Employment & Social Security

The Belgian labour law environment is characterised by its high level of complexity, by the high levels of protection it offers employees and by the stringent language regulations which apply.

Labour law generally refers to the rules and regulations governing individual and collective relationships between employers and employees. With regard to individual relationships, labour law governs employment agreements as well as a wide variety of other matters, such as working hours, annual vacation, minimum salary and working conditions. With regard to collective relationships, labour law contains rules governing collective bargaining procedures and the representation of employees and employers in various bodies at company, industry, national and even European level.

Social security refers to a system by which protection against various social risks is financed through mandatory contributions made by individuals and companies. Social security benefits may take the form of unemployment or retirement benefits, health insurance benefits, permanent or temporary disability benefits and family allowances.

Van Bael & Bellis offer a full range of services in the field of employment and social security law to clients in many different sectors. These include advice on all aspects of individual and collective employment law, such as drafting of employment contracts, work rules and other employment related documents, advice on privacy issues such as the monitoring of employees’ e-mail and Internet use, assisting clients with restructuring projects such as collective redundancy and plant closure and with transfers of undertakings, as well as representation and advocacy before the Labour Courts and the Labour Courts of Appeal. We also carry out audits of our clients’ HR practices which result in a series of practical recommendations with a view to complying with Belgian labour law and assist our clients with the implementation of such recommendations.  We also organise in-house training sessions for our clients’ legal and HR staff on a wide variety of topics related to labour and social security law.

Employment law - General

We advise clients on all aspects of general employment law from advice on hiring and the selection process, to pre-pension advice, through to advice on the termination of contracts.

Our employment law team has experience drafting employment contracts for blue-collar workers, white-collar employees and sales representatives, including advice on language requirements and special clauses regarding trial period, non-compete obligation, notice period, intellectual property and stock options. We advise on unilateral modification of terms and conditions of employment, and we draft consultancy agreements with self-employed contractors.

We also offer advice on the suspension of employment contracts, including illness and accident, pregnancy and annual vacation. We assist our clients in matters such as the termination of employment contracts, including the drafting of notice letters and settlement agreements as well as advice on severance packages, outplacement, termination of executives with or without board of directors position, termination for cause, constructive dismissal and termination of protected employees.

Furthermore we are experienced in the rules governing collective dismissal, plant closure and transfer of undertakings. We assist our clients in devising strategies thereon and in calculating the total cost of collective dismissal or plant closure.

We are experienced in dealing with matters pertaining to interim employment and putting employees at the disposal of third parties, and finally we also advise on white-collar fraud in the workplace.

Regulation of labour

To ensure smooth work processes and clear understanding between employer and employee of the working regulations, we offer advice on issues of working time and overtime, legal holidays and paid vacation, paid and unpaid leave and remuneration. We regularly draft a variety of policies for our clients including work rules, e-mail, privacy and internet policies, and policies on sexual harassment in the workplace.

International employment

Our clients include many multinational companies and therefore we offer a wide range of legal services tailored to the requirements of such companies, including the drafting of employment agreements for expatriates, advice on all aspects of expatriate employment, including jurisdiction and applicable law. We also secure work permits for non-EU nationals and advise on split-payroll regimes.

Collective employment law

Our experience in collective employment law covers the drafting of collective bargaining agreements at company level and advice on collective bargaining agreements in general. In addition, we offer advice on the rules governing social elections as well as advice on the works council, the committee for prevention and protection at the workplace, the trade union delegation and the European works council. We frequently assist our clients in preparing for meetings of works councils and are called upon to attend these meetings as an observer for the employer.

We also assist our clients in drafting their written communications with trade unions, and have experience in negotiating with trade unions in the framework of restructuring, collective redundancy, plant closure and transfer of undertaking. Finally, we have been involved in establishing European Works Councils for clients.

Social security law

We advise on the scope of application of Belgian social security laws, on the EC regime and on bilateral treaties, including the US-Belgium Treaty. We offer advice on the general scheme applicable to employees and on entitlement to social security benefits.

Litigation

Recognised by Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers as one of the leading litigators in Belgium, Catherine Longeval, who heads up the employment and social security law practice area, has broad experience litigating before the Labour Courts and the Labour Courts of Appeal in cases concerning, inter alia, termination of employment contracts for cause, severance indemnity in lieu of notice, eviction indemnity, violation of non-compete clause, stock option plans, expatriate status and golden parachute plans.