Insights

At the beginning of the year, we brought to your attention that a number of important Belgian and EU legislative changes are likely to have an impact in 2024: there are new laws that have been adopted and proposals that are expected to firm up into law.

A number of important Belgian and EU legislative changes are likely to have an impact in 2024. On the one hand, there are new laws that have been adopted and will start to bite, and, on the other, there are proposals that are expected to firm up into law.

A new Belgian law, passed on August 14, 2021, has introduced several important changes to the 2002 law on combating late payment in commercial transactions. These changes entered into force on February 1, 2022.

In collaboration with the IBJThe Belgian law of 18 May 2024 regulating private investigations marks a significant shift in the legal landscape for employers conducting internal investigations. This comprehensive reform replaces outdated legislation and introduces stricter compliance requirements, notably impacting data privacy and HR practices. Understanding these legal requirements is essential to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure that investigations are carried out in a lawful and efficient manner. 

In Collaboration with the IBJDuring this webinar we will dive into the European Directive on pay transparency that entered into force in June 2024 and has to be transposed for June 2026 in all EU Member States. This European Directive has the ambition to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women, for all employees in all sectors. The Directive brings significant new reporting obligations and assessment obligations on employers that the EU Member States will publish. How will you have to calculate the threshold to know if your company as an employer falls under the scope of the Directive? And what happens when there is a gap in the equal pay? What will you have to do as an employer? What kind of enforcement does the Directive foresee? Lastly, did you know that in the US there is an Equal Pay Act that has been in force since 1963? How has that statute been applied in the US and what are the differences and similarities with the European Directive? Our special US guest will teach us some interesting US-insights.