"Trial period" dynamics may be coming back

Summary

A draft bill submitted to the Belgian Parliament on 23 February 2026 proposes to amend Article 37/2 of the Act of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts, with the objective of essentially bringing back trial periods.

This proposal seeks to amend the current framework to the effect that both employers and employees may terminate an employment agreement for an indefinite duration with a notice period of one week where the employee has less than six months’ seniority.

In doing so, it gives concrete effect to a measure already announced in the federal coalition agreement, confirming the government’s intention to rebalance employment protection and labour market flexibility.

Why this matters

Today, notice periods during the first six months depend on who gives notice (employer or employee) and length of service at termination: for employers notice period entitlement accrues gradually during this first period (from 1 to 5 weeks depending on seniority), while employees resigning typically have to give only 1 to 2 weeks’ notice.

If adopted into law, notice period during the first six months of service would (for new contracts) no longer gradually increase but be fixed at one week, effectively reintroducing early‑stage flexibility, without the need to include a contractual trial clause in the contract.

From a practical perspective, this proposal would thus:

• lower early-service termination costs,
• reduce hiring risk, and
• increase symmetry between employer and employee notice obligations during the first six months of employment.

What does not change

The existing rule for temporary agency work, student employment and temporary employment remains unchanged. Specifically, unless otherwise agreed, the first three working days in those situations will continue to qualify as a trial period, during which either party may terminate the contract without notice or compensation.

Related developments

The bill forms part of a broader policy discussion on balancing employment protection with labour market flexibility.

On 3 February 2026, the government already submitted a bill that intends to introduce a 52-weeks cap on employer notice periods for contracts that would start on or after 1 April 2026, with no further increase once 17 years of seniority are reached.