Van Olmen & Wynant

The EU has recently adopted the AI Act, in full called the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence act) and amending certain union legislative acts”. It aims to classify and regulate different AI systems and tools in order to identify and restrict harmful […]

The Social Penal Code of 2010 has been modified many times during the last decade, but after a major evaluation in 2017 by the Advisory Council of Social Penal Law and a first draft legislative project of the beginning of 2023, a legal proposal to reform the code has been introduced in Parliament and is […]

The case concerns a prejudicial question from a Polish court regarding a dispute between a fixed-term worker and his former employer. According to Polish law, temporary employment contracts are excluded from the obligation for employers to communicate the reasons for dismissal. The Polish court asked the CJEU whether this situation conforms with the principle of […]

In a judgment of 21 December 2023, the Labour Court of Appeal of Brussels has ruled that certain Deliveroo riders (previously active) should be considered workers in a subordinate relationship with Deliveroo as the employer. This judgment reverses the first instance judgement of 8 December 2021 of the Labour Tribunal of Brussels that had ruled in favour of […]

NEW FEDERAL LEARNING ACCOUNT: OBLIGATION TO REGISTER PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN 2024 With the Act of 20 October 2023 (published on 1 December 2023 ), the legislator has introduced the Federal Learning Account (FLA). The FLA has as a purpose to give workers access to information regarding their individual right to training, based on the Labour […]

In order to boost the creation of employment, Belgium knows a system of reductions of the social security contributions paid for the first employees hired by a company. This system is applied to new employers of new employees, which means employers which never engaged employees before. As these reductions are rather expensive for the social […]

On 9 October 2023, the Federal Government concluded an agreement regarding the budget. The big trophy for the liberal parties within the government is the expansion of the flexi-job system. However, to concede to the worries of the socialist and green parties (and the trade unions), the system is also made stricter. Flexi-jobs were initially […]

During the State of the Union on September 13, EU Commission’s President Von der Leyen, proclaimed the EU’s achievements, as well as its challenges. With respect to employment law the main challenge consists of labour shortages due to societal and technological shifts. During the speech it was emphasised that social partners will play a major […]

Upcoming EU Directive on equal pay and pay transparency to combat the gender pay gap At the end of 2022 the European Parliament and Council reached a political agreement on the proposal for a directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men […]

Belgium is traditionally considered an open economy and a reliable socio-economic environment for foreign investment. Although providing interesting business opportunities, starting operations in Belgium will inevitably bring along challenges. Foreign investors will be confronted with unfamiliar Belgian employment and corporate law requirements. As is the case in other EU Member States, employment and corporate law in […]

The social partners have agreed that from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025, employers and employees in all sectors will again be able to make use of additional voluntary overtime, or “relance hours”. This system already existed between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2022, and is now being reinstated. The law has not […]

On 10 July, the European commission adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. The decision states that the US offers an adequate level of protection (similar to the protection offered by the GDPR) for personal data transferred from European to US companies under the new framework. This decision is particularly important for […]

Belgium is traditionally considered an open economy and a reliable socio-economic environment for foreign investment. Although providing interesting business opportunities, starting operations in Belgium will inevitably bring along challenges. Foreign investors will be confronted with unfamiliar Belgian employment and corporate law requirements. As is the case in other EU Member States, employment and corporate law in […]

The Act of 24 May 2023 and Royal Decree of 23 April 2023 offer companies that achieved (exceptionally) high profits in 2022 the possibility to grant a purchasing power premium to their employees. This premium aims to contribute to the economic recovery after the energy crisis. Duration and use This premium can be awarded form […]

A new Act of 20 March 2023 brings amendments to the Act on the introduction of the unified statute between blue-collar and white-collar workers, also known as the “Unified Status Act.” The purpose of this Act is twofold: firstly, to resolve the ongoing dispute regarding the maximum notice period for termination by employees, and secondly, to eliminate […]

The applicable social security system is regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004. When COVID-19 forced everyone to work from home, the normal rules were temporarily set aside so teleworking (remote working) from another member states did not have any impact on the applicable social security legislation (the “no-impact exception”). Until 30 June 2023, a transition […]

On 16 March 2023, a Royal Decree was published in the Belgian Official Gazette which amends the Royal Decree of 30 March 1967 on the implementing provisions of annual leave. The changes are aimed at ensuring that the Belgian rules are in line with the EU Working Time Directive and the case law of the […]

At the end of 2022 the European Parliament and Council reached a political agreement on the proposal for a directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and woman through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms. This future Directive aims to ensure that […]

As working time is one of the core aspects of employment law, the EU Working Time Directive 2003/88/EG is one of the most important pieces of EU social policy legislation. The Court of Justice of the European Union receives many preliminary questions from national courts, therefore its case law is key to understand the correct […]

