Employment in Financial Services

Regarding anyone in an executive position (i.e. members of the legal administrative body, the effective management and independent controllers) at a financial institution, it is necessary to use the forms provided by the NBB to ensure that they are “fit and proper” and are authorised by the NBB (see question 2).

It is also recommended to foresee restrictive covenants in the employment contract, such as confidentiality, other professional activities, non-solicitation, non-competition and intellectual property provisions.

The hiring of employees in the financial services sector follows the common law regime. Thus, in principle, the hiring of an employee means the contractualising of the employment relationship. Although it is not in principle mandatory for the parties to sign an employment contract, but for exceptional cases (part-time employment contract, fixed-term contract, etc), it is nevertheless recommended to contractualise the relationship to avoid any future dispute.

It is also common, at the time of hiring, for the employee to commit to a non-compete and confidentiality obligation concerning his employer, either through clauses in his employment contract or through a separate agreement. These obligations must be the subject of a signed document and are therefore generally incorporated into the employment contract. In addition, most companies in the financial services sector make the hiring of an employee conditional upon that person signing a charter of good conduct or a policy to prevent and manage conflicts of interest.

The employer is also required to make a pre-employment declaration.

Finally, as stated, for certain positions, the employer must notify the ACPR or the ECB of the hire, and they must ratify the appointment.

In addition to an employment contract, there are additional documentation requirements in connection with the application or transfer of the employee’s licence with the financial regulators.