The Chamber last night adopted the reform led by Employment Minister David Clarinval, reintroducing a reduced notice period during the first six months of an employment contract. This measure responds to a strong demand from SMEs and businesses facing major obstacles when hiring new workers, particularly young people who often struggle to gain their first professional experience.
In concrete terms, if the employment contract is terminated during the first six months of employment, the notice period will be limited to one week. After this period, the ordinary notice rules will continue to apply in full.
This reform aims to reduce the risks associated with hiring and encourage employers to give more opportunities to candidates with little professional experience, to young people entering the labour market, to people retraining, or to jobseekers far removed from the labour market.
This will make it possible to overcome the barrier of lack of experience faced by young jobseekers.
David Clarinval, Minister of Employment: “Today, many businesses hesitate to hire on permanent contracts because of the constraints and uncertainties linked to an early termination of the contract. This reform brings greater flexibility while maintaining a balanced framework.
We want to remove the barriers to hiring, particularly for young people, and enable more people to gain a first professional experience or find work more easily again. The reintroduction of the trial period is an essential lever to boost the labour market and strengthen the competitiveness of businesses.”
The reform also stipulates that if the contract is terminated during this period, the employer must justify the decision in writing. This justification will help clarify the circumstances of the termination when examining the worker’s social rights, if necessary.
The clause will apply only to new contracts concluded after the reform comes into force, expected before the summer according to the parliamentary timetable.
This measure is part of the reforms undertaken by the federal government to modernise the labour market, increase the employment rate and strengthen the competitiveness of the Belgian economy.