This article is to analyse the Act of 28 November 2022 on the protection of persons who report violations of Union or national law found within a legal entity in the private sector, which was adopted by the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and which applies to employers since 15 February 2023. Parallels are drawn with the […]

n 16 February 2023, the act amending the various discrimination laws and welfare laws was approved by the Belgian parliament (Federal Chamber). This act amends the Gender Act of 2007, the Discrimination (General) Act of 2007, the Racism and Xenophobia Act of 1981 and the Welbeing Act of 1996. This act will soon be published […]

In a judgment of 12 January 2023, the CJEU confirmed that the refusal to offer further service agreements to a self-employed person, based on the sexual orientation of the service provider, can indeed constitute a prohibited direct discrimination. The CJEU dealt with a preliminary question from a Polish court concerning the interpretation of Article 3(1)(a) and […]

On January 24, 2023, the social partners of the National Labor Council signed CBA No. 164 regarding the employer’s intervention in travel by bicycle between the home and the workplace. This collective bargaining agreement ensures that there is a general obligation for employers to provide compensation to employees who come to work by bicycle. Furthermore, […]

STARTING AHEAD IN 2023: NEW AND UPCOMING EMPLOYMENT RULES IN BELGIUM Below we briefly discuss the most important new or upcoming changes to employment law in Belgium. Programme Act of 26 December 2022 Belgium entered the new year with the entry into force of most of the provisions of the massive Programme Act of 26 […]

The new Whistleblowers Act for the private sector of 28 December 2022 was published on 15 December 2022. Companies employing 250 and more workers will have to install an internal reporting procedure before 15 February 2023. Below you can read our Guide to the private sector Whistleblower rules in Belgium. A. Legal basis for whistleblowing Which […]

Labour Deal 2022: 4 Day Work Week and Alternating Work Week Chapter 3 of the Labour Deal Act introduces two new weekly regimes, the four-day working week and the alternating week regime. Chapter 3 contains no special entry into force provisions and will also apply to the public sector for those agencies and public enterprises covered by the […]

Labour Deal 2022: The Transition Track The Labour deal (Act of 3 October 2022 concerning various labour provisions) provides for a number of novelties in dismissal law. A first measure is the introduction of transition tracks (Chapter 5) in Article 37/13 Employment Contracts Act. A “transition track” is the possibility for an employee with an open-ended employment contract […]

In a case of 5 September 2022, the Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court) had to rule on the qualification as remuneration under Belgian social security law, concerning restricted stock units (RSU’s) awarded to the employees of Belgian companies by the American mother company of the employers. The Belgian National Social Security Office and the lower […]

THE TPWC DIRECTIVE AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE DIRECTIVE HAVE ENTERED INTO FORCE: SEVERAL MEMBER STATES ARE LAGGING BEHIND WITH THE TRANSPOSITION Two of the most important recent EU legal instruments in the field of social Policy have entered into force on 2 August 2022. We are talking about the Transparent And Predictable Working Conditions Directive (2019/1152) […]

IMPORTANT CHANGE IN DISMISSAL LAW AS FROM 2023: SATURDAY NO LONGER CONSIDERED A WORKING DAY In Belgian employment law, Saturday is in principle considered a working day (in contrast to Sunday and legal holidays) even if the employees are not working on this day. As a result, Saturdays are counted when calculating: the double three-day period […]

GDPR VIOLATION DUE TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATION CONCERNING THE HEALTH STATUS OF A DISMISSED EMPLOYEE   The Belgian national data protection authority (DPA) has recently reprimanded a public employer, following a complaint for a breach of GDPR-rules concerning data procession of personal health information, filed by a dismissed employee. During an internal meeting of HR staff the dismissal of the employee […]

The Court of Justice of the EU recently decided in a preliminary ruling that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which provides for a lower supplementary pay for regular night work than – for irregular nightwork, is not implementing the Working Time Directive and therefore does not fall within the scope of the EU Charter of […]

THE COMPETENT JURISDICTION FOR INTERNATIONAL WORKERS: HOW TO FIND THE PLACE WHERE THE EMPLOYEE HABITUALLY WORKS The concept of the “place where the employee habitually works” is an essential concept for determining which employment law is to be applied and which jurisdiction is competent. According to a recent case of the Belgian Supreme Court (Cour […]

Structural teleworkers (remote workers), who work on average at least one day per week (5 days / month) from home, can receive a cost compensation (the so-called “office compensation”) by the employer to cover the costs of electricity, heating, etc. It is not necessary to prove the actual value of the costs, but the National […]

EU NEGOTIATIONS ON PAY TRANSPARENCY DIRECTIVE ARE STARTING Early 2021, the EU Commission submitted a legislative proposal for a Directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (The Pay Transparency Directive). The EU parliament […]

VOW Partner Chris Van Olmen has authored the Belgian Chapter in the 13th edition of the internationally recognised The Employment Law Review, which is published by The Law Reviews/Law Business Research and can also be found on Lexology. This chapter looks at the recent changes in labour law as well as the most important cases before the Belgian courts in 2021. […]

Early 2021, the EU Commission submitted a legislative proposal for a Directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (The Pay Transparency Directive). The EU parliament has now approved its position on the proposal […]

