Social Elections 2028: start of the Reference Period for Workforce Calculation

The next social elections for the establishment of Works Councils (WC) and Committees for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPW) are, in principle, scheduled to take place in May 2028. 

These employee representative bodies must be established in companies (within the meaning of the technical business unit) employing at least 50 employees for the CPPW and at least 100 employees for the WC. 

While October is often associated with the first signs of autumn, for HR departments October 2026 also marks the beginning of the first reference period relevant to the organisation of the next social elections. 

Indeed, unless legislative changes are introduced in the meantime, the above-mentioned workforce thresholds of 50 and 100 employees will be calculated on the basis of a one-year reference period running from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. 

A shorter reference period, from 1 April 2027 to 30 June 2027, applies to temporary agency workers engaged by the company. 

Our team remains at your disposal should you wish to learn more about the method used to calculate workforce levels or about the concept of the technical business unit.

We will, of course, continue to keep you informed of developments in this area through our newsflashes and upcoming seminars and webinars. 

Save the dates | Social elections seminars

Thursday, 21 January 2027 & Friday, 22 January 2027, afternoon

The election calendar, step by step: mark 21 and 22 January 2027 in your calendar for our upcoming seminars on the social elections.

Please note that the seminars will be held in French and Dutch.

The invitation will follow shortly.