European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Law of 29/03/2012: Articles 62, 63 and 65; Law of 24/03/2024: Article 2, 45/1 and 3
In case of collective redundancies (within 60 days, at least 10 dismissals in companies with 20-99 employees, 10% of the workforce in companies with 100-299 employees, at least 30 dismissals in companies with 300 or more employees), companies must spread redundancies proportionally with regards to the age of their employees in order to maintain the age pyramid in the workplace as it was before the collective redundancies. A deviation of 10% is accepted for redundancies spread across the different age categories (namely: younger than 30; 30–50; 50 and older). Employees with fixed-term contracts and those hired for a specific project can be excluded from this scheme. Employees in key roles in the company may also be excluded. Unions' representatives have a particular protection against layoffs which can be removed only by the relevant joint committee or the labour court.
The Belgian law of 24 March 2024 introduces new protections for employees (both women and men) who are absent from work due to fertility treatments or medically assisted reproduction programmes. Specifically, it prohibits employers from unilaterally terminating such employees from the moment they inform the employer with a medical certificate, up to two months after, unless the employer can prove unrelated grounds. If violated, the employee is entitled to compensation equal to six months’ gross pay. It also strengthens anti-discrimination provisions to include such absences.
The Act of 19 March 1991 introduced a special dismissal protection regime for employee representatives in works councils and committees for workplace safety, health and embellishment, as well as for non-elected candidates. Under this framework, such workers could only be dismissed for serious misconduct recognised by the labour court or for economic and technical reasons validated by the competent joint committee. The protection aimed to safeguard the independence of employee representatives during and after social elections.
The Act of 3 December 2023 amended this act to align with the gradual increase in the statutory retirement age. Previously, protection ended at 65 years. The amendment extends this threshold to 66 years from 1 February 2025 and to 67 years from 1 February 2030. All other conditions of dismissal remain unchanged. This adjustment ensures continued protection for representatives in the final years of their careers, maintaining consistency with pension reforms.
The obligation to respect the age pyramid does not create special protection or rights for individual employees but it is an important condition for companies wishing to maintain their entitlement to a reduction in social security contributions. The goal of this obligation is to prevent the targeting of specific age groups within the company in case of dismissals. In some cases, employers would want to dismiss older employees in favour of younger ones, since they are more expensive because of their seniority years.
Eurofound (2015), Belgium: Selection of employees for (collective) dismissals, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/selection-of-employees-for-collective-dismissals/belgium
This Eurofound research paper explores key trends in restructuring in recent years, highlighting the companies that announced the largest job losses and job gains in the EU. It builds on an analysis of company announcements recorded in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), alongside a new classification of restructuring events involving changes in company location.
:quality(80))
Employers increasingly use tools such as email, SMS and messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal to communicate with employees. While these technologies offer both efficiency and convenience, their use in communicating sensitive information, particularly for notifying employees of dismissal, raises legal concerns. This article explores the legal framework on dismissals across the EU, with a special focus on the use of digital means for communicating employment dismissals. Drawing on examples from various Member States, it examines the legal validity of digital dismissals.
:quality(80))
In 2023, thousands of workers in big tech lost their jobs. Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce had been considered to offer good and secure jobs up to this point. Giants of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, these companies are among the highest paying, with Eurostat data from 2022 indicating that workers in ICT had the second-highest median gross hourly earnings (surpassed only by earnings in the financial sector).[1] These layoffs were a shock, especially as the biggest companies had hired extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic. What happened in the two years after this redundancy wave – was that the end of the cuts or did the companies start expanding again?
:quality(80))
In 2024, the automotive sector in the EU came to the fore in public and policy discussions. The focus was on the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, rising global competition, belated investments in new technologies, and the potential closure of production lines in Europe. A number of European car manufacturers and suppliers announced their intention to make large-scale redundancies and change long-standing collective agreements on job security and wages, while workers raised concerns amid demonstrations and industrial action.
:quality(80))