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Outplacement
Good morning. What's the situation in Brussels regarding outplacement, does anyone know? Is it a legal right.legal obligation for downsizing company to offer? Is it only available from a certain age, and what are the conditions?
OR, where else can I find this information? I need to have it in English.
Thanks all.
Do you mean redundancy? You would need to talk to your union.
There is this service for EU nationals.
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu/youreurope/advice/index_en.htm
I understand that at least some companies have to offer it, IF YOU ARE ABOVE A CERTAIN AGE... (I believe that age is 45- but do not quote me)
The employer is obliged to offer it to all employees of 45 years and + in case of dismissal. The companies have however quite a lot of movement on how the outplacement is done in practice. Also the employee has a right to be outplace via ONEM on employers cost in case the employer has not organised outplacement himself.
In case of collective dismissals the employer has to organise an employment cell available for all employees dismissed. In practice this is a mix of trainings and guidance in job search for all, and for 45 and + year olds an outplacement of 6 months. Participation in employment cell activities is compulsory for all permanent employees who were dismissed.
I'm afraid this is a tough one to find in English. Below a link to the relevant government website, maybe you can start by translating this with Google or with a help from a friend. You should also be able to get more info from ONEM
http://www.emploi.belgique.be/defaultTab.aspx?id=32128#
+ follow the link 'Outplacement' on the page.
it is all about going through the motions of theoretical employment schemes that look good on paper. when i got fired at 45+, my boss had to go by flemish rules and offer outplacement (that he really did not want to pay for), which i had to formally accept (and really wanted). he got out of it because according to federal rules i was too old for the outplacement scheme. i ended up without work and without any help getting another job.
