Working in Belgium - Employment of women

Women may not be employed to carry out manual labour on earthworks, in excavation work or in compressed-air caissons. Female engineers are, however, allowed in mines.

Female employees may not work nights except in exceptional cases, governed by Royal Decree. They are entitled to a break of at least 11 consecutive hours between ending and resuming work.

The employer is obliged to carry out a risk analysis from the moment he first employs a woman, regardless of whether or not she is pregnant. Generally speaking this involves a systematic analysis of all aspects of the work that could possibly harm the health and safety of employees, all means that could eliminate or reduce this risk and all prevention and protection measures that allow the risk to be managed.

If a risk is found, taking into account the results of the assessment, the employer will temporarily change the working conditions or the risk-entailing working times of the female employee concerned. If this is technically or objectively impossible, the employer will ensure that the female employee can carry out other work that is allowed in her condition. If this is not possible, the employment contract will be suspended. The employee will then be entitled to sick pay. If she would earn less by moving elsewhere, the deficit may be made up.

The equal treatment of men and women with regard to pay, working conditions and access to employment, vocational training, in-service training and retraining, career guidance, promotion opportunities as well as access to independent personal service is laid down in various statutory and regulatory texts. The industrial tribunal has jurisdiction in this respect. The principle of equal treatment precludes any form of discrimination, either direct or indirect, on the basis of sex, by reference in particular to marital status or family situation. Direct discrimination involves a difference in treatment on the basis of a person's sex.

If a specific measure taken by an employer results in employees of one sex being disadvantaged, this creates, as it were, a suspicion of indirect discrimination. The employer can refute this suspicion by demonstrating that the contested regulation is objectively justified. The courts have far-reaching powers of inspection. They may, for example, examine whether a specific measure was necessary to allow the business to run efficiently.

On the job market no reference may be made to sex, race, skin colour, descent, origin, sexual orientation, civil status, birth, wealth, age, faith or ideology in the conditions relating to finding employment, job offers or advertisements for positions, selection, career guidance, vocational training, career management or dismissal.

Text last edited on: 08/2006

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2007
Reproduction is authorised.