Daytime work

What is better working hours?

For information on changing the working hours of day workers, please refer to the supporting documents of the trade union organisations that agreed to this. The content of the supporting documents is exactly the same, but wording differs slightly between contracts. Then the examples of implementation of the shortening of day work are not everywhere identical.

• Instruction booklet
• Accompanying document BHM
• Accompanying document BSRB and ASI
• Promotion of better working hours for day labourers

Step 1

The process is triggered

The CoR's workplaces have very different roles, diverse day-to-day activities and different combinations of human resources. By the way, it is important that better working hours are implemented in the local environment.

Each working time group includes staff representatives and the place of employment. The Manager shall take the initiative to initiate the preparation of the amendments and convene a dedicated Working Hours Group upon proposals from the Trustees/Staff and Managers. The group needs to reflect the diversity of functions and different staff situations, such as a tied or flexible presence. When selecting representatives, it must be ensured that ASI, BHM and BSRB each have a representative provided that employees are members of affiliates of these overall organizations. It is assumed that the groups will be small, but each workplace decides what is best for them.

The procedure described here is in 9 steps. The same information-gathering and consultation objectives should always be met for the introduction of working time shortening.

Step 2

Working time group - information gathering and analysis

A working time team is familiarized with training materials and instructions for better working hours. Then a working time group carries out preparation with information gathering and analysis of the activities. The aim of analytical processing is to bring out the mutual benefits between staff and the place of employment from the changing organisation and shorter working hours.

An example of this may be:

• Analysis of services and where the main stress points are.
• Analysis of the nature of jobs and staff group. Analysis of the nature of jobs and staff group. The change in working time arrangements does not necessarily apply to all groups working at the place of employment, as some occupations have different forms of implementation of work obligations than a standard 40-hour working week, such as teachers.
• Defining the benefits to staff and the place of employment of changing work organisation
• Outreach needs to be discussed in work organisation, procedures, cooperation and time management, e.g.:
  • What changes must be made to the work organisation in order to achieve maximum shortening?
  • How to make better use of working time?
  • Can work organization be simplified with the help of technological innovations?
  • What kind of flexibility is required in combination with a shorter working week?

Through information gathering and analysis, the group shapes discussion points for a dialogue meeting with staff, cf. Step 3.

Step 3

Improvement Conversation

The Working Hours Group convenes a consultation meeting with site staff to discuss changes in working hours. The group presents information gathering and analysis. At the same time, it is important to discuss with staff what ways they can see to make better use of working time. In this case, staff requests for a change in working hours should be considered taking into account the services provided by the place of employment and the activities. More importantly, it should be discussed when the change is to take effect and/or whether it is more optimal to implement the change in steps.

The goal of the consultation is to ensure the involvement of all staff in the conversation and the decision to make changes, which may be implemented differently depending on what is most appropriate. In larger places of employment, it may be most appropriate for staff to be divided into groups by, for example, departments. In smaller places of employment, it may be more appropriate for the conversation to be more informal and in fewer steps, everyone will have the opportunity to participate in the conversation and express their views.

Step 4

Processing proposals

A working time team processes the conversation and the suggestions contained therein and makes recommendations for a change in the organization of working time and the organization of breaks. A specific proposal should be made for the organisation of the working hours of the staff working in jobs where flexible breaks will not be observed and there will be no need for drop-offs.

Proposals for shortening working hours (number of hours and length of breaks) may exceed one hour, but must be made within one workplace. Suggestions for implementation of shortening may vary by department or different staff working arrangements.

A working time group may decide to call for additional evidence when processing proposals.

Step 5

Consultation meeting

Working Hours Group appoints a representative of the working hours group (staff) who participates in the site coordination meeting. The aim of the conversation is to convey ideas for the implementation of shortening.

Step 6

Proposals presented and discussed

Working hours group presents suggestions to staff and managers The aim of the dialogue is to ensure that there is reconciliation and consensus on proposals for shorter working hours before voting on them.

Step 7

Explanation of vote

Staff and managers vote on shortening proposals. At least half of the staff must be involved and a majority must approve the proposal.

A repeat vote may be required to reach a conclusion in cases where there is more than one proposal. If the vote of each proposal is of similar support, a second election between the top two proposals could better reflect the will of the majority and help to reconcile the result.

Explanation of vote.

8a. steps

Proposal adopted

Once the amended organisation and implementation of the working time of the place of employment have been approved, the manager sends it to the delegated area for verification, which sends a copy to the relevant overall organisation of salaried employees and the Electoral Bureau for information.

Upon confirmation of the proposed changes by the site manager, it is considered approved.

8b. steps

Proposal Overturned

If a proposal is dropped (the result remains unchanged, the organisation of working time) or staff participation fails to reach the majority, a report of an unsuccessful conversation should be sent to the participating sector (s), which will be sent to the overall organisation of the participating salaried staff and the Electoral Affairs Office for information.

The site manager convenes representatives of working time groups and the next steps are determined.

The assistance of an introductory group that will be operational during the period of validity of collective agreements or until 31 March 2023 may be sought.

Step 9

Introduction

A change in working hours will take effect on 1 January 2021 at the latest.