IEL Elite

Overview

Market commentators are full of praise for full-service firm Eubelius’ stellar employment, labour, and social security offering.

Leading foreign firms – including magic circle names – regularly rely on the Brussels-based team to assist with the Belgian elements of cross-border employment mandates.

Véronique Pertry and Liesbet Vandenplas – who became partner in January 2022 – are key contacts.

Specialisms

The employment group boasts an impressive list of long-standing household name clients, for which it acts on all workforce-related issues – from day-to-day HR advisory services through to one-off matters impacting a company’s bottom line, including litigation.

This includes assistance with the employment aspects of M&A transactions and corporate restructurings. A recent standout mandate for the team was advice to THI Factory (Thalys) on the merger of Thalys and Eurostar, which concluded in May 2022. Vandenplas led the group, which assisted with European Works Council consultations, structuring the international employment of a unified executive committee, and terminating the employment contracts of two senior executives.

The firm’s prowess in this area was further evidenced in its advice to PON (Koninklijke Gazelle) on a restructuring process, which included a number of dismissal proceedings and changes to employee functions.

Another major area of focus for the group is complex contract drafting. The team assisted European Payment Initiative with the staffing of a pan-European virtual company, including the drafting of all contractual documents, and negotiating the terms of those contracts with more than 30 service providers across Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.

The group’s expertise extends to in-company audits. In the last 12 months, the team has carried out a number of audits for ABB relating to temporary workers and external staff (including self-employed and interim employees).

Aside from private clients, the group has extensive experience in guiding public sector organisations through employment issues. For example, a team led by Pertry regularly supports the City of Ostend and its social services agencies with related issues. In the past year, this has included representation before the Council of State relating to a trade union complaint following the transfer of staff to a private third party.

The group’s experience in this area has extended to acting for the Federal Public Service of Employment, meaning that its support in contentious proceedings and other advisory matters has had a direct impact on legislation in the country.

Clients