Labor and Employment

We advise our local clients on all aspects of individual labor and employment law, providing them with day-to-day advice on employment and termination agreements, company policies, bonus plans, and work time regulations (flexi hours and overtime "on demand"). We also help our clients tackle workplace harassment and support them as they address diversity and discrimination issues, workplace privacy, and pay and social security aspects (including regulatory matters).

We also advise, assist and defend clients across a wide range of collective issues, including the conclusion of collective bargaining agreements, trade union and work council issues, social elections, and protected workers’ termination issues. We provide our clients with assistance in case of collective conflicts involving strikes, the blocking of plant entrances and general labor unrest.

Furthermore, we advise on outsourcing, trade secrets and whistleblowing, and we offer training (both online and in-person) on all aspects of Belgian and EU labor and employment law.

Sometimes businesses need a helping hand to ensure any restructuring is achieved as painlessly as possible. We are well known for our pro-active and flexible assistance to clients that are restructuring either at a national or international level: e.g., transfer of undertakings, collective dismissals, closure of all or part of an undertaking, and related social conflicts. For these matters we often work in conjunction with our Brussels corporate and IP teams.

Our Brussels team works closely with our global mobility practice in the U.S., Asia, and London to offer our international clients help with the issues arising out of the movement of talent across borders.

Our Brussels offices offers a Whistleblowing Virtual Assistant that can provide practical insights to help your company or organization comply with the obligations under the EU Whistleblower Directive.

We provide our clients with day-to-day counseling and training on data protection compliance e.g., via on-site workshops and tabletop exercises. We help with contractual work and global and Europe-wide privacy audits. We analyze our clients’ existing data protection practices and make recommendations for compliance, helping them to better understand their data processing, map the location and flows of the data, and identify potential threats and compliance issues. We assist in the development and implementation of tailor-made privacy programs, which may include drafting new privacy policies and procedures, notices, and data transfer agreements, as well as advice on security measures to be taken.

For our international clients who wish to set up an establishment in Europe, we offer a one-stop-shop for all their labor and employment and social security needs. We provide a full array of integrated legal services to help companies set up, manage, structure and develop their business in Europe. If the choice of location is Belgium, we handle everything ourselves in close collaboration with our clients’ legal department. Elsewhere in Europe, we can rely on our Crowell colleagues in London and on our trusted and extensive network of local counsel across Europe to ensure our clients’ European mobility.

We help with work permits and professional cards, visas, residence permits, and LIMOSA. We also assist our clients to comply with EU and international employment, social security and tax regulations and practices, including multiple employment schemes and secondments.