Expertise

As an employer you enter into relations with various parties: employees, trade unions, government departments, service providers and competitors. Kwint assists you in each of these relations. In the first place our service takes the form of advice, the drawing up of contracts and the prevention of disputes, but we also assist in those cases where conflicts nevertheless arise. As lawyers we obviously also defend your interests in court. Apart from the counselling work we are also open to requests to provide in house training or to larger commissions within the company.

Employees

The relations with your employees, from their recruitment to their dismissal, are regulated in all phases by hundreds of laws and decrees, which in addition constantly change. Kwint assists you in each phase of the employment. We help you drawing up a labour agreement that gives you real protection and we counsel you when you have to take leave of one or more employees. Just a few examples of questions which companies ask us daily: How to introduce flexible time schedules without extra pay? What to pay attention to when drawing up a bonus plan? Is gps tracking of employees legal in Belgium? How to employ foreign labour?

Companies differ as much from each other as people and for that reason our solutions are always tailor-made. We listen to your story and propose a strategy, which we then implement together with you. Because we are aware that – in addition to your strategic projects – you are also confronted with various smaller daily problems, we are at all times available for immediate advice.

Some domains:

labour agreements and regulations
working hours, holidays, credit hours
individual and collective dismissal
comp&ben
end of career
privacy
discrimination
well-being

Government

As an employer you are daily confronted with 'the government' in all its forms. The employment of personnel brings you into contact with government departments such as the National Social Security Office (NSSO), the treasury, the social inspection departments and – sometimes inevitably – the judiciary.

The lawyers from Kwint act as intermediaries between you and these services. Through our extensive experience in social law gained over many years we immediately direct you to the appropriate department in the maze of government services.

Experience has taught us that timely dialogue can prevent a great deal of disaster. All too often we find that employers consult us at the moment an inspection service makes a charge, the Public Prosecutor starts a legal procedure, or the NSSO implements a regularization. This is regrettable because an earlier intervention may determine the further development of a case.

Our services for employers in these relations are very diverse:

assistance of employers during controls by social inspection services;
conducting of legal proceedings before the labour tribunals and courts against (former) employees, the NSSO and other administrations;
assisting in cases in the domain of social penal law (serious or deadly industrial accidents, unreported employment, infringements concerning working hours, false self-employment, Dimona, Limosa, secondment, …): this includes negotiations with the Public Prosecutor as well as conducting proceedings before criminal courts or the government departments concerning administrative fines;
giving advice and assistance concerning work authorizations and work permits;
requests of fiscal prefilings and rulings

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Trade Unions

Kwint believes in dialogue, also with the works council, trade union representatives or external trade unions. In those relations, too, we assist companies. We prepare negotiations, investigate the feasibility of proposals and counter proposals and provide help in drafting the communication. When an agreement has been reached we draw up the collective bargaining agreement in which it is laid down in an enforceable manner. Naturally, we also assist companies in their relations with protected employees. To give some examples of questions employers ask us: How to draw up clear rules on the use of trade union leave? What to do when an employees' representative is no longer performing? Are non-strikers who have been prevented from working by a blockade entitled to guaranteed wages? How to take action in case of damage resulting from a social conflict?

Some domains:

social elections
social dialogue
negotiating and drawing up collective labour agreements
protected employees
social conflicts

Third Parties

The economic reality of social law is not restricted to labour relations between employer and employee. As an employer you also come into contact with (sub)contractors, self-employed service providers, consultants, trade agents, company managers,...

In these relations, too, specific legal mechanisms and regulations play a role and special problems may arise. Recent legislative initiatives and changed viewpoints and priorities of the competent government departments specifically concern these relations. Instances include inspection services' heightened attention to collaboration with foreign sub-contractors and the problem of false self-employment, which attracts renewed interest.

Kwint Law can help you in numerous ways in these relations with third parties, including:

advice concerning fake self-employment;
advice concerning the statutes of self-employed managers, business managers, directors,...;
setting up of a management committee;
drawing up contracts with contractors, managers, consultants, company managers,...;
proceedings before the commercial court.

Competitors

Competitors of a company are not only interested in your customers but possibly also in your personnel. Kwint helps you discouraging solicitation of personnel. We also assist companies that are the victims of unfair competition by (former) employees. If necessary we ask the court to impose measures in summary proceedings to forbid such practices.

Domains include:

non-solicitation
(unfair) competition