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Print articleBelgium Employment Law is Slowly Modernising
June, 2014 - Sylvie Dubois and Liesbeth Spaas
A parliamentary Act of 26 December 2013 fundamentally altered the Belgian rules for dismissals. It harmonised the dismissal rule for blue-collar and white-collar workers and obliged the employer to give a reason for the dismissal. Furthermore, it removed the insecurity felt by many employers when dismissing white-collar employees.
Harmonised Periods of Notice
Belgium was on the the only countries in Europe that still made a distinction between blue-collar and white-collar employees in its dismissal rules. Until 31 December 2013, the minimum notice period for blue-collar workers was between 28 and 56 calendar days, depending on the employee's length of service. Many industries had increased these minimum notice periods through sector-level collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs"). For white-collar employees, the minimum statutory notice period was three months to every five years' service or part thereof. However, for so-called 'higher' white-collar employees (who earned more that EUR32,254 per year), the notice period had to be negotiated in each individual case by the employer and the employee. If no agreement could be found, the notice period was set by a Labour Court.
