Legal support to help you effectively manage your people around the world
An important part of managing a successful business is understanding employment law in the jurisdictions where you operate. This is not always straightforward as employee expectations evolve and employment laws change. We can help you assess and manage the risks associated with employee relationships.
Our approach
Companies frequently have an ongoing need for advice, representation and in-depth knowledge of employment, reward and employment rights matters. As the global economy becomes increasingly integrated and companies expand around the world, having access to local market knowledge of employment law is critical.
At Forvis Mazars, we can advise you on all aspects of individual and collective employment law and social security, as well as on international mobility and compensation and benefits issues. With experts based around the world, we understand the differences in legal frameworks in different jurisdictions and how this can affect a global business. Working together as one team, we believe in providing advice and guidance through a collaborative and pragmatic approach that helps you to make better HR decisions for your business’s future.
We can support you with:
- Individual and collective employment law and security
- International mobility
- Employee compensation schemes
- Benefits and social security
- Recruitment and employee retention
International employment & social security
Which labour law is applicable? Which social security law is applicable? Which hard core labour law provisions must be followed in case of posting employees to Belgium? Is the situation a case of simultaneous employment in different countries or is the situation a case of posting of employees? Which labour law provisions of which countries are more beneficial?
Working conditions & sectoral provisions
What is the minimum and the maximum working time? How to handle overtime? Are there possibilities for employees to work on a Sunday or a legal holiday? What are the obligations in terms of wellbeing at work? What are the rules related to homeworking? Are the employees entitled to transport costs? Are the employees entitled to any other benefits such as a yearly premium or eco vouchers?
Remuneration & Compensation
How do you reward and retain your good employees and is this in line with current laws and regulations? Which terms of employment are important for the motivation of your employees? And how can you best lay down these conditions?
End of the employment agreement
When is a dismissal inevitable? What is the best way to handle a dismissal? And how do you handle a collective dismissal? Is the employee protected against dismissal? What is the cost of dismissal of a certain employee?
Social due diligence
In the event of a merger or acquisition, it is important to know how future turnover and costs will develop. A thorough employment law audit is in those cases required. It is therefore important to know whether there are (long-term) sick employees, expensive employment conditions, 'complex' employees and 'invisible' employment relationships, for example due to parental leave.
Recruiting & Hiring
How do you draft an employment agreement according to Belgian law? What are the mandatory formalities when hiring a new employee? Are work regulations necessary? What different types of contracts exist? Which joint labour committee applies to your company?
Social security of the (independent) director
Who has to affiliate with a Belgian social security fund? When does the director has to affiliate with a social security fund? Does a foreign director have to affiliate? What are the contributions the director will have to pay? When do you have to pay the social security contributions?
Policies
It is always advisable to establish the rules within a company in writing. A policy is the right document for this. In a policy, the company can lay down the rules with regard to a certain subject so that there can be no discussions about it. This promotes the proper functioning of the company and also ensures a clear personnel policy so that any frictions can be avoided.
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