A new year is approaching and so are the social elections. Although the election day will only take place between 13 May and 26 May 2024, companies should already take action as of mid December 2023. Indeed, besides the Christmas tree and the Christmas gifts, make sure to put the preparations for the social elections also on your year-end to do list. In view thereof, we are happy to provide you with an overview of the most important steps and some useful links in this respect.

First step: information on day X-60

The company must start the election procedure five months before the election day. In other words, the procedure will take off between 15 and 28 December 2023, depending on the election day. The procedure starts by informing the employees amongst others about the following:

• The determination of the technical business unit (“TBU”);
• The number of employees per category (white-collar, blue-collar,…);
• The Executive functions;
• Posting date of the notice announcing the date for the social elections, as well as the envisaged date for the social elections;

At the same time, the negotiations about these elements will start. They must be completed on X-35 (i.e. between 9 and 24 January 2024, depending on the election day). On that day, the employer must decide on these elements.

Occult period

As of X-30, the candidates for the social elections are protected against dismissal. However, the employer only knows the identity of the candidates on X+35. In other words, during this period of 65 days, some employees might benefit from a protection against dismissal without the employer knowing it. During this so-called “occult period”, it is important to take this into account when a dismissal is considered.

Social elections and KPMG Law

From the foregoing we can conclude that there are many (administrative) obligations for organizing social elections and as company you may be exposed to risks.  As KPMG Law we can help you (prepare your social elections, help you answer questions employees may have,…) and tackle those risks. KPMG Law is also able to represent you before the relevant courts should it be required.

To assist you, you can consult our manual and calendar. To keep you further up to date, you can consult our newsflashes and/or our LinkedIn page.

If you have questions regarding the social elections or do you have other legal questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team of experienced lawyers will be happy to assist you.