The regulatory framework for outplacement

The law provides for three types of outplacement:

  • The general outplacement arrangement;
  • The specific arrangement for outplacement for employees of at least 45 years of age;
  • The specific arrangement for outplacement within the scope of an activating policy for restructuring.

 

The general outplacement arrangement; applies to the employee who:

  • Was dismissed after 1 January 2014;
  • Was not dismissed for an urgent reason;
  • Is entitled to compensation in lieu of notice of at least 30 weeks or to corresponding compensation in lieu of notice.

 

The age of the dismissed employee is of no significance whatsoever. Neither does it matter whether the employer falls in the public or the private sector.

 

When an employee is dismissed with compensation that covers a notice period of at least 30 weeks, he or she will be entitled to a severance package consisting of:

  • Outplacement coaching of 60 hours, worth 1/12th of the annual salary for the calendar year preceding the dismissal, with a minimum value of 1,800 euros and a maximum value of 5,500 euros). If the employee works half-time, these amounts will be reduced in proportion to the employment fraction;
  • Compensation in lieu of notice that is reduced by four weeks’ pay.

 

The specific arrangement for outplacement for employees of at least 45 years of age only applies when:

  • The dismissed employee’s employer falls in the private sector;
  • The employee was not dismissed for an urgent reason;
  • The employee is entitled to compensation in lieu of notice of fewer than 30 weeks or to corresponding compensation in lieu of notice;
  • The employee is at least 45 years of age at the time of the dismissal;
  • The employee was employed in the company for at least one uninterrupted year at the moment of the dismissal.

 

The package provides an outplacement programme in accordance with CLA 82 bis: 60 hours of coaching for a period of 12 months.

  • Phase 1 : (personal balance and assistance in setting up a campaign to look for work); maximum of 2 months: 20 hours of coaching.
  • Phase 2 : (continued coaching): 4 months: 20 hours of coaching.
  • Phase 3 : (continued coaching): 6 months: 20 hours of coaching.

 

The transition from one phase to the next will take place automatically unless the participant mentions that he or she has found a new job.

 

The specific arrangement for outplacement within the scope of an activating policy for restructuring will only apply if the employee benefits from the procedure of activating policy for restructuring.

 

There is a specific legal framework that regulates outplacement for restructuring. An employment unit must be established, which must at least make an outplacement offer to any employee who has been dismissed within the framework of the restructuring and registered with such employment unit.

  • Employees who are 45 years of age or older at the moment at which the collective redundancies were announced, must be offered a minimum of 60 hours of outplacement in the period of 6 months during which such employees must be registered with the employment unit.
  • Employees who are not yet 45 years of age on the date on which the collective redundancies were announced, must be offered a minimum of 30 hours of outplacement in the period of 3 months during which such employees must be registered with the employment unit.
  • The employer is at liberty to make a more extensive offer.