THE LAW THAT CHANGES

A bill was approved on 7 July to replace the notion of 'present or future state of health' in the Act of 10 May 2007 to combat certain forms of discrimination with the notion of 'state of health'. This change will ensure that a past state of health is also protected by the anti-discrimination law. As a result, if an employer refuses to employ a seriously ill worker in the past, solely for fear of a relapse, he or she will be liable to pay compensation equal to 6 months' pay under the Act.

SOCIAL JURISPRUDENCE READ FOR YOU

In its judgment of 21 February 2022 (R.G. n° 16/7.214/A), the Labour Court of Liège had to deal with the admissibility of evidence gathered in an irregular manner. In this case, the employer had dismissed on serious grounds a worker who had been seen by camera using her telephone during working hours (which was prohibited), thus leaving residents unattended and allowing one of the residents to break into a room reserved for staff. While the worker argued that the footage had been misused and could not be used as evidence, the Tribunal ruled that the production of the video did not compromise the right to a fair trial and did not affect the reliability of the evidence. It will therefore accept this method of proof but will note the absence of seriousness of the reason invoked.

In a judgment of 21 March 2022 (R.G. no. 2020/AB/766), the Labour Court of Brussels had to rule on the question of the performance of work within the meaning of the legislation on accidents at work. In this case, the concierge of the building had gone out for 3 hours to run personal errands while she was "on duty". When she returned, she was shocked to find that a burglar had broken into her own flat. The Court said that the accident should be considered as having occurred in the course of the performance of duties since, although she had been absent from the building for 3 hours, she had nevertheless been on the premises at the time of the burglary.

For more information, please contact: Olivier Langlet (olivier.langlet@cew-law.be) and Anaïs Serlippens (anais.serlippens@cew-law.be), lawyers, CEW & Partners.