One-week notice period during the first six months of employment
Prior to 1 August 2026, the notice periods applicable during the first six months of employment varied according to the employee's seniority. For employment contracts that started as from 1 January 2014, when the employment contract was terminated by the employer, the applicable notice period ranged from one to five weeks. When the termination was initiated by the employee, the notice period amounted to one or two weeks.
In its coalition agreement, the Belgian federal government announced its intention to reintroduce a form of probationary period by allowing either party to terminate the employment relationship subject to a uniform one-week notice period during the first six months of employment.
This objective has now been implemented through the Act of 3 June 2026, which entered into force on 1 August 2026. The Act amends Article 37/2 of the Employment Contracts Act of 3 July 1978 and provides that either party may terminate the employment contract with one week's notice where the employee has less than six months' seniority at the time notice is given.
Once the six-month period has been reached, the ordinary statutory notice periods apply again and continue to increase progressively in line with the employee's seniority.
The new one-week notice period applies to all employees with less than six months' seniority, irrespective of whether the termination is initiated by the employer or the employee.
Importantly, the new regime only applies to employment contracts that are effectively executed as from 1 August 2026. Existing employment contracts remain subject to the previous statutory notice period rules.
Finally, it should be borne in mind that CBA No. 109 does not apply during the first six months of employment. Employees dismissed during this period cannot bring a claim for manifestly unreasonable dismissal, and employers are not required to communicate the reasons for the dismissal.
Not a formal reintroduction of the probationary period
Although widely described as the return of the probationary period, the new measure does not formally reintroduce the former probationary clause.
The reform merely shortens the statutory notice periods applicable during the first six months of employment. Employers are therefore not required to include any specific clause in the employment contract, and the former rules relating to the suspension or extension of a probationary period do not apply.
Impact on fixed-term employment contracts
The reform also affects fixed-term employment contracts.
Under Belgian law, a fixed-term employment contract may be terminated before its agreed expiry date during the first half of its duration, provided that this period does not exceed six months, subject to the notice periods applicable to open-ended employment contracts. Where such early termination is possible, the new one-week notice period applies.
Another significant change: notice periods capped at 52 weeks
A separate law, adopted by Parliament on 30 April 2026, has introduced a new cap on notice periods applicable in the event of dismissal: a maximum notice period of 52 weeks (equivalent to one year) applies to employees with at least 17 years of seniority. In other words, the cap is reached once the employee has accrued 17 years of seniority, at which point the notice period ceases to increase.
This new cap only applies to employment contracts that are executed as from 1 June 2026. As the cap only becomes relevant once an employee reaches 17 years of seniority, the first practical effects of the reform are not expected before June 2043.
Authors:
- Alexis Ceuterick, Simont Braun
- Marie-Ysaline Lannoye, Simont Braun
