The employer is obliged to pay employees who are willing to work during a strike if it is not completely impossible to perform their tasks. In a recent case, an employer failed to allow employees to work because of a strike. The employer refused to pay the employees who did not participate in the strike, but were willing to work, on the basis of ‘force majeure’. Given the fact that it was possible for the employees to perform some of their tasks (i.e. it was not completely impossible to perform any task) and as this was acknowledged by the employer, the Supreme Court ruled that the employer could not refuse the payment of salary on the basis of ‘force majeure’.
Belgium