Social elections are held every 4 years in Belgium designed to elect worker’s representatives to company councils and health and safety committees. These are consultative bodies within the company, composed equally of the company’s management and its delegation, and the workers’ delegation of the company.
Next social elections will take place between 13th and 26th of May 2024. However, since the electoral process has a total duration of exactly 150 days, companies must consider the key dates and procedures to be fulfilled chronologically throughout the process.
Firstly, written communication must be directed to existing councils and committees or, failing that, to the union delegation, informing them of the number of employees per category, the responsibilities of management and executive staff, as well as the dates for announcing the elections and the elections themselves. According to the electoral calendar published by the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (SPF Emploi), this initial communication must be made between December 15th and December 28th, 2023.
After 60 days of this communication, companies must proceed with the official announcement of the election date, which must be displayed prominently for all workers or disclosed by electronic means provided that all employees have access to the notice during their usual working hours. This communication must include, among other information, the date and time fixed for the elections and the provisional electoral lists.
The social elections will take place 90 days after the publication of this announcement.
In order to comply with all the mandatory formalities during the electoral process, companies can use the forms available on SPF Emploi website.
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All information contained in this publication is up to date on 2023. This content has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this chart without obtaining specific professional advice.No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this content, and, to the extent permitted by law, AUXADI does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this chart or for any decision based on it.