If an employee, in accordance with national Collective Bargaining Agreement no. 109, requests the concrete reasons for his or her dismissal by registered letter, the employer must also provide them by registered letter. If the communication has been made by other means, the employee can claim payment of a fixed fine. This does not constitute an abuse of rights
Sep
28
2019
Belgium: Practical Insights for the European Works Council
The European Works Council Directive is an interesting and important tool for social dialogue, yet is still relatively unknown, which is why Van Olmen & Wynant organised an employment forum on the matter in September
Aug
27
2019
Belgian protection for witnesses of discrimination is insufficient according to the Court of Justice
In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice ruled that witnesses of discrimination are not sufficiently protected by Belgian legislation on discrimination
Jul
27
2019
Belgium: Benefits provided by a third party to an employee are part of the renumeration
In a judgement of 20 May 2019, the Belgian Supreme Court has answered the question whether benefits provided by a third party to an employee, should be seen as part of his/her wage, on which social security contributions need to be paid
Jun
25
2019
Belgium: Labour court’ questions the link between seniority and wage increases
The Labour Court of Leuven, in a judgment of 11 April 2019, has declared a sectoral collective agreement non-applicable as it linked wage increases to the seniority of the employee, because it deemed it to be in contradiction with the prohibition of discrimination based on age
May
29
2019
Belgium: Act on Social Elections for 2020
Every four years the Belgian companies of the private sector hold social elections for the worker representatives in the works council and the health and safety committee. The Act of April 4, 2020 has amended the general Act on social elections of 2007 in order to introduce some novelties for the upcoming elections of 2020
Apr
27
2019
Belgium: Social Partners Have (Partially) Saved The Collective Bargaining Process
The national social partners have concluded an agreement on some important future measures of employment and social security law. The outcome of the negotiations was highly uncertain as the socialist trade union did not agree with a maximum raise of the wages of 1,1% in the midst of difficult discussions on the raise of the minimum wage
Apr
03
2019
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX CHALLENGES
Even in the era of far-reaching international trade agreements and regional economic and political partnerships, the majority of laws and regulations governing the workplace are still determined by the individual countries where employees work.
Spanning 6 continents, L&E Global’s member firms are ideally situated to provide clients with pragmatic, commercial advice necessary to achieve their objectives. Our members work closely with corporate, legal, human resources departments and corporate executives across a variety of sectors and industries to address the strategic and tactical issues that arise in the workplace.
Discover the most important labour and employment rules, regulations and best practices specific to each jurisdiction, conveniently together in one place.
Mar
27
2019
Belgium: The Mobility Budget
In order to diminish the number of company cars and the resulting congestion and exhaust emissions, the Belgian government introduced the cash-for-car system in 2018. On March 1, 2019 a second option entered into force to promote alternative ways of mobility: the mobility budget
Feb
26
2019
Belgium: Disagreements arise over the national wage bargaining system
Belgium was hit by a national strike on 13 February 2019. The collective actions were caused by the discontent of the trade unions with the national wage bargaining system, which they argue to limit their freedom to negotiate higher wage increases