GENERAL DRAFTING AND ADVISORY WORK

• Day-to-day HR-support to international teams of employment, legal counsels on a broad range of Belgian employee matters and employee benefit topics, including review of complex cross border innovative global HR policies, as well as assistance with complex compensation schemes, employee benefit policies, compliance audits, global equity plan rights and discrimination issues in the context of equity plans, etc.
• Support to financial institutions with delicate employee claims and a wide variety of Belgian HR matters, review of cross border innovative compensation global policies, as well as assistance with complex international compensation structures, employee benefit policies, group compliance and HR investigations, etc.
• Support to internal compensation and employee benefits teams on a broad variety of Belgian compensation matters, compliance audits on all employee benefit schemes under local laws, review of technical cross border compensation policies, as well as assistance with business sector compensation structures, bonus plans, group compliance, etc.
• Advice on complex working time related matters, including assistance with regard to the sector-level procedures and new working time regimes (night work, Sunday work, gliding working schedules, increased working time flexibility, weekend shifts at production plants etc.)
• Advice of major retailers with the simplification and harmonisation of multiple employment documents (employment contracts, addenda, termination documents) and integration in Workday including legal aspects of implementation of high-tech HR innovation tools in view of enhanced automated documents generation for employees
• Advice on compliance and day-to-day HR services for leading organizations in the tech sector on complex employment work including contingent work force, prohibited employee lending, EOR, PEO, agency workers and technical remuneration schemes for temporary work force
• Advice on employer obligations in the context of long term sickness, transgressive behaviour at the workplace, psychosocial complaints, work stress and burnout including advice on various delicate claims with respect to harassment, bullying, non-compliance with health & safety measures, claims by social inspection services as well as criminal liabilities in the context of harassment, stress, discrimination, employer well-being obligations, etc.

REDUCTION IN FORCE & REDUNDANCIES

• Advice to leading global companies in electronic consumer goods sector with the employment aspects of various (restructuring) projects, outsourcing, integration of business activities, relocation of activities abroad implying collective - lay offs including dismissals of key protected employees of the works council, employment aspects of the re-integration and transfer of employees, negotiation and drafting of complex new social plan collective bargaining agreements with the trade unions, planning of all legal aspects of business transfers and restructuring implementation including advice on replacement of works council members and structure, assistance with cost calculation of technical financial budgets for social plan termination costs as well as the termination of international employee assignment contract structures
• Advice to multiple Fortune 500 clients on restructurings, collective - lay offs and closures as part of global restructuring programs including advice and planning of all employment law aspects on compliance with the collective - lay off and closure rules, cost budgeting, communications, assistance with in local information and consultation process, social plan terms, overall planning of all legal and practical aspects in respect of the process and implementation of the restructuring
• Advice to major passenger airline carriers in relation to the drafting of mandate contracts covering high level executives of management teams, including the termination of C-level leadership and negotiation of non-compete undertakings and restrictive covenants
• Advice to leading pharmaceutical groups on departure arrangements of their top management in the context of technical international group structures, dissolutions of management contracts, ending of international director mandates and offices at group level, technical salary split and management service structures, including international compensatory components with technical bonus exit rights, cross-border aspects, international mobility and transition issues as well as specific post termination Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete restrictive covenants

BUSINESS CHANGE

• Advice to multiple Fortune 500 clients with all complex employment law aspects of corporate transactions including planning of all legal aspects, advice on information and consultation requirements, assistance with formalizing the change of employer for employment related benefits, harmonization of terms of employment and immigration related requirements, impact on technical business units and the related split of the employee consultation bodies
• Advice to large manufacturers with the employment law aspects linked to their acquisitions covering all HR aspects and advice on local employment issues in connection with the acquisition and employee transfers, change of the business sector committees, shift and night work, employee benefits structures, benefit policies, harmonization aspects and other employment impact following the acquisition
• Advice on the employment aspects of corporate intra-group restructuring projects involving multiple legal entities across the globe with focus on providing the HR/Legal team with legal tools to implement the HR aspects of cross border mergers, and employee transfers including complex cross border structures, works council impact, information and consultation processes with employee representative bodies and employees, TUPE transfer steps, impact of employee benefits and pension related issues, offering new benefit schemes, providing new harmonised employment contracts, benefit policies, payroll and other employment impact

GLOBAL MOBILITY

• Advice to multiple leading companies with the implementation of global mobility programs, international personnel transfers and related international employment aspects as well as legal compliance by multinational employers of executive staff agreements and policies
• Advice to clients on implications of ending transfer assignments, repatriation and relocation aspects including severance consequences and changes to/termination of international employment documents

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

• Advice to employers in various sectors with regard to the preparation and implementation of the termination of employees in legal disputes before the labour courts benefiting from the dismissal protection as employee representative, including coverage of social relations aspects (communication to and discussions with trade union and employee consultative bodies)
• Guidance of employers through all aspects of the litigation procedures in the context of social elections. Assistance of international fast-food chains with the legal procedure initiated by trade unions in the context of the social elections involving franchisee companies with successful dispute outcome
• Advice to global company in the telecom sector with the disputed exit arrangement of management members with legal claims based on alleged failure in the context of employer's legal obligations on well-being, harassment and health and safety in the workplace including aspects of criminal liabilities and the judicial dissolution of the employment relationship
• Assistance of global organizational consulting firm with the disputed termination of a member of their Executive Committee for gross misconduct with legal proceedings against group companies before the labour courts and the commercial courts including re-characterization of the self-employed status into an employee status, judicial dissolution of the re-qualified employment relationship, departure indemnity and damages claims, rectification of employee salary elements, premiums and employee benefits, corrections on social security contributions, as well as sales agency claims for termination indemnities, clientele indemnity, unpaid invoices, expenses, damages, additional indemnification for incentives under US Retention Plans involving cross border international legal principles as well as technical conflict of US laws rules and extra-territorial jurisdiction issues

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION & MEDIATION

• Advice to companies as social mediator in various sectors with alternative disputes resolution methods (mediation)