Your employee wants to work four-fifths of full-time hours: do you have to agree to that?
October 2026 - An employee who wants to work from home one day a week from now on: as an employer, do you have to agree to that without question? Not necessarily. Much depends on the arrangement under which your employee wants to work four-fifths of full-time hours. Regular part-time work, time credit, and thematic leave may seem similar, but legally they are different systems.
A full-time employee may request that their employment contract be amended to part-time employment, for example, at 80 percent. In principle, there is no general right to this.
Your employee can make the request, but as an employer, you are not automatically required to agree to it. If you do reach an agreement, the change must be properly documented. This includes specifying, among other things, how many hours the employee will work and according to which schedule.
The transition also has financial implications. The salary is adjusted to reflect the reduced working hours, and part-time work may affect certain other rights and benefits.
Time credit is something different
Under time credit, an employee temporarily reduces or interrupts their work. For example, under certain conditions, an employee may work one-fifth less.
It is important to distinguish between the right to work fewer hours as agreed with the employer and the right to receive benefits from the RVA. These two do not always fully overlap.
Furthermore, specific conditions apply to time credit, including seniority, prior employment, and the reason for the request. Possible reasons include caring for a child or pursuing a recognized educational program.
If the legal and sector-specific conditions are met, you, as an employer, cannot simply treat such a request as a regular request to work part-time. However, rules may apply regarding notification, deferral, and the number of employees taking time credit at the same time.
What about parental leave?
In addition, there are various types of special leave. The best known is parental leave, but there are also leave programs for medical assistance and palliative care.
These, too, allow an employee to temporarily reduce their working hours. For example, under certain conditions, parental leave can be taken in the form of a one-fifth reduction in working hours.
If the employee meets the conditions, they are, in principle, entitled to the leave. As an employer, you may, however, postpone the start of the leave in certain cases, for example, if it would seriously disrupt your business operations.
Which system is most appealing to you as an employer?
Financially, the difference is usually minimal: if your employee works 80 percent, you generally pay only for those hours worked. With time credit or thematic leave, the RVA may pay benefits for the time not worked. Regular part-time work is usually the simplest and most flexible option for you: you just need to agree to it and can work out the schedule together. Time credit and thematic leave involve more paperwork and legal obligations and may come with protection against dismissal. For the employee, however, these systems are often more attractive because of the potential RVA benefit.
