The Belgian Supreme Court renders a long-awaited decision on the motivation of dismissals of employees in the Public Sector. An intense jurisprudential debate has come to an end, with the Supreme Court sentencing on 12 October 2015 that neither the Act of 29 July 1991 on the formal motivation of administrative acts, nor the general principles of good governance (in particular, the right to be heard) apply to the dismissal of contractual employees in the public sector. Yet, caution is appropriate. Although CBA n° 109 obliges employers in the private sector to inform an employee of the reasons for his dismissal if so requested by the employee, it does not apply to the employers in the public sector. Contractual employees in the public sector might call upon the old article 63 of the Employment Contracts Act (abusive dismissal). This article still applies to blue-collar employees in the public sector and, in principle, to white-collar employees as well, as the Constitutional Court has ruled that a distinction between blue- and white-collar employees in this respect is unconstitutional. On the basis of this article 63, the employer needs to prove that the dismissal of the contractual employee is based on reasons related to the employee’s capability or conduct, or to the operational requirements of the undertaking of the employer.
Belgium