Partnerblog
Brexit: impact voor werkgevers
Vanaf 1 januari 2021 zijn Britse werknemers derdelanders. Meer concreet zullen de gevolgen vooral op het vlak van arbeidsmigratie en sociale zekerheid bij een grensoverschrijdende tewerkstelling spelen.
De “nieuwe” alarmbelprocedure met betrekking tot de BV
Het gebeurt maar al te vaak dat vennootschappen reeds geruime tijd in moeilijke papieren verkeren en op de rand van het faillissement staan vooraleer het bestuursorgaan de nodige stappen onderneemt. Daarom heeft de wetgever enkele preventieve maatregelen in het leven geroepen, waaronder de ‘alarmbelprocedure ’. Wat houdt deze juist in? Lees een samenvatting van de bijdrage, door Ann-Sophie Haghedooren en Laura Dermine.
Birth leave will be extended to 15 days in 2021 and 20 days in 2023
The new Belgian government prioritises the promotion of gender equality and the fight against discrimination based on gender. One of the first steps in this agenda is the extension of birth leave, which is the leave that fathers or co-parents (it is a gender-neutral type of paternity leave) can take at the birth of a child.
The New B2B legislation put into practice: Are you ready?
There have been some major changes in the B2B landscape recently. On May 24, 2019, two new acts bringing some major changes to Belgian competition law and the legal framework of B2B relationships were published in the Belgian Official Journal. Firstly, the Act of April 4, 2019, which introduced new rules for B2B relationships relating to unfair market practices, abuse of economic dependence and unlawful contractual terms. Secondly, the Act of May 2, 2019, which introduced a number of changes to the competition rules (i.e., in Book IV of the Code of Economic Law). All of these changes are now in effect. The new rules on unfair market practices entered into force on September 1, 2019, the rules prohibiting abuse of economic dependence on August 22, 2020. And more recently, on December 1, 2020, the new rules on unlawful contract terms entered into force.
Ontslagmotivering in 109 vragen en antwoorden
Wat kan de werkgever tijdens de tewerkstelling doen om te vermijden dat het ontslag later door een arbeidsgerecht als kennelijk onredelijk wordt beschouwd?
Coronavirus - Vermindering van de arbeidstijd in een privéonderneming in moeilijkheden
Geconfronteerd met de pandemie kan een onderneming in moeilijkheden haar kosten drukken door de werktijden van het personeel tijdelijk te verminderen. Dit betekent een verlaging van de sociale zekerheidsbijdragen en een verlaging van de lonen (die echter gedeeltelijk moet worden gecompenseerd).
Huisarbeid en telewerk: een essentieel verschil inzake onkostenvergoedingen
Telewerk is een belangrijke maatregel in de strijd tegen de huidige coronapandemie. Het regelgevend kader bestaat al langer maar is nu brandend actueel. Welke vormen van “thuiswerk” bestaan er eigenlijk? En waar situeren de verschillen zich op het vlak van onkostenvergoedingen? In een recent arrest van 5 oktober 2020 heeft het Hof van Cassatie hier een interessant licht op geworpen.
De Europese Green Deal: Kansen voor het bedrijfsleven
Het aanpakken van de klimaatverandering en het verduurzamen van de economie zijn momenteel topprioriteiten van de EU. Recent heeft de EU zich tot doel gesteld om klimaatneutraal te worden in 2050. Om deze doelstellingen binnen dertig jaar te bereiken, heeft de Commissie von der Leyen op 11 december 2019 de Green Deal gepubliceerd, een actieplan met beleidsinitiatieven en maatregelen om over te schakelen op een schone, circulaire economie, om de biodiversiteit te herstellen en om de vervuiling terug te dringen. De Green Deal geeft aan welke investeringen en financiële instrumenten daarvoor nodig zijn, en verduidelijkt hoe er voor een rechtvaardige en inclusieve transitie kan worden gezorgd.
Competition Rules for Vertical Agreements under Review : What’s to come for distribution relationships in the digital age?
