Article

62-70 Wet tot wijziging van de wet van 3 juli 1978 betreffende de arbeidsovereenkomsten met het oog op de beperking van de duur van opeenvolgende arbeidsovereenkomsten voor een bepaalde tijd en vervangingsovereenkomsten

Description

Employers are required to notify their workforce 30 days in advance of implementing collective dismissals (that is, within 60 days, dismissals of at least 10 workers in companies with 20-99 employees, of at least 10% of the workforce in firms with 100-299 workers or at least 30 dismissals in companies with 300 or more staff). This period can be extended up to 60 days upon request from the trade union.

During the 30 day collective dismissal notification period, the employer is prohibited from dismissing the employees included in the collective dismissal notification. After and in addition to this period, the conventional notification periods apply to individual employees.

Individual notice of termination is valid only if it is in writing, specifying the commencement date and the duration of the period of notice. When the employer gives notice, the statement must be sent by registered mail or be communicated in writing by a process server.

Each employee, regardless of being white or blue collar worker, has a fixed notice period in case of the unilateral ending of a work agreement of an indefinite nature. Fixed-term contracts can only be ended (since 2014) in the first half of the contract (up to six months) through a one-sided notification of either the employee or employer. In this case notification periods similar to the indefinite nature contract apply. It is not possible to alter the duration of the period at sectoral level; it is however possible to increase the period at individual or company level.

According to the political agreement called "Summer Agreement" of the 21st of July 2025, for dismissal of contracts of indefinite duration, from 01 January 2026, the maximum notice period is 52 weeks. Since this limit applies only after a long period of seniority, its effects will only become noticeable from 2043 onwards.

For resignation, since the 20 March 2023, the maximum notice period for an employee who joined the company before 1 January 2014 is 13 weeks.

The duration of the notice period depends on several elements as can be seen below:

Duration of notice period for the first 5 years of employment:

Commentary

No information available.

Additional metadata

Cost covered by

None

Involved actors other than national government

Trade union

Involvement (others)

None

Thresholds

Affected employees: No, applicable in all circumstances
Company size: No, applicable in all circumstances
Additional information: No, applicable in all circumstances

Sources

• Wet tot wijziging van de wet van 3 juli 1978 betreffende de arbeidsovereenkomsten met het oog op de beperking van de duur van opeenvolgende arbeidsovereenkomsten voor een bepaalde tijd en vervangingsovereenkomsten
• Securex: Opzegtermijn bij ontslag door werknemer maximaal 13 weken.
• Wet houdende bepalingen tot bevordering van de tewerkstelling
• Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (in French - in Dutch)
• Ius Laboris (2011), Individual Dismissals Across Europe, Brussels
• Ius Laboris (2009), Collective Redundancies Guide, Brussels
• Watson Wyatt (2006), Employment Terms & Conditions Report Europe, Volume I, Brussels, Belgium
• Restructuring in Belgium
• Bingen, A., Hégalé, M. and Layon E. (2006), L'accompagnement des travailleurs licenciés collectivement, Courrier hebdomadaire n° 1943-1944, p. 71, Dorssemont
• Dorssemont, F. (2006), 'The Renault Saga (revisited)', European Company Law, Issue 1 (3), pp. 5–10
• Information from the Federation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB/ACLVB)