The employer shall allow the employee member of the regional cross-industry joint committee the time required to carry out his duties, up to a limit which, save in exceptional circumstances, may not exceed five hours per month. Travelling time to committee meetings is not deducted from this time credit. This time may be used cumulatively over the course of a calendar year, provided that this does not result in a member having more than one and a half times his or her entitlement to delegation hours over the course of a month.
The members of the inter-professional regional joint committees may divide the number of delegation hours available to them among themselves. They shall inform their respective employers of this allocation. This pooling may not result in a member having more than one and a half times the delegation hours available to him/her in any one month.
The employee shall inform his employer of the use of his credited hours no later than eight days before the date on which they are to be used.
Time spent by the employee in the performance of his duties, including time spent at committee meetings, is automatically considered as working time and paid at the normal rate. Such time is treated as actual working time for the purposes of determining the employee’s rights under his contract of employment, the statutory provisions and the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
An employer who wishes to contest the use made of delegation hours must bring the matter before a court.