Notice periods - resignation by the worker

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    A worker who wishes to resign must respect the notice period mentioned in the table below. These notice periods are expressed in weeks and are determined based on the seniority the worker has acquired at the company. The notice period may not exceed 13 weeks.

    This scheme is applicable to both manual workers and employees. A distinction must, however, be made according to whether the execution of the employment contract started before 1 August 2026 or as from 1 August 2026.

    Employment contracts whose execution started before 1 August 2026

    Seniority

    Notice period (in weeks)

    From 0 to less than 3 months

    1

    From 3 months to less than 6 months

    2

    From 6 months to less than 12 months

    3

    From 12 months to less than 18 months

    4

    From 18 months to less than 24 months

    5

    From 2 years to less than 4 years

    6

    From 4 years to less than 5 years

    7

    From 5 years to less than 6 years

    9

    From 6 years to less than 7 years

    10

    From 7 years to less than 8 years

    12

    From 8 years

    13

    Example:  A worker is hired on 1 March 2014 with an open-ended employment contract. He resigns with a notice period starting on 1 September 2014. Taking into account that seniority is calculated starting from a specific date until the day before that same date, the worker has acquired 6 months of seniority (starting from 1 March 2014 - first day of the employment relation - until 31 August 2014 - last day before the start of the notice period). They therefore fall into the category of 6 months to less than 12 months of seniority. The worker must respect a notice period of 3 weeks.

    Employment contracts whose execution starts as from 1 August 2026

    For these employment contracts, the following table applies, with the notice period amounting to one week during the first six months of seniority. 

    Seniority

    Notice period (in weeks)

    From 0 to less than 6 months

    1

    From 6 months to less than 12 months

    3

    From 12 months to less than 18 months

    4

    From 18 months to less than 24 months

    5

    From 2 years to less than 4 years

    6

    From 4 years to less than 5 years

    7

    From 5 years to less than 6 years

    9

    From 6 years to less than 7 years

    10

    From 7 years to less than 8 years

    12

    From 8 years

    13

    Example: A worker is hired on 1 September 2026 with an open-ended employment contract. On 1 February 2027, he gives notice of resignation to the employer. Taking into account that seniority is calculated from a specific date until the day before that same date, the worker has acquired 5 months of seniority (from 1 September 2026 - first day of the employment relationship - until 31 January 2027 - last day before notice is given). Since the execution of the employment contract started as from 1 August 2026, the worker falls into the category of 0 to less than 6 months of seniority. The worker must respect a notice period of 1 week.