Every four years, the social partners in Belgium hold their Olympic Games: workplace elections. After the votes have been counted we know which of the workplace representatives will be members of the Works Councils and the Health and Safety Committees. Thorough preparation of this process is very important for any company.

Employees who are candidates in trade union elections are by law protected against dismissal, despite the fact that their employers do not yet know about their being candidates. During this hidden period, union representatives and candidates in union elections can only be dismissed for two very strictly defined reasons: economic-technical reasons and urgent reasons. Even so, an employer who dismisses an employee during this period takes a huge risk.