Work rules in Belgium: 10 legal changes that older rules miss

Your work rules (arbeidsreglement, also called work regulations) have stayed the same for years. A refresh keeps dangling at the bottom of the to-do list. Yet several legal changes since 2022 have introduced quite a few mandatory provisions that older work rules often do not contain. If you want to update your work rules, start with these ten legal changes, most recent first. For each point I tell you what must be included and whether you need to follow the normal procedure for amending work rules.

In short

• If your work rules date from before November 2022, each of these ten points may affect you: mandatory provisions may be missing and some clauses will no longer be correct.
• Six points must be included. Four of them apply to every employer: the contact procedure during incapacity for work, illness during annual leave, the right to training with the social security institution, and the dismissal rules with the CBAs. The confidential counsellor and the right to disconnect depend on the size of your company. The other four points only need to be correct if your work rules mention them or if you use the arrangement.
• These ten obligations already apply. Four points can be introduced without the normal procedure, two of them only if a provision already exists.
• If you want everything in place by 1 January 2027, start in good time. My free work rules check can help you with this.

10 reasons to amend your work rules

1. Notice periods (since 1 June and 1 August 2026)

Must be correct. Employees who started on or after 1 June 2026 fall under a cap of 52 weeks when the employer gives notice. Employees who started on or after 1 August 2026 have a notice period of one week in the first six months. If your work rules contain a table, replace it with a reference to the law, so your text no longer goes out of date. This does not require the normal procedure.

2. Contact procedure during incapacity for work (since 1 January 2026)

Must be included. You decide who keeps in contact with sick employees on the employer's behalf and how often. The procedure is meant as support, not as monitoring. According to the FPS Employment (FOD WASO), the contact person is a member of staff: you cannot outsource it, and the occupational physician cannot do it. Also according to the FPS, you have to apply the normal procedure and an annex is not enough.

3. Medical certificate for the first day of illness (since 1 January 2026)

Must be correct. Twice per calendar year, an employee does not have to provide a certificate for the first day of illness. That used to be three times. If your work rules say "three times" or "always a certificate", change that. Only a company with fewer than 50 employees on 1 January may deviate, through a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or the work rules. This follows the normal procedure.

4. Relapse period for guaranteed pay (since 1 January 2026)

Must be correct. If an employee falls ill again within eight weeks, no new period of guaranteed pay begins, unless a certificate shows a different illness or accident. That period used to be fourteen days. If your work rules describe the relapse rule, change it through the normal procedure.

5. Illness during annual leave (since 1 January 2024)

Must be included. If an employee falls ill during statutory annual leave, they immediately report the address where they are staying if they are not at home, and always provide a medical certificate. These formalities belong in your work rules. This can be clarified without the normal procedure.

6. Confidential counsellor (since 1 December 2023)

Must be included once you have one, mandatory from 50 employees. From 50 employees, you appoint a confidential counsellor. Below that, you only have to if all members of the trade union delegation or, without a delegation, all employees ask for one. Your work rules state the contact details, alongside those of the prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects. You change an existing provision without the normal procedure.

7. Right to disconnect (since 2023)

Must be included from 20 employees, unless a generally binding CBA covers it. You set out how employees stay unreachable outside their work schedules, how you use digital tools and what training you provide on this. First check whether a generally binding sector-level CBA or National Labour Council (NAR) CBA covers all three points. Otherwise, conclude a company-level CBA or amend your work rules through the normal procedure.

8. Variable part-time schedules (since 20 November 2022)

Must be correct if you use them. Employees receive their work schedule at least seven working days in advance. That used to be five. A CBA declared generally binding can shorten this to a minimum of three working days. This follows the normal procedure.

9. Right to training and social security institution (since 10 November 2022)

Must be included. Your work rules state the right to training you offer, or refer to the rules on it. They also name the institution that receives the social security contributions, in practice the National Social Security Office (NSSO). Neither is in Article 14 of the Act of 8 April 1965 establishing work rules, the list of exceptions. So you follow the normal procedure.

10. Dismissal rules and CBAs (since 10 November 2022)

Must be included. Your work rules state the procedure at the end of the employment relationship, the formal requirements, the notice periods and the deadline to challenge a dismissal, or refer to the law. They also list the CBAs and agreements in your company and the joint committee for CBAs concluded outside it. You change an existing provision without the normal procedure.

What now?

Start with your current text. Upload your work rules to the work rules check. After about a minute you see what is missing, and you have a first impression before you start the procedure. Start the check today.

Together, we turn insights into good practice

We start with the work rules check on your current text. My own tools then produce a first version of the amendment, with these ten points and whatever else is missing. AI does the groundwork. I do the lawyer's work. I read everything, cut what your company does not need and add what your joint committee or your work schedules require. I also decide which points can go without the normal procedure. You get the text for posting, the notice and the register, and the filing is included. An update of your work rules after the check has a fixed price. You know the fixed price in advance: no hourly billing, no surprises. See the fixed prices.