Shortened notice periods during the first six months of employment

The governing coalition agreement of the ‘De Wever government’ already announced the return of a probationary period. While this is not a full reintroduction of the old probationary period, the legislator is shortening the duration of the statutory notice periods applicable during the first six months of employment. This is in accordance with the coalition agreement.

The probationary period under the Unity Statute Act

Until the end of 2013, Belgian employment law allowed parties to include a probation clause in the employment contract. The probation clause enabled both parties to assess the employment relationship during a predetermined period and, if necessary, to terminate it quickly with short notice periods.

With the Unity Statute Act, the probationary period and the probationary clause were abolished from 1 January 2014 for employment contracts commencing on or after 1 January 2014.

However, the probationary period remained in place for student work and temporary/agency work. For student work, the first three effective working days automatically count as a probationary period. During these three days, the employer and the student may terminate the contract without notice or compensation. In principle, the first three effective working days also count as a probationary period for contracts for temporary work and agency work, during which the employer and the employee may terminate the contract without notice or compensation.

Reintroduction of the probationary period

On 21 May 2026, a draft bill amending the Employment Contracts Act was adopted in the Chamber of Representatives. The new law does not provide for the exact reintroduction of the probationary period, but it does provide for a reduction in the statutory notice periods for employees with less than six months’ seniority. For both employers and employees, the notice period during the first six months of employment will be one week. An overview of the new notice periods follows:

Seniority	Notice periods prior to the legislative amendment	New notice periods
< 3 months	1 week	1 week	1 week	1 week
From 3 months to < 4 months	2 weeks	2 weeks	1 week	1 week
From 4 months to < 5 months	2 weeks	4 weeks	1 week	1 week
From 5 months to < 6 months	2 weeks	5 weeks	1 week	1 week
From 6 months to < 9 months	3 weeks	6 weeks	3 weeks	6 weeks

Seniority

Notice periods prior to the legislative amendment

New notice periods

Notice by employee

Employer’s notice

Notice by employee

Employer’s notice

< 3 months

1 week

1 week

From 3 months to < 4 months

2 weeks

1 week

From 4 months to < 5 months

2 weeks

4 weeks

1 week

From 5 months to < 6 months

2 weeks

5 weeks

1 week

From 6 months to < 9 months

3 weeks

6 weeks

3 weeks

6 weeks

Entry into force of the shortened notice periods

The new, shortened notice periods apply only to employment contracts commencing as of 1 August 2026. Consequently, the legislative amendment does not affect existing employment contracts.

From the date of entry into force on 1 August 2026, it is essential to verify whether the employment contract commences before or after the law’s entry in force, as that date determines the applicable notice period. An employee who starts two weeks before the law takes effect will be entitled to a substantially longer notice period during their first six months of employment than a colleague who starts the day after the law enters into force.