Social elections 2020: don't be caught off guard. Time moves faster than you think.

Wim SmetAdverit Antwerp, Belgium

Many an employer is starting to get nervous. In the period starting on 11 May 2020 and ending on 24 May 2020, elections must be held for the establishment or renewal of works councils and committees. The election procedure takes a total of 150 days, following a strict chronology. If the prescribed periods and dates are not followed, this may subsequently lead to the elections being annulled.

So do the math: those who hadn’t started before Christmas have missed the boat.

The first thing you need to do is check whether your company is required to organize elections at all. Please note: for the purposes of social elections, a company is defined as “the technical business unit, defined on the basis of economic and social criteria”. A company employing an average of 50 employees must organize elections for a committee, while a company employing an average of 100 employees must organize elections for a works council. This average employee count is calculated based on a reference period from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019.

If you are an employer required to organize elections, you determine the election date within the period mentioned above and then count back to determine which obligations apply to you during the procedure. And there are quite a few.

For those who can no longer quite keep up, don’t worry: the FPS Employment (FOD WASO) has published a handy brochure: click here to download this brochure.

Do you still have questions or would you like support? Please feel free to contact our firm.

Wim Smet – lawyer

wim.smet@alisadvocaten.be

Related practice areas

Labour law

Other insights from this firm

View all legal insightsView all
The importance of a phishing policy for the employer Labour lawCivil law The article discusses the liability of employees when they cause damage to their employer by clicking on a phishing link. It addresses the concept of "gross negligence", the importance of a decisive phishing policy and IT security, and the possible consequences such as wage deductions or dismissal for serious cause… If you're reading this message, you're one of the lucky ones: you know how not to dismiss someone. Labour law The article discusses how Belgian employers should properly dismiss employees and points out the importance of CBA 109 regarding the justification of dismissal. It emphasizes the importance of a formal, written dialogue between employer and employee in order to avoid a manifestly unreasonable dismissal and the associated compensation.
Can a doctor establish that an employee became incapacitated for work several weeks ago? Labour law This article discusses whether an employer must accept a retroactive sick note, using a practical example of an employee who only submitted a certificate after three weeks. Attachment of trading goods: can a sale proceed while the ownership dispute is still pending? Commercial law An attachment of trading goods can place a company in considerable practical and financial difficulties. Goods remain stored, costs keep rising, and commercial opportunities risk being lost. But must a company wait until a court has definitively decided who owns the goods? Not necessarily.
Will banks or investment groups deny you capital because your ecological footprint is too large? Corporate lawCommercial law This article discusses whether banks and investment groups can refuse companies capital based on their ecological footprint, focusing on the EU climate agenda, ECB stress tests and the emergence of ESG scores. Who was driving the company car involved in an offence? Not just a casual request for information from the public prosecutor's office. Transport lawCorporate law The article discusses the obligation for companies to disclose, at the request of the public prosecutor's office, the identity of the driver of a company car following a traffic offence. It highlights the serious consequences and fines when this request for information is not answered in time.
The sky is the limit, until the plane goes down… join our seminar on April 29. Corporate lawCivil law This article announces a seminar on April 29 about the importance of a shareholders' agreement when starting a collaboration. It explains how clear agreements made in advance can prevent later conflicts and costly legal proceedings between business partners. General Terms and Conditions, fine print of great importance … Commercial lawCorporate law This article discusses the usefulness and advantages of general terms and conditions in agreements and explains under what conditions they are enforceable against a contracting party.

Learn more about Adverit Antwerp

This article was contributed by Adverit Antwerp. Visit their website to learn more or discuss your situation with their legal team.

Visit local website (opens in a new tab)