Who is eligible for Holiday Benefits?

Social and Cultural Activities provided by the Works Council must be available to all employees, without discrimination in the allocation of benefits, in line with the principle of equal treatment:

• ❌ No distinction based on professional criteria: such as type of contract (permanent/fixed-term), job category (manager/non-manager), working hours (full-time/part-time), etc.
• ❌ No exclusion of employees based on length of service. 

📌 The amount of the benefit can be adjusted according to objective and predetermined social criteria (such as household income or reference taxable income), which are known to everyone in the company and set by agreement.

💡Key point : the Works Council must set rules for awarding the benefit that are: objective, transparent and fair.

There are two cases:

• ✅ An officer who combines their role with an employment contract: In this case, the officer is eligible for Social and Cultural Activities and therefore for Holiday Benefits, on the same basis as other employees (equal treatment).
• ❌ An officer who only holds a company office and does NOT also have an employment contract: They must be excluded from receiving Social and Cultural Activities provided by the Works Council.

Holiday Benefits, like other Social and Cultural Activities provided by the Works Council, must be distributed equally to all employees of the company.

As a rule, these benefits are mainly intended for employees (i.e. those with an employment contract: permanent, fixed-term, apprenticeship, etc.) of the company.

However, the law does not prohibit extending eligibility to other recipients on an optional basis, provided that:

• the decision is made transparently
• the rules for awarding benefits are objective and fair
• the Works Council does not breach the principle of sound financial management

💡 If the Works Council decides to offer Social and Cultural Activities to freelancers, it is advisable to record the decision in the Works Council meeting minutes.