Employees who do not have to be available to the labour market are no longer entitled to outplacement assistance!

Since 31 December 2018, the employer must no longer offer outplacement assistance to dismissed employees who do not have to be available to the labour market under the special outplacement scheme, even if they expressly request it.

TO WHICH EMPLOYEES DOES THE SPECIAL OUTPLACEMENT SCHEME APPLY?

An employer who dismisses an employee aged 45 or over at the time of dismissal must offer him/her outplacement assistance, provided that the employee simultaneously meets all the following conditions:

• not have been dismissed for serious misconduct;
• not be entitled to a notice period (or corresponding severance payment) of at least 30 weeks[1];
• have at least one year of continuous seniority with the employer at the time of dismissal.

TO WHOM THE EMPLOYER IS NOT REQUIRED TO OFFER OUTPLACEMENT ASSISTANCE?

Previously

Unless expressly requested by the employee, the employer was not obliged to offer outplacement assistance in the following two cases:

1. when the employee works in an employment system with an average working time of less than half-time employment;
2. when the employee, if he/she were to become fully unemployed and be entitled to benefits after the end of the notice period or the period covered by a severance payment, should not be available to the general labour market.

Since 31 December 2018

The employer is no longer required to offer outplacement assistance to employees who do not have to be available to the general labour market (category 2 above), even if they expressly request it.

Reminder!

On 1 December 2018, the list of persons who are not required to be available to the labour market under the special outplacement scheme was adapted. Consult our Infoflash of 27 November 2018 on this matter.

Source: Act of 14 December 2018 laying down various employment provisions, Belgian Official Gazette of 21 December 2018.

[1] An employee who has been dismissed with a notice period (or corresponding severance payment) of at least 30 weeks is entitled to outplacement assistance under the general scheme.