27 November 2020 Employment and Incentives

Belgium - After the social elections - Points of attention

After a postponement due to Covid-19, social elections have taken place (between 16 and 29 November 2020) for the establishment or renewal of a works council (“WC”) and/or committee for prevention and protection at work (“CPPW”). However, the procedure does not stop with the election.

The following points of attention should be taken into consideration after the social elections:

1. Publication of the results

Two days after the social elections, i.e. between 18 November and 1 December 2020, the results of the elections and the composition of the newly elected WC and CPPW must be published by the employer. The notice must provide for the names of the (i) effective and subsitute employee representatives, (ii) employer representatives, and (iii) head of the company.

2. Possibility of appeal

During 15 days from the social elections, employers, employees and representative bodies have the opportunity to introduce a claim before the labour court to (i) appeal the results of the election, (ii) amend the election results, or (iii) annul the elections.

3. Installation meeting

The first meeting of the (re)new(ed) WC and/or CPPW has to take place within 45 days from the social elections. As long as the consultative bodies have not had their first meeting, the previous consultative bodies (if any) will continue to operate in their former composition.

  • Only the effective employee and employer representatives should be invited, but we recommend to invite the substitute employee representatives as well (only to this first meeting).
  • The internal household rules should be discussed during this first meeting. In practice, these are established by the WC and/or CPPW.
  • It is recommended to clearly determine the decision-making process within the WC and/or CPPW to avoid discussions during the next four years in this respect. Unanimity should be avoided as a single representative should not be able to block the decision-making process. It is therefore recommended to vote with a simple or 2/3 majority.
4. Protected employees

For protected employees, the following should be taken into consideration by the employer:

  • If no WC and/or CPPW is established because the company was not required to organize social elections in 2020 or because there were insufficient candidates, the former employee representatives remain protected for six months from the first possible day of the social elections, i.e. 16 May 2021.

 

For practical questions in relation to the social elections, please contact the Linklaters E&I Team or your usual Linklaters contact.