The probation period is making a comeback in Belgium – just not in the form employers may remember. Under the Law of 3 June 2026, indefinite-term employment contracts whose performance begins on or after 1 August 2026 can be terminated by either party with a uniform notice period of one week at any point during the first six months. Twelve years after Belgium abolished the contractual trial clause, the legislator has recreated its practical effect through a simple statutory rule. This article looks at where the reform comes from, exactly how the new mechanism works, which contracts it covers, and what both employers and new hires should take away from it.
Until the end of 2013, Belgian employment contracts could include a probationary clause (proefbeding / clause d’essai). Where such a clause applied, either party could walk away on just one week’s notice – a low-risk window in which to test whether the match worked. The great harmonisation of blue-collar and white-collar status, effective 1 January 2014, swept that clause away for ordinary contracts. From then on, the statutory notice ladder applied in full from the very first day of employment, with notice entitlements climbing steadily as seniority accrued.
Employers never quite stopped lamenting the loss. The coalition agreement of the current federal government, published in January 2025, promised to restore a form of trial period as part of a broader package of labour market flexibility measures, citing evidence that easier hiring and firing at the start of a relationship lowers the barrier to recruitment – particularly for candidates employers perceive as a risk. A draft law followed on 23 February 2026, and the final text was adopted as the Law of 3 June 2026, amending Article 37/2 of the Employment Contracts Act of 3 July 1978.
Importantly, the reform does not resurrect the old contractual clause. There is nothing to negotiate, draft or sign. Instead, the statute itself now provides that where an employee has less than six months’ seniority, the notice period is one week – full stop. The essentials:
A side effect worth noting: the counter-notice mechanism – whereby a dismissed employee who finds a new job can leave early on shortened notice – loses most of its practical relevance during the first six months, since the ordinary notice is now already at the one-week minimum.
The contrast with the outgoing regime is easiest to see side by side. For contracts starting before 1 August 2026, the old ladder continues to apply:
| Seniority | Employer gives notice (old rules) | Employee resigns (old rules) | Either party (new rules, contracts from 1 Aug 2026) |
| 0 – 3 months | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week |
| 3 – 4 months | 3 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| 4 – 5 months | 4 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| 5 – 6 months | 5 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 week |
| From 6 months | Standard ladder continues | Standard ladder continues | Standard ladder – unchanged |
For an employer parting ways with a hire in month five, the difference is a reduction from five weeks’ notice (or the equivalent indemnity in lieu) to a single week – a meaningful saving in both cost and management time when a recruitment decision has clearly not worked out.
A shorter notice period is not a licence to dismiss freely. All substantive dismissal protections survive intact. Terminations during the first six months must still respect anti-discrimination legislation, the special protections for categories such as pregnant employees or employee representatives, and the general prohibition on abuse of rights. Formal requirements for giving notice – registered letter, correct start date, correct wording – also remain unchanged, and mistakes remain expensive.
Nor was the reform waved through without criticism. In its opinion on the draft, the Council of State questioned whether a flat one-week notice across the full six months sits comfortably with the constitutional standstill principle, pointing out that the European Committee of Social Rights has previously accepted one week only for the first three months of service. Trade unions, for their part, regard the measure as unpicking the carefully balanced 2014 compromise. The government proceeded regardless, but a constitutional challenge in the future cannot be ruled out – another reason for employers to keep documentation of early-stage dismissals clean and objective.
For employers, the reform lowers the cost of a mis-hire and may encourage bolder recruitment – taking a chance on a career changer, a returner or a less conventional CV becomes less financially daunting. But the sword is double-edged. New employees can now also leave on one week’s notice for the entire first half-year, which raises the stakes for onboarding, early engagement and retention. A promising hire who feels neglected in month four can be gone in week one of month five.
Sensible preparation includes:
Companies hiring in Belgium without a local entity face an added layer of complexity: applying the right notice regime, respecting formal dismissal requirements and staying aligned with joint committee rules. As an established Employer of Record and payroll provider, Access Financial handles compliant contracts, onboarding and terminations for international employers in Belgium and across Europe – get in touch to discuss how the new notice rules affect your hiring plans.
The probation period has returned in effect, though not in form. The contractual trial clause abolished in 2014 has not been reinstated; instead, the law now automatically sets the notice period at one week for the first six months of employment. The practical outcome closely resembles the old probation regime, without any additional contractual administration.
The one-week notice period applies to employment contracts of indefinite duration whose actual performance begins on or after 1 August 2026. What matters is the start of work, not the signature date. Contracts already running before that date, and terminations after six months’ seniority, remain subject to the ordinary graduated notice periods.
Yes – an employee can resign on one week’s notice at any time during the first six months under the new rules. The shortened period is deliberately symmetrical, giving both parties an easy exit while the relationship is being tested. Employers should factor this mobility into onboarding, engagement and retention planning for new starters.