Update
15.05.2023
On 8 May the Act of 20 March 2023 was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This Act introduces a new article in the Employment Contracts Act of 3 July 1978.

Pursuant to this new article, the succession of fixed-term employment agreements or employment agreements for a clearly defined work with one or more replacement agreements cannot exceed two years. If this duration is exceeded, the (termination) rules for employment agreements for indefinite duration will apply.

However, the replacement agreement which follows several fixed-term employment agreements or several employment agreements for a clearly defined work shall be disregarded only once provided that the total duration of this succession of agreements does not exceed three years.

Practical takeaway: this new article entered into force on 8 May. Consequently, employers should be careful in offering a replacement agreement subsequent to a chain of fixed-term employment agreements or employment agreements for a clearly defined work in order to avoid having to apply the rules for employment agreements for an indefinite duration.

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