The social law course covers labour law and those aspects of social security law that relate to labour law.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the most important legal rules and principles of labour law, as well as those aspects of social security law that relate to labour law;
Accurately define the basic concepts of labour law and, where applicable, social security law;
Properly use and apply these concepts, legal rules and principles to specific cases (casus) similar to those likely to be encountered in the professional world;
Distinguish, within the subject matter studied, between the essential and the incidental;
Have a thorough understanding of the organisation of industrial relations;
Be familiar with the administrative and financial organisation of social security;
Have a thorough understanding of the division of powers in social matters and know which institutions and services are responsible;
Understand and correctly apply the hierarchy of legal norms;
Distinguish between and precisely define the various occupational categories;
Apply the relevant legislation to each occupational category and correctly justify this choice;
To make the necessary connections between employment law, social security law and other branches of law such as administrative law, constitutional law, the law of obligations, procedural law, etc. This naturally requires a sufficient grasp of these subjects;
Resolve practical cases (casus) reflecting the reality of working life and therefore combining different themes and legal provisions, where applicable drawn from different branches of law;
Read and analyse case law correctly;
Develop and formulate a personal opinion and a critical perspective on all matters of social law, in a structured, reasoned and well-founded manner;
Write with correct spelling, whilst adhering to the rules of grammar, syntax and verb conjugation in the French language;
Apply the social law code correctly, even when faced with a new problem, in order to analyse and resolve any issue relating to social law;
Develop, either in a group or individually depending on the exercise, the ability to scrutinise the legal framework, to master it, to use the relevant tools and to adopt a critical and nuanced approach to the questions posed or those which the student has identified themselves;
Understand the implications of any social issue, without limiting oneself solely to the legal implications.
In addition to the learning outcomes (see above), the main objectives of the course are as follows:
To provide students with an understanding of employment law and those aspects of social security law that relate to employment law;
To help students understand the unique nature and specific characteristics of social law in relation to other branches of law, on the one hand, and to the practical realities of the workplace, on the other;
To provide students with the basic tools and knowledge to enable them to properly understand the interactions between social law, other branches of law and the economic, social, human and other issues of the labour market as a whole;
To develop students’ ability to apply theoretical principles to practical situations;
To develop students’ critical and constructive thinking.
The social law course covers labour law and aspects of social security law relating to labour law.
It focuses on:
The relationship between labour law and social security law;
The differences between occupational categories (employees, civil servants, self-employed workers);
The history of social law;
Collective labour relations (professional organisations, trade unions, the National Labour Council, joint committees, works councils, collective labour agreements, etc.);
Individual employment relationships (in particular, the specific characteristics of employees, civil servants and the self-employed; the resulting social protection regime; and the employment contract (from recruitment to termination));
Worker protection (health and safety at work, non-discrimination, working hours, etc.);
The administrative organisation and funding of social security (including the division of responsibilities);
Well-being at work (basic principles, obligations regarding well-being at work, occupational health).
See course materials available on Webcampus
Please note that teaching methods may change depending on the health situation and the guidelines given by the relevant authorities.
The labour law course is structured around 4-hour teaching blocks, with the exception of one or two 2-hour blocks.
The teaching method is designed to be primarily interactive and participatory. It centres on lectures, practical exercises (individual or in groups) during lessons, discussions with students, analysis of current affairs, question-and-answer sessions and self-directed learning at home (SDL).
Lectures are kept to a minimum.
Self-directed home study (SHS) is based on documents and materials which are provided to students in good time via Webcampus (the ‘SHS’ folder). The material covered as part of the SHS will not be presented in class. Students are required to study this material independently and may be examined on it during the exam.
In order to highlight the importance of social law and to make the subject as engaging as possible, the lecture is closely linked to current affairs and developments (social changes, strike action, new reforms, social dialogue, offshoring, statistics on social benefits, societal debates, etc.). It is therefore highly likely that some of the topics covered in the course will not be included in the reference materials listed.
Practical exercises (individual or in groups) take place during the lessons to enable students to make the link between theory and practice. However, solving more complex case studies forms part of the course ‘DRHDB304 – Practical Law Exercises’.
Students are asked to post their questions on the Webcampus forum so that all course participants can benefit from the questions and answers. Students are encouraged to answer each other’s questions; the lecturer ensures the quality of the answers available on the forum. It is therefore the ideal platform for asking a question and receiving a high-quality answer.
Towards the end of the course, a dedicated question-and-answer session is also organised. Students’ questions must be posted on the WebCampus forum in advance (before the specified deadline) and are mandatory.
Please note that the assessment methods may change or be adapted according to the health situation and the guidelines given by the competent authorities.
Assessment method
Assessment is carried out by means of an oral examination.
This examination normally takes place on day j, but if the student so wishes, they may sit the oral examination on 31 October 2026, once all teaching sessions have been completed.
Aims of the Assessment
The examinations aim to confirm that the student has achieved the course objectives and possesses the required learning outcomes (see above).
Materials permitted during the examination
In principle, only the Social Law Code and the Baccalaureate Code are permitted during the examination, possibly supplemented by the texts listed under the ‘Legislation’ section, ‘Texts permitted during the examination’, on Webcampus.
In accordance with the guidelines issued by the Academic Secretary, only ‘numerical’ cross-references are permitted in the codes. Numerical cross-references must, of course, appear alongside the relevant articles and not arbitrarily on any page of the code! Any non-compliant cross-reference will be considered cheating.
Post-it notes may only be used as ‘bookmarks’ to indicate the relevant page(s). Collections of Post-it notes filled with numbers and other figures, letters or words are strictly prohibited, as are Post-it notes in the shape of arrows or any other drawings. Any unauthorised use of Post-it notes will be considered cheating.
Students may note the current indexed amounts in their social law code in place of, or immediately next to, those set out in the legal texts.
Recommended reading is listed or made available online on Webcampus.
Furthermore, students are strongly advised to keep up to date with current social affairs in order to make the connection between the theory covered in class and the practice of social law.
Essential resources
Each student’s personal lecture notes (each student is, of course, responsible for ensuring the completeness and quality of their own lecture notes);
Social Law Code (La Charte CLC4 Social Law Code, 2026–2027 edition);
Basic case law file (available on Webcampus);
Materials used during the oral session (available on Webcampus).
Optional useful resources
Labour law textbook (Kefer, F. and Clesse, J., Manuel de Droit du travail, Larcier, 2018 edition);
Information available at www.emploi.belgique.be (website of the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue);
Information available at www.socialsecurity.be (website of the Federal Public Service for Social Security);
Information taken from the websites of the various public social security institutions (Famifed, Inami, Federal Pensions Service, Onem, Fedris, ONSS, Inasti, ONVA, etc.);
Case law decisions not included in the basic case law file published on Webcampus.
| Training | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor in Law (Evenings and Weekends Schedule) | 3 | 5 | Yes |