Belgium: Constitutional Court gives the lawmaker until 2013 to harmonize the blue-collar and white-collar statuses

Notice and waiting period.  In the decree issued on July 7th, the Constitutional Court ruled on the constitutional character of two issues that have been at the heart of the negotiations between the Belgian employers’ and union organizations for years: the duration of notice, which, according to the 1978 Labor Contract Act, is longer for white-collar workers than for blue-collar workers, and the unpaid waiting period (for blue-collar workers but not white-collar workers) in case of work incapacity shorter than 14 days.  The Employment Tribunal of Belgium, which asked two prejudicial questions to the constitutional judges, wants to know whether these provisions comply with the principles of equality and non-discrimination contained in articles 10 and 11 of the Belgian Constitution.
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ers but not white-collar workers) in case of work incapacity shorter than 14 days. The Employment Tribunal of Belgium, which asked two prejudicial questions to the constitutional judges, wants to know whether these provisions comply with the principles of equality and non-discrimination contained in articles 10 and 11 of the Belgian Constitution.


Unconstitutional. It’s not the first time the Constitutional Court of Belgium looked into the issue of white-collar/blue-collar statuses. It reminde

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