{"id":2699,"date":"2024-08-14T17:14:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T15:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:00:41","slug":"notice-period-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/notice-period-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"Notice Period Belgium: Understanding the Rules and Regulations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notice<\/span> periods<\/span> in Belgium are a <\/span>crucial<\/span> aspect of <\/span>Belgian<\/span> employment<\/span> law<\/span>. <\/span>They<\/span> require<\/span> a <\/span>specific<\/span> period<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> respected<\/span> when<\/span> either<\/span> the<\/span> employer<\/span> or <\/span>the<\/span> employee <\/span>terminates<\/span> the<\/span> employment<\/span> contract. <\/span>They are solely based on the <\/span>employee\u2019<\/span>s seniority. <\/span><\/p>\n

Belgian Notice Periods for Employees<\/h2>\n

In Belgium, the notice period an employee must observe when resigning depends on their length of service, also known as seniority. The following table outlines the notice periods for employees wishing to resign. These rules are consistent and apply equally to employees who started before 1 January 2014:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Seniority<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nNotice Period (in weeks)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Less than 3 months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3 to less than 6 months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6 to less than 12 months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12 to less than 18 months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n4<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18 to less than 24 months<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2 to less than 4 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n6<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 to less than 5 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n7<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5 to less than 6 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6 to less than 7 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n10<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7 to less than 8 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n12<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8 years or more<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n13<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

These notice periods apply to both blue-collar and white-collar workers, regardless of when their employment began.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Belgian Notice Periods for Employers – Employees Who Started After 2014<\/h2>\n

When an employer decides to terminate an employee’s contract, the notice period also depends on the employee\u2019s seniority. However, it is crucial to note that the rules differ for employees whose contracts began before 1 January 2014. For these employees, a “double photo” method is used, which combines two different periods to calculate the notice period.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The notice periods for employers for contracts starting after 1 January 2014 are as follows:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Seniority<\/th>\nNotice Period (in weeks)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Less than 3 months<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3 to less than 4 months<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 to less than 5 months<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5 to less than 6 months<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6 to less than 9 months<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9 to less than 12 months<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12 to less than 15 months<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15 to less than 18 months<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18 to less than 21 months<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21 to less than 24 months<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2 to less than 3 years<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3 to less than 4 years<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 to less than 5 years<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5 to less than 6 years<\/td>\n18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6 to less than 7 years<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7 to less than 8 years<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8 to less than 9 years<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9 to less than 10 years<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10 to less than 11 years<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11 to less than 12 years<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12 to less than 13 years<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13 to less than 14 years<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14 to less than 15 years<\/td>\n45<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15 to less than 16 years<\/td>\n48<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16 to less than 17 years<\/td>\n51<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17 to less than 18 years<\/td>\n54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18 to less than 19 years<\/td>\n57<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19 to less than 20 years<\/td>\n60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20 to less than 21 years<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
21 to less than 22 years<\/td>\n63<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

From 21 years of seniority, an additional week is added for each year of seniority.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice Period Calculation for Employees Who Started Before 2014<\/h2>\n

For employees whose contracts began before 1 January 2014, the notice period is calculated using a “double photo” method, which involves two parts:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part I:<\/span><\/b> Calculated based on the seniority acquired up to 31 December 2013, according to the rules in effect at that time. For blue-collar workers, the calculation depends on whether they worked in the private, health or public sector. Additionally, the start date of their employment contract (before or after 1 January 2012) affects the calculation. For white-collar workers, it depends on their annual gross salary as of 31 December 2013. Lower-level white-collar workers have a notice period of three months per five years of service, while higher-level white-collar workers have one month per year of service with a minimum of three months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part II:<\/span><\/b> Calculated based on the seniority acquired from 1 January 2014, onwards, as if the employee started on this date. The notice periods for this part follow the rules for contracts started after 1 January 2014.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Importance of Correctly Calculating Notice Periods<\/h2>\n

Incorrectly calculating notice periods can lead to severe legal consequences, such as facing criminal sanctions, having to pay additional compensations or dealing with legal action from the employee.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside correctly calculating the length of the notice period, it\u2019s necessary to comply with several other obligations when terminating an employment contract. Specific obligations must be met to properly execute a termination in Belgium. Additionally, other rules and notice periods apply in cases of fixed-term contracts, collective dismissal, dismissal with serious cause, and more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to ensure that you are calculating notice periods correctly and complying with all legal requirements, contact us<\/a> for a consultation. We can ensure that all procedures are followed correctly and provide advice tailored to your specific circumstances.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notice periods in Belgium are a crucial aspect of Belgian employment law. They require a specific period to be respected when either the employer or the employee terminates the employment contract. They are solely based on the employee\u2019s seniority. Belgian Notice Periods for Employees In Belgium, the notice period an employee must observe when resigning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dismissal"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrlegal.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}