"What are the employment law aspects in relation with an outsourcing project ?"

"Under which conditions is it required to negotiate a social plan ?"

"Which information on the restructuring has to be communicated to the staff representatives and within which time frame ?"

In order to remain competitive on the market or to respond to evolving business strategies, companies may have to reorganize, be it through merger, outsourcing or downsizing.

The successful completion of such reorganizations mainly depends on the proper anticipation and management of personnel issues.

As employment lawyers, we are fully involved in the preparation and the implementation of the restructuring projects, in order to ensure that all legal issues related to the employees’ situation are properly dealt with.

In this context, we assist companies at the various steps of a merger or an outsourcing arrangement, from analyzing at the start whether the transaction at hand qualifies as a transfer of undertaking to advising on post-transfer issues such as the harmonization of the salary packages, while at the same time assisting clients in the consultation process with the staff representatives.

In mergers & acquisitions transactions, we carry out due diligences in order to provide our clients with a risk assessment on employment and social security law aspects.

As far as collective redundancies are concerned, our services notably include assisting the client in negotiations with the trade unions and drafting the social plan and related documentation.

In many circumstances, restructuring projects imply the combined expertise of various legal disciplines. We are used to working closely with the Corporate Structuring, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Technologies groups in order to provide a full and dedicated service.