Trial period

The classic trial period was abolished in Belgium in 2014 for ordinary employment contracts: your contract is fully valid from day one. However, notice periods in the first months are short, and trial arrangements still exist for temporary agency work and students.

What replaced the trial period?

With the introduction of the unified statute the trial clause disappeared from ordinary contracts. In exchange, notice periods at the start of employment were kept short: in the first three months the term for dismissal by the employer is only one to two weeks, and one week for your own resignation. Practice thus resembles a trial period, but legally you are a full employee from day one.

Where does a trial still exist?

In temporary agency work the first three worked days count as a trial in which both parties can stop without notice (unless agreed otherwise), and student contracts have the same arrangement for their first three working days. A clause promising a longer rightless 'settling-in period' is therefore not legally valid.

What does this mean for you?

Signing a permanent contract gives you all rights immediately: pay according to scale or agreement, accrual of holidays and premiums, and protection against arbitrariness. The short initial terms also work both ways: you too can leave quickly and correctly in the first months if the job disappoints. How to handle that professionally is in our resignation guide.