In brief
In a judgment of 1 June 2026, the Belgian Supreme Court clarified that the transitional "double snapshot" rule for calculating notice periods applies only where the employment contract being terminated began before 1 January 2014. It does not apply to a contract concluded after that date merely because the employee's recognized seniority dates back to before 2014.
The "double snapshot" rule: what is at stake?
The 2013 legislation introducing a unified status for blue-collar and white-collar employees established a transitional method in Belgium for calculating the notice period when an employment contract that began before 1 January 2014 is terminated.
Under this method, commonly called the "double snapshot" rule, two periods are calculated and added together:
- One for seniority accrued up to 31 December 2013, under the rules applicable at that date
- Another for seniority accrued from 1 January 2014, under the rules applicable when the notice of termination is given.
The question in this case was whether that method also applies when an employee retains seniority dating from before 2014, but the contract being terminated was concluded only after 31 December 2013.
The Supreme Court's ruling
An employee had worked for a company from 10 April 2007 until that contract ended by mutual agreement on 30 June 2014. The employee subsequently entered into a new employment contract with a sister company on 1 July 2014. After that company dismissed the employee for serious cause in July 2020, the Ghent Labor Court of Appeal held that an indemnity in lieu of notice was due and calculated it using the double snapshot rule.
The Supreme Court set aside the part of the judgment concerning the indemnity in lieu of notice. It held that the unified-status legislation of 2013 applies only if the employment contract being terminated began before 1 January 2014. Because the employee's contract with the dismissing employer began on 1 July 2014, the transitional calculation did not apply, irrespective of when the employee's seniority began.
Key takeaway for employers
When assessing termination costs, employers should distinguish recognised seniority from the start date of the contract being terminated: pre-2014 seniority alone does not bring a post-2013 contract within the double snapshot rule.
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Source: Belgian Supreme Court, 1 June 2026, S.24.0016.N, ECLI:BE:CASS:2026:ARR.20260601.3N.2