Belgium: Shareholders' right directive

The Directive amends the so-called Shareholders’ Rights Directive (EU Directive 2007/36 as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement). The stated objective is to overcome certain corporate governance shortcomings in European listed companies and to promote the long-term engagement of shareholders. The Directive deals with a wide range of corporate law and governance issues, such as identifying shareholders, providing information about shareholders, facilitating voting, making…

Belgium: Employment law review

Belgium has introduced some new legislation on agile and flexi-working as well as wage moderation. Below you will find the most important aspects. Agile and Flexi-working The long-awaited Act on agile and flexible work was published on 15 March 2017 and it provides a legal framework that meets employers’ requests for more flexibility in the organisation of work and working time while it is also…

Belgium: Increase in the credit of additional hours for certain part-time employees

In line with earlier announcements in the framework of the Workable and Agile Work project of Secretary of Employment Kris Peeters, the legislator – in view of more flexibility for certain part-time employees – has increased the so-called “credit of additional hours”. An RD of 23 March 2017 (Belgian State Gazette of 5 April 2017) provides the necessary amendments to the RD of 25 June 1990…

Belgium: New pension matter

The Supreme Court ruled in a judgment of 6 March 2017 that the organiser of a pension promise must cover deficits of the vested reserves, as well as deficits regarding the minimum guaranteed return, no matter the causes of the deficits. Article 30 of the Act of 28 April 2003 on Occupational Pensions (“AOP”) states that an organiser must cover deficits of the vested reserves,…

European court of justice rules on discrimination based on belief

The ECJ has ruled on a Belgian case about whether an employer can justify having a neutral dress policy and on a French preliminary question on a similar theme. It confirms that a dress code aimed at neutrality can be used to justify discrimination based on belief. In the Belgian case, a female receptionist was employed by a Belgian business. The business had an internal…

Football vs. Belgian employment law: 1-0?

According to a survey among 1,000 Belgian employees, 6 out of 10 employees intend to watch Euro 2016. Another survey among 200 HR managers revealed, however, that 7 out of 10 Belgian employers fear a reduction in productivity in the coming weeks due to Euro 2016. One should, perhaps, not be too surprised knowing that 2 employees out of 3 expect management will turn a…

No damages due to lack of outplacement assistance

If an employee is dismissed for serious cause, and this serious cause is later found to be unfair, the employee is not entitled to damages because the employer did not make an outplacement offer, nor does such a dismissal qualify automatically as a case of manifestly unfair dismissal. In case of dismissal, the employer is in certain circumstances obliged to make an outplacement offer, in…

Night work possible in e-commerce distribution

On 18 March 2016, a Royal Decree (RD) enabling night work for e commerce activities in the distribution sectors was published. This RD provides for working-time arrangements with night work to be introduced at company level in these sectors. Recently, sectoral collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in the sectorial committees 201 (independent retail), 202 (retail in foodstuffs), 202.01 (medium sized food stores), 311 (large retail) and…