Understanding and implementing dismissals in Belgium

Introducing an online platform for today's employers

The confluence of international economic changes and national legislation is having a major impact on employers' decision to restructure their work force.

The Belgian labour market is unique in that many sectors have an automatic indexation of salaries, recently triggering a staggering wage increase of more than 11% for hundreds of thousands of workers. This spike in salaries will impact the profit margins of companies and could trigger a reduction in the workforce when employers cannot compensate the additional costs by reducing other benefits.

Another reason for widespread restructurings in 2023 in Belgium is that most companies must hold social elections in 2024. This process begins in December 2023. In Belgium, candidates for social elections enjoy particularly strong protections against dismissal and so employers must take into account that any reduction in workforce by dismissals will need to be arranged by autumn at the latest.

Navigating compliance and best practices as an employer in Belgium can be overwhelming but the team at Osborne Clarke has assembled several resources to help.

Our legal experts will not only provide practical guidelines for dismissing employees, but they will also unveil their cutting edge online platform that helps assess the risks around each case of employee termination.