following:
§ 1^er. Fire services are integrated into emergency areas on 1^er January 2015.
For prezones that use the possibility referred to in Article 68, § 2, paragraph 3, the integration of fire services into the emergency zone shall take place at a date determined by the prezone council and not later than 1^er January 2016.
In the case referred to in paragraph 2, the amount of additional federal endowments is allocated to the pro rata for months during which fire services were integrated into emergency areas. ".
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 19 April 2014.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
The Minister of the Interior,
Ms. J. MILQUET
State Secretary to the Public Service,
H. BOGAERT
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Note
(1) Session 2013-2014
House of Representatives
(www.lachambre.be)
Documents: 53-3353 - 2013/2014.
Full report: 3 April 2014.
(*) Senate (www.senate.be):
Documents: 5-2731 - 2013/2014.
Annales du Senate: March 20, 2014.