Layoff procedure

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1- Dismissal
2- Individual layoff with advanced notice
3- Individual layoff without advanced notice
4- Mass redundancy
5- Resignation

Temporary work contracts terminate upon occurrence of one of the following:

1. Expiry of the fixed-term contract
2. Completion of the work for which the employee was hired
3. Come-back of the replaced employee

Permanent contracts can be terminated with advanced notice or pay-in-lieu of notice or by immediate breach for serious offence. The contract can also be terminated for economic reasons.

The Belgian labour legislation allows each party to terminate the work contract at any time; advanced notice is only used to communicate in advance the contract termination date to the other party.

This is the only type of layoff that requires compliance with a special procedure. Dismissal does not give right to advanced notice or compensation. Workers may also be subject to temporary sanction related to their unemployment rights.

The legislation considers that dismissal is an exceptional procedure, and as such imposes very stringent validity rules:

• the employer must notify the breach of contract to the worker within three working days, after being informed of the charges against him/her
• the employer must then inform the worker of the dismissal cause within another 3 working days.

Should this procedure not be observed, the employer must pay the worker compensation for contract breach equal to the income corresponding to the advanced notice that should have been given.

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Advanced notice is given by registered letter (or bailiff writ) and comes into force the 3rd working day following shipment date. The notification specifies the start and duration of the advanced notice, that may vary whether it applies to an employee or a worker.

For workers: the advanced notice duration starts on the Monday following the week during which advanced notice was stated. The advanced notice duration depends on the length of service in the company at the time the advanced notice is stated.

For employees: the advanced notice duration starts the first day of the month following that during which the advanced notice was stated. The advanced notice duration is calculated depending on their income and length of service.

Some employees benefit from special protection:

• Pregnant women,
• Works representative and shop stewards.

If the employer terminates their contract, the laid-off employee has right to special protection compensation. The layoff reason is indicated on the unemployment certificate C4 along with the contract start and end dates and the kind of work performed.

Any employee may intend to bring their layoff to the Labour Court to have it deemed an abuse if they consider that the reason stated on the certificate is unjustified.
The following example is deemed an abuse: layoff of a worker offered a permanent contract for reasons independent from his ability or behaviour and not based on company management needs.

On the contrary, for employees, the employer must prove that layoff is rightful.

If the layoff is deemed an abuse, the employer may be sentenced to pay compensation corresponding to 6 months of wages.

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The employee can be dismissed without advanced notice provided that the employer justifies a cause "making business collaboration immediately and definitely impossible".

In addition, the employer can decide to lay off an employee and exempt him/her from observing the advanced notice. In such case, the employer must notify, within 3 working days, layoff without advanced notice and pay-in-lieu of notice to be paid in full.

This compensation is equal to the current income corresponding to the duration of advanced notice or to the remaining part of that duration.

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This type of layoff applies to the termination of contract of:
# 10 workers if the company staff ranges from 20 to 99 employees,
# 10% of the staff if it ranges from 100 to 299 employees,
# 30 workers if the staff is greater than 300 employees.

Before using this type of layoff, the employer must hold previous consultations with their staff members. Upon expiry of the advanced notice, the employer must pay a collective severance pay to the employees that became unemployed or have found a job less paid.

This pay corresponds to half of the difference between the net income before layoff and the unemployment allowance due.

This pay is due over 4 years as from the termination of the contract or the period covered by a compensation for contract breach.

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This contract breach method is initiated by the employee and is subject to the same rules as for contract breach initiated by the employer.

However, the advanced notice will be shorter:

• The advanced notice for a worker will range between 14 and 28 days depending on its length of service,
• The advanced notice for an employee will depend on their length of service but shall not exceed 6 months.

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"Note: This article only sums up the Belgian social legislation and its main characteristics. It shall not be considered as a comprehensive draft document."