BELGIAN EMPLOYMENT LAW OUTLINED
XpertHR's latest guide to national employment law looks at Belgium, one of the UK's closest neighbours and Europe's eighth-largest economy. As well as attracting considerable foreign investment, Belgium houses the European headquarters of many multinational companies.
From a UK perspective, the employment relationship seems highly regulated in Belgium, with very detailed and complex rules covering issues such as working time, leave, forms of employment contract, discrimination, employee representation and dismissal. Distinctive features include different statutory entitlements and treatment for blue-collar and white-collar workers in areas such as notice periods, sick pay, probationary periods and holiday pay. Despite a high and increasing level of political decentralisation to the regions (principally Flanders and Wallonia), employment law remains largely national in scope in Belgium.
EU-level developments reported on this month include: BusinessEurope's terms for negotiations on amending the Working Time Directive; the end of restrictions on the free movement of workers from eight Central and Eastern European member states; and European Commission plans for legislation to protect strike and bargaining rights.
Meanwhile, our monthly state of play table keeps you up to date with the latest position on all draft employment Directives and other EU legislative proposals.
 Mark Carley
International editor,
XpertHR |
