Funeral industry benefits most from expansion of flexi-jobs to other sectors

The flexi-job system is becoming increasingly common in the funeral industry. According to HR firm Acerta, 15 per cent of employees in that sector are now flexi-jobbers. Funeral companies are thus benefiting the most from the extension of the flexi-job system to other sectors. 

In December 2015, the government created a new employment regime for the hospitality industry: the flexi-job. Flexi-jobs are meant for people who already have a job or are retired but still want to work and earn extra money on favourable terms. The concept was an instant success and was soon extended to other sectors. 

As recently as January, the system was introduced in the agriculture, horticulture, logistics and funeral sectors. Five months later, HR firm Acerta is now charting the first trends since that expansion, based on data from 20,000 companies. The numbers show that the flexi-job system is particularly booming in the funeral industry. Fifteen per cent of workers there now have flexi-jobs. In the transport and logistics sector, the impact is more limited: 4.3 per cent of employees there have a flexi-job. 

In the hospitality industry, the sector for which flexi-jobs were created in the first place, the number of flexi-jobbers continues to rise year on year. Almost a quarter (23.54 per cent) of hospitality staff are flexi-jobbers: up 6 per cent from last year. The system therefore remains the most popular in the hospitality sector, followed by the food sector (15.8 per cent of workers) and retail (15.2 per cent).

Acerta further noted that more and more retirees are finding their way to flexi-jobs. While 64-year-olds make up only 2.21 per cent of all workers in our country, they now account for 18.97 per cent of all flexi-jobbers. Since last year, their share increased by a whopping 28 per cent.

_{Coffin during the funeral ceremony © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}