1 September 2024 is the official start in Belgium of Check in and out at work, CIAO for short, in the facility sector. From that day onwards, cleaning staff is legally obliged to digitally record the start and end of their activities and their rest breaks. So that date has been circled in red in the diaries of facility services providers such as Multi Masters Group for several months now. “In April, we already started registering our permanent employees. We are ready for the official launch of CIAO,” says Philip Paelinck, Managing director at Multi Masters Group.
What is Check in and out at work or CIAO?
Check in and out at work refers to the digital attendance recording of employees, self-employed workers, temporary workers and trainees performing certain cleaning activities. The aim is to improve staff safety, combat undeclared work and social fraud and reduce administrative burdens.
Years of preparation
The idea of digital registration is not new. In November 2016, then secretary of state for the fight against social fraud Philippe De Backer unfolded his ‘Plan for fair competition in the cleaning sector’. The plan aimed to increase transparency through 15 national and international measures. One of these was the introduction of an attendance registration system for cleaning staff.
This plan was supported by the General Belgian Cleaning Union (ABSU) and trade union organisations. It led to the roll-out of a pilot project in which Multi Masters Group actively took part.
MM-Time
At the time, Multi Masters Group was asked to take part in the development of the registration system. “We confirmed our participation immediately. So, we took our first steps in digital registration some eight years ago. Our own ICT department then started preparing the system which culminated in the development of the web application MM-Time, the app we now use for CIAO.”
It took until the Programme Act of 26 December 2022 before digital attendance registration of cleaning staff was put into a legal framework. It was decided that the registration requirement would take effect on 1 September 2024.
Started Check in and out at work (CIAO) in April 2024
Multi Masters Group did not wait until that date. “We decided to start as early as 1 April. First with the attendance registration of our permanent employees. That required a huge effort from our departments. The plates with the QR codes had to be made and then installed at all workplaces. At the same time, all our employees had to receive the necessary information and training, and we communicated about the system to our customers. And then, of course, there was all the behind-the-scenes work of our ICT department.”
“We can only be happy that we started implementing MM-Time so early. That early start gave us the chance to thoroughly evaluate the application and the underlying systems and get the app completely up to speed.”
Temporary staff
In addition to permanent staff, Multi Masters Group occasionally engages temporary employees. “They too use our app MM-Time. Over the last two months, they have received the necessary information. This happened during online training courses organised by our MM-Academy.”
The last straight line
And so now we are in the final straight line towards September 1. “In July, we had about 90,000 successful registrations. So, we are all set for the launch of CIAO.”
