On 3 September 2020, Van Olmen & Wynant orgisanised its first ever Corporate Employment Forum at De Warande in Brussels. Although VOW has held numerous Employment Forum seminars before, it was the first time that the Corporate department joined forces with the Employment department to present a seminar on a topic which is relevant for both legal domains. But this was not the only novel aspect about it. For many of the 60 attendees, it was the first professional event in months which they attended in real life. In fact this seminar was originally planned for March but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of turning it into a virtual experience, VOW believed that most legal and HR professionals were ready and eager to attend a seminar in person as long as sufficient hygiene and social distancing measures are taken to prevent the spread of the Virus. This turned out to be correct.
But it was not only the joy of welcoming the attendees in person, the beautiful surroundings and the excellent catering of De Warande which turned the event into a success. Also our speakers, Koen Hoornaert and Gautier Busschaert, stepped up their game to deliver thought-provoking presentations on the recent developments relating to the new Code for Companies and Associations. Mr. Koen Hoornaert, partner in the Corporate department who has recently joined VOW in 2019, started the seminar with an overview of his key take-aways with regard to the new Code. The Code for Companies and Associations was adopted in early 2019 and entered into force on 1 May 2019. The new Code is the most far-reaching reform in the history of Belgian company law. It aims to modernise and simplify Belgian company law, in order, among others, to create better opportunities to start up a business in Belgium. Koen especially drew the attention of the audience to some common problems that companies seem to struggle with when adapting their statutes to the demands of the new system.
Next, mr. Gautier Busschaert, senior associate in the Employment department, focussed on several social law aspects of the Code for Companies and Associations. First, he looked at the evolution of the social status (employee / self-employed) of the corporate mandate holders (directors, board members etc.). Second, closely related to the first issue, there is the situation of the "duality of functions", in which case a director or board member is at the same time connected to the company with a service agreement (as self-employed) and with an employment contract. Third, Gautier had a look at the possibilities to dismiss and or revoke a director or board members.
In the future VOW will continue to organise "Forum" seminars. It can take the form of an Employment Forum, a Corporate Forum or a Corporate Employment Forum. If you are interested to attend one of our seminars, feel free to let us know at info@vow.be.