What if your employee is called to serve on a jury in a Court of Assizes?

If one of your workers is summoned to serve on a jury in a court of assizes, they are obliged to respond to that summons. The court of assizes deals with the most serious crimes, such as murder and manslaughter, and is assisted by a jury of twelve citizens selected by lot.

Attorney talking to jury in legal trial courtroom Assisen

This AI-generated translation may contain errors and should not be considerd legal advice. For accurate info, refer to the Dutch or French version or consult your Securex Legal Advisor.

How long may my employee be absent?

This is regulated by the Royal Decree of 28 August 1963. According to this RD, an employee may be absent for the time needed to serve on a jury, to appear as a witness in court, or to appear personally at the request of the Labour court, with a maximum of five days.

What if the trial lasts longer than five days?

The first five days are treated as a period of short leave, but in most cases the trial lasts longer than five days. The following days (from the sixth day onwards) are then considered a period of force majeure.
This absence of five days or more is treated as actually worked days, which entitle the employee to annual holiday.

Who will pay for this?

First five days short leave

As an employer, you pay the employee's normal salary for the first five days, as with other forms of short leave.

For the following days

You may continue to pay your employee's salary after day five, but this is not mandatory. If you do continue to pay the salary after the fifth day of absence, you can claim reimbursement from the FPS Justice.

To prevent your employee from being without income, it is best to continue paying the salary and then request reimbursement afterwards. For this, provide the required supporting documents, such as the payslip and the attendance certificate, to the competent service.

Our tip: Request reimbursement in good time and submit all required documents correctly completed. A complete and properly submitted file increases the chance of reimbursement within five days.

What does this compensation consist of?

This compensation equals the gross daily wage, the contributions you have paid to the RSZ, the holiday pay and the end-of-year bonus related to it.
The employee's extralegal benefits are not included.

The daily allowance is calculated as follows:

Either based on 1/20 of the monthly wage
Or based on 8 times the gross hourly wage

In addition to any salary to which the employee is entitled, a juror also receives allowances for travel expenses and for the summons and participation in the assize jury. These allowances must be requested from the president of the court of assizes and are in addition to the salary.

Can I ask my employee not to serve on the jury?

No, you cannot. You may not prevent your employee from fulfilling their civic duties.

Certain jurors can be exempted from their duty, but there must be a sufficient reason why the person cannot serve (for example, manager of a small company where the activity mainly rests on their shoulders, a spouse about to give birth, a seriously ill family member requiring care, …).

An employer may therefore not forbid their employee to fulfil their duty but if the business operation requires it, they can issue the employee a certificate stating that the employee's presence in the company during that period is indispensable. However, the final decision lies with the president of the court of assizes.