Employment law and social security law

Our team of 35 lawyers works with you to deal with the economic challenges and changes that may arise at any time in the world of work. We represent and assist our clients in all areas of employment law and social security law, both in an advisory and contentious capacity.

We constantly monitor the regulations and the changes taking place within businesses, and can assist you with the definition and implementation of your legal human resources strategy and management of the associated risks. Our objective is to develop the most appropriate solution with our clients while achieving the optimal quality/risk ratio having regard to the context in which the business operates.
 

Whatever the issues involved, our lawyers work tirelessly to develop relevant arguments combined with a proactive and innovative strategy.
 

Whenever a case so requires, our lawyers also work closely with the firm’s other departments.

The development of a business largely depends on its industrial relations, whether through the negotiation of national, branch, group, company or establishment agreements. Our lawyers assist you with a variety of matters that are regularly affected by shifting legislation and case-law, such as the following:

• The operational procedures of Social and Economic Committees (CSE)
• The rules governing the activities and management of staff representatives
• Working hours
• Negotiation of salaries, training contracts, mobility agreements, job retention agreements, etc.
• Forward-looking management of jobs and skills
• The management of industrial action
• Disputes relating to collective agreements

Our litigation team handles all kinds of employment cases: strikes, harassment claims, accidents at work, industrial or individual disputes, administrative, criminal and civil litigation concerning undeclared employment, etc.

We help you develop your pre-contentious or litigation strategy and represent you before any jurisdiction, as well as in the search for amicable solutions.

Restructuring a company requires rigour and respect for each stage in order to successfully complete the project. Our experience in restructuring is a guarantee of security and success for your company. Whether it concerns business transfers or planned redundancies, our team ensures that the project submitted to the Economic and Social Committee (CSE) is well-documented and well thought out, through:

• appropriate communication to and with employees,
• appropriate information to local players and the Direccte,
• management of the relationship with trade unions.

Buying or selling a business, or acquiring or disposing of a stake in a business, requires a global understanding of the obligations involved. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, our team gives you a clear overview of your obligations, including information about the social issues involved.

If you are a buyer, our team assists you with the auditing of the target, the purchase of shares, the transfer of a business branch, a merger or other transaction, as well as with the analysis of existing collective agreements and the preparation of a new one.

If you are a seller, we increase your visibility among potential buyers and provide you a proven methodology to be followed concerning your staff representative body’s consultation procedure.

Health and safety are crucial aspects of employment law. Whether in the daily management of a business or in the arrangement of structuring projects, physical and psychological risks must be identified and dealt with.

Given the growing awareness of such risks, the financial implications can be very substantial if an employer is found guilty of gross misconduct. In order to control these risks, we can help you develop improved preventive measures in your business, including risk mapping and acting in an advisory role in the implementation of the prevention plan.

We work with businesses on all aspects of individual employment relationships, taking a strictly cross-disciplinary approach to a range of areas, including:

• Fundamental freedoms
• Religious observance
• Surveillance of employees (internet, video, etc.)
• Union membership
• Personal expression on social networks

The employment market is constantly changing, and defining a remuneration policy is fundamental to a business’s strategy. In setting up such a policy, businesses today have access to a varied arsenal of legal tools that can achieve a number of objectives, including employee retention, sharing the business’s growth and affirming its societal responsibility.  

We advise you on the implementation of your remuneration policy, whether involving the introduction of bonus or variable remuneration mechanisms or employee savings schemes: incentives, profit-sharing, stock options, bonus share allocations, founders’ share warrants, company savings plans or pension plans.

The establishment of good social security cover is of structural importance in any business’s policy. Our team help you arrange your social security cover in accordance with the legal provisions and thus avoid exposing the business to additional costs in the event of reassessments or inadequate cover according to legal or contractual obligations. Our team can also carry out a regular audit to ensure compliance with internal practices.

Taking a cross-disciplinary approach covering employment law and business ethics, we assist businesses in the context of their CSR strategies and in the drafting of their rules of ethics and professional conduct.

Our teams advise businesses on all aspects of the management’s status and remuneration:

• • Negotiation of the status and remuneration and termination clauses
  • Advice on combining executive and employee status, where that option is a possibility
  • Remuneration policies subject to general meetings, say-on-pay
  • Preparation of delegated powers and responsibilities
  • Management of terminations of office and disputes

Regardless of what kind of organizational change takes place, employment law has an impact and must be taken into account. Our team can guide you through all your projects, whether involving a review of the organization of working hours, promoting geographical and/or functional mobility, assisting with changes to the business, etc.