1. Home
  2. |Professionals
  3. |Emmanuel Plasschaert

Emmanuel Plasschaert

Partner
Partner
ZXBsYXNzY2hhZXJ0QGNyb3dlbGwuY29t
VCardLinkedIn
VCardLinkedIn

Areas of Focus

Overview

A trusted advisor and seasoned litigator, Emmanuel Plasschaert has 30 years of experience representing Belgian and multinational companies as well as individuals before the Belgian courts in commercial and complex litigation matters, including seizures and cross-border litigation issues. He was one of the first to represent a client in class-action proceedings in Belgium.

Emmanuel is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office Corporate, Commercial, and Employment practices. He primarily focuses on individual and collective labor law, including international employment and HR data protection and privacy issues. Emmanuel also regularly advises on corporate transactions and restructurings. He is held in high regard for his strategic assistance to clients dealing with complex restructurings, both on a national and an international level.

Emmanuel has been a member of the Brussels Bar since 1993 and is currently president (2022–2024).

He is the author of a large number of publications, including a reference work on Belgian union delegations. Emmanuel is a member of the editorial board of Chroniques de  droit social/Sociaalrechtelijke kronieken, one of the leading labor law journals in Belgium, and leads the individual labor law practice group of the journal. He frequently conducts seminars for in-house counsel, HR managers, and executives and officers.

Career & Education

|

    • Catholic University of Namur, cum laude, 1989
    • Catholic University of Leuven, cum laude, 1992
    • University of Sienna (Erasmus), 1992
    • Catholic University of Namur, cum laude, 1989
    • Catholic University of Leuven, cum laude, 1992
    • University of Sienna (Erasmus), 1992

    • Belgium
    • European Court
    • Belgium
    • European Court

  • Professional Activities and Memberships

    • President of the Brussels Bar (2022–2024)
    • Member of the editorial board of Chroniques de droit social/Sociaalrechtelijke kronieken

    Professional Activities and Memberships

    • President of the Brussels Bar (2022–2024)
    • Member of the editorial board of Chroniques de droit social/Sociaalrechtelijke kronieken

    • Dutch
    • English
    • French
    • Italian
    • Dutch
    • English
    • French
    • Italian
Emmanuel “is ‘always constructive’” “clients appreciate that he ‘delivers outstanding work, is very creative, and very much involved’”

— Chambers Europe, 2020

Emmanuel's Insights

Webinar | 11.26.24

A Deep Dive into the EU Pay Transparency Directive and the US Experience on Equal Pay 

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.  ...

View All Insights

Representative Matters

  • Advised a well-known client from the e-commerce sector on its entry strategy into the Belgian market from an employment law perspective.
  • Assisted several multinational groups in the restructuring of their Belgian businesses, including the transfer of undertakings, outsourcing of business, collective dismissals, and closure of business.
  • Defended a major U.S. company in court regarding a social elections dispute.
  • Advised a European airline company on a restructuring (progressive reduction of the number of employees in Brussels) and assisted the client with the transfer of an undertaking and the HR integration of the transferred workers.
  • Advised a well-known client from the telecoms sector on a worldwide restructuring and related benefit alignment in Belgium.
  • Defended a high-voltage transmission system operator before the Brussels Labor Court with respect to a claim filed by a former employee whose contract was terminated for cause.
  • Assisted a company in the pharma/chemical industry with a sensitive matter in relation to the long-term absence of an employee due to burnout
  • Advised a client from the biotech sector on how best to expand its personnel base in line with its growth strategy.
  • Defended a subsidiary of a U.S. multinational before the Brussels Labor Court in connection with a claim filed by the family of a former employee who was the victim of a work accident.
  • Advised a major manufacturer of bathroom and sanitary ware in a multi-jurisdictional dispute in Belgium and the United Kingdom concerning noncompete obligations after termination of a professional relationship.
  • Provided HR privacy advice, regarding data transfer issues, to U.S. multinationals.
  • Advised and assisted a client from the construction sector following a fatal work accident at a plant.
  • Represented a company from the fashion industry before the Brussels Labor Court in a dispute relating to the (re)qualification of a contract (sham self-employed discussion).
  • Provided advice to several clients in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic workplace (e.g., on remote working).
  • Provided day-to-day advice to several Belgian and multinational companies regarding a wide range of issues (drafting all types of employment and related agreements, termination issues, enforcing noncompete undertakings, introducing new work time schemes [including flexible work rosters], analyzing and proposing improvement of current car policy, assessing liability of the company/management in case of abuse of alcohol at the workplace).

Emmanuel's Insights

Webinar | 11.26.24

A Deep Dive into the EU Pay Transparency Directive and the US Experience on Equal Pay 

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.  ...

View All Insights

Insights

Webinar | 11.26.24

A Deep Dive into the EU Pay Transparency Directive and the US Experience on Equal Pay 

Event | 09.10.24

Book Launch: “Collective Litigation in Belgium”

Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.18.24

Class Actions: The Amended Belgian Regime on Actions for Collective Redress

Client Alert | 22 min read | 05.31.24

2024: An Overview of New and Upcoming Belgian and EU Laws and Regulations – UPDATED in May 2024
|

View All Insights

Practices

Industries

Emmanuel's Insights

Webinar | 11.26.24

A Deep Dive into the EU Pay Transparency Directive and the US Experience on Equal Pay 

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.  ...

View All Insights