Businesses distributing goods and services in the EU rely heavily on the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) for legal certainty. It sets out the conditions under which distribution agreements are presumed to comply with the European competition rules. However, certain of its provisions are no longer adapted to recent market developments, notably the growth of online sales and the increased importance of new market players, such as online platforms. Recently, the European Commission proposed a number of changes to the VBER which is currently under review.
How to manage and access the e-mail accounts of ex-employees ?
If an employee leaves the company, can the mailbox remain active for a while and does the employer have access to the e-mails therein? A recent decision of the Data Protection Authority (DPA) clarifies. In this decision, the DPA decided to impose an administrative fine of EUR 15,000 on a company that only closed e-mail addresses linked to former employees (surname and first name) after 2.5 years.
Data protection litigation: preparing to defend yourself – or attack
If people were to look, they would probably conclude that you do not fully comply with data protection rules. Top of the line security always fails somewhere, typically at the human level, and the same reasoning applies to data protection compliance: even if you build your processes, systems and procedures with data protection rules in mind, you cannot prevent every mistake. However mature your organisation may be in data protection terms, there is always a weakness – and non-compliance is then a likely consequence. This provides regulators, competitors and data subjects with opportunities to attack you. Conversely, there may be cases where you wish to use weaknesses of a competitor or adversary against them. Either way, you need to give careful thought to data protection litigation, both as a risk you have to manage and as an opportunity on which you can capitalise. We will examine below practical considerations based on our own experience in cases before the Belgian Data Protection Authority (BDPA), the case law of the BDPA’s Litigation Chamber (and appeals before the Market Court) and commercial disputes in which the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other data protection rules come into play.
Stibbe organises a webinar on the implications of the groundbreaking Schrems II
On 29 October at 11 am, Stibbe organises a webinar on the implications of the groundbreaking Schrems II decision which annulled the U.S. Privacy Shield and questioned the standard contractual clauses. We will elaborate on the remaining options for international personal data transfers outside of the E.U.”
Le “coronaouderschapsverlof” nouveau est arrivé: tijdelijke werkloosheid voor gebrek aan kinderopvang.
De regeling voor coronaouderschapsverlof is buiten toepassing getreden op 1 oktober 2020. Nu de tweede golf van het coronavirus ervoor dreigt dat vele scholen en instellingen (deels) zullen moeten sluiten, zitten vele ouders met de handen in het haar. De nieuwe Regering De Croo had evenwel meteen een eerste sociale maatregel als oplossing voorzien in het Regeerakkoord.
Proxy Decrees adopted during COVID-19 crisis: practical points of attention for the in-house lawyer
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has affected all aspects of our daily lives. For in-house lawyers, it is important to keep an overview during these turbulent times. In any case, the regulator does not make things any easier for in-house lawyers with the multitude of regulatory initiatives in response to this crisis. The various federal initiatives are discussed below. On 30 March 2020, the two laws of 27 March 2020, empowering the federal executive power to take measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus (hereafter: “Special Proxy Law I” and “Special Proxy Law II”, collectively the “Special Proxy Laws”), were published in the Belgian Official Journal. These Special Proxy Laws gave the federal executive power the power to amend existing laws in certain matters and under certain conditions by royal decree until 30 June 2020, in order to respond adequately and in a timely manner to the various challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article reflects on the practical points of attention in this respect, and explains the impact of the proxy decrees on the daily practice of in-house lawyers.
The EU Copyright Directive: the three most controversial provisions
In April 2019, after years of debate and a rather controversial EU legislative process, the Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (hereafter referred to as the Copyright Directive) was finally adopted. The purpose of this directive was to adapt copyright protection to the digital age in order to create an internal market for digital content and services. Three specific targets were set: (1) to adapt exceptions to reflect the digital and cross-border environment (2) to ensure wider access to content, and (3) to achieve a well-functioning marketplace for copyright.
Can dismissals be justified based on Covid-19?
Can an employer dismiss an employee if the employee has tested positive for Covid-19 and refuses to wear a mask at work or if the employer has experienced a significant drop in revenue due to the crisis?