The Belgian government estimates that around 200,000 Ukrainian citizens will seek refuge in Belgium over the coming weeks and months. Together with the EU, Belgium has made it less complicated for Ukrainians to enter the Belgian labour market. We have set out below, the basic conditions for Ukrainian refugees’ right to work in Belgium, which […]

On the night of Monday, February 14, the Belgian Federal Government reached an agreement on the reform of the labour market. The deal includes various social policy measures, which will result in legislative changes in employment law. The measures are, for now, merely part of a political deal. The national social partners will still be asked […]

LABOUR TRIBUNAL ACCEPTS URGENT DISMISSAL FOR NOT WEARING FACE MASK AND NOT RESPECTING SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES AT WORK In a judgement of 11 January 2022 (21/338/A), the Labour Tribunal of Brussels accepted the immediate dismissal of an employee because he did not (correctly) wear his face mask and did not respect the social distancing measures. […]

EU Member States had the obligation to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law to their national law. Only seven out of twenty-seven Member States managed to do so in time, respecting the deadline of […]

The Programme Act of 27 December 2021 has adapted the special tax regime for foreign executives coming to Belgium to work. The very beneficial system, which sometimes led to foreign executives not having to pay taxes altogether, has been replaced with a system in which executives will have to pay taxes, but can still benefit […]

After more than two years of investigations by the Labour Prosecutor, on 8 December 2021, the Labour Tribunal of Brussels ruled that Deliveroo riders should not be qualified as employees, but rather as self-employed workers. However, they do not qualify to work under the fiscally beneficial sharing economy system. The judgement of 8 December 2021 […]

Now Belgium is in the midst of a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, the Government has decided to take stricter measures, including the reintroduction of mandatory remote or telework for 4 (and later 3) days a week. Mandatory telework was already in force during previous Covid-19 waves in 2020 and 2021. Thanks to the vaccination […]

In the EPSU Case, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice had to decide whether the European Treaties should be interpreted in a way, that the Commission must implement a framework agreement negotiated by the European social partners, when the latter requests it. The Social Policy Chapter of the Treaty on the Functioning of […]

The European Court of Human Right’s ruling of 15 June 2021 concerned the dismissal of a contractual cleaning lady in an educational government service because she ‘liked’ (politically) sensitive posts on Facebook. The Court considered this dismissal as a violation of the employee’s freedom of expression (Article 10 European Convention of Human Rights). Ms. Melike […]

The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed its previous case law, stating that companies can ban their employees from wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace. However, this prohibition must objectively be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers […]

With the end of the legal recommendation to telework in sight, the question of health safety in the workplace gains further importance. There is indeed no legal basis (yet) for the obligation of an employee to get vaccinated, and it is complicated or even impossible for an employer to know exactly who is and who […]

In the ASE case of 17 March 2021 (C-585-19), the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that in the event that employees have concluded multiple employment contracts with the same employer, the working time limits (as laid down by the Working Time Directive) have to be respected for all the employment contracts, […]

Through a claim from an employee of an IT consultancy, the Litigation Chamber of the Data Protection Authority (“the DPA”) has clarified the boundaries of the employer’s obligations when faced with a request of access to, and a copy of, the former’s personal data. It (i) elaborates on the accepted and unaccepted grounds of refusal […]

In order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belgian government requests a stricter monitoring of mandatory telework, whenever this is possible. To make the control and enforcement of the obligation to telework more efficient for the social inspection services, the government introduces a new obligation for employers to register their employees. All employers (in all […]

The Belgian Federal Parliament has approved the Act providing for a right to a short leave for workers in order to receive a vaccine against the coronavirus COVID-19. The act is expected to be published in the Official Gazette soon and enters into force on the day of its publication. It will cease to apply on 31 December 2021 (unless if […]

As the telework during the COVID-19 pandemic does not perfectly fit with the existing legal systems of occasional or structural telework, employers and employees were confronted during the last year with the absence of a clear legal framework. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement no. 149 of 26 January provides a framework for employers and their […]

The new Belgian government prioritises the promotion of gender equality and the fight against discrimination based on gender. One of the first steps in this agenda is the extension of birth leave, which is the leave that fathers or co-parents (it is a gender neutral type of paternity leave) can take at the birth of a […]

On 1 December 2020, The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Case C-815/18 Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging (FNV) v Van den Bosch Transporten BV and Others. The Court affirms that a worker who provides very limited services in the territory of the Member State, to which that worker […]

PIETER PECINOVSKY SAMYA OUAHYANI Now that Belgium has been hit by a “second wave” outbreak of the coronavirus, Belgian employers and employees are facing new (or renewed) governmental measures to prevent the further spread of the virus. At the same time, the government has decided to implement further support measures to make sure that companies and […]

At the end of October 2020, the Commission published its proposal for a Directive on adequate minimum wages for workers across Member States. The right to adequate minimum wages is established by Principle 6 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. In light of this, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised a legal instrument […]