An agreement has been reached between the majority partners on reintroducing the trial clause. During the first six months of the employment contract, either party may terminate the contract with a one-week notice period.
Minister Clarinval continues his labour market reform to remove barriers to hiring, while guaranteeing a clear and balanced framework for workers and employers.
To this end, he has put in place the reintroduction of a modern trial period, limited to the first six months of the employment contract, with a simple, transparent and legally secure termination framework.
During the first six months of the employment contract, either party may terminate the contract with a one-week notice period, applied symmetrically to both employer and employee. After this period, the ordinary notice rules provided for under labour law apply in full.
David Clarinval, Minister for Employment: “Reintroducing the trial clause is an essential lever to boost the job market. It gives young people a first chance to find work and gives businesses better conditions for recruitment. Without a trial clause, hiring decisions are more burdensome and take longer. This measure is therefore excellent news for jobseekers, particularly young people, for employers, particularly SMEs, and for the competitiveness of our businesses.”
The government agreement provided that, following consultation with the social partners, a trial period would be reintroduced by 31/12/2025 at the latest: the aim being to once again allow both parties to terminate the average employment contract.
The file was sent to the National Labour Council before the summer, but the Council decided not to issue an opinion on the preliminary draft law.
The new provisions of this preliminary draft law, which amend the notice periods for terminating employment contracts where the employee has less than six months' seniority, apply only for the future and not to ongoing contracts.