The Constitutional Court annuls the transitional regime for long-term unemployed persons

The Constitutional Court annuls Article 212, § 1, paragraph 2, 4° to 6°, of the program law of July 18, 2025, which reduced the right to benefits for long-term unemployed persons in the third compensation period to nine, eight, or six months. Judgment No. 96/2026 of September 10, 2026, rendered under reference C − 2026/007199 (rolls 8540, 8547, 8577, and 8590), is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of November 13, 2026, page 60378. The Court rejects the appeals for the remainder, thereby validating the principle of limiting the right to benefits to twelve months.

A “transitional” regime shorter than the general regime

Articles 207 to 216 of the program law regulate the entry into force of Chapter 1 of Title 5 (“Employment”) and establish, according to the legislator, a “transitional regime.” Article 212, § 1, paragraph 1, allows workers admitted to the right to benefits before March 1, 2026, to retain this right, until June 30, 2030, at the latest, but by limiting its duration. Article 169 of the same law, which was not annulled, sets the new general regime at twelve months, extendable by one month per block of 104 working days, up to a limit of twelve additional months.

The transitional regime deviated from this twelve-month minimum solely for workers who were in their third compensation period on June 30, 2025, i.e., the very long-term unemployed:

• 9 months for those who had received fewer than 2,496 full or half-benefits by December 31, 2024;
• 8 months for those who had received at least 2,496 but fewer than 6,240 benefits;
• 6 months for those who had received at least 6,240 benefits.

The Court notes that these durations were in reality even shorter, as they ran from July 1, 2025, even before the publication of the law in the Belgian Official Gazette of July 29, 2025 (entering into force on August 8, 2025).

Unjustified discrimination, according to the Court

The difference in treatment between these workers and those subject to the general twelve-month regime is based on an objective criterion, but it violates Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution. According to the Court, the objectives of the social system’s viability and budgetary savings cannot justify unfavorable treatment based on the duration already spent unemployed. As for the objective of increasing the employment rate, it is equally unsustainable: a study by the ONEM (“Monitoring the limitation of the right to unemployment benefits over time. Situation as of March 31, 2026”, July 2, 2026) establishes that workers in the third benefit period mostly correspond to the profile of an older beneficiary, unemployed for many years and low-skilled, meaning they have the lowest chances of employment. A “sufficient preparation period” also does not require shortening this period for the longest-term unemployed.

What the ruling validates

The other grievances are rejected and the contested provisions are maintained:

• Article 169, which in principle limits the right to unemployment benefits to twelve months;
• Article 142, which reduces the duration of integration benefits from 36 to 12 months;
• Article 212, § 2, which exempts 55-year-old workers with a sufficient professional history from the limitation;
• Article 216, which extends the right of beneficiaries who, as of January 1, 2026, are undergoing training for a shortage occupation.

Four joined appeals

The appeals had been filed by François Jortay, Bart Vertongen, the non-profit organization Belgisch Netwerk Armoedebestrijding and a series of associations and trade unions — including the Ligue des droits humains, Solidaris, the FGTB, the CSC, and the CGSLB — as well as by Alessandro Grumelli. The latter appeal is ruled inadmissible. The request for suspension had already been rejected by ruling no. 11/2026 of January 15, 2026, published in the Moniteur belge of July 28, 2026. The ruling was delivered by the Court composed of presidents Pierre Nihoul and Joséphine Moerman, assisted by clerk Nicolas Dupont. Other cases (nos. 8629, 8632, and 8634) concerning the precise modalities of the reform remain pending.

For the tens of thousands of long-term unemployed persons concerned, the annulment restores a minimum duration of twelve months, aligned with the new general regime. However, it suspends neither the twelve-month limitation nor its application since March 1, 2026, and the interested parties must contact their payment body — the ONEM or a mutual insurance fund — for the revision of their file.

Source: Moniteur belge of November 13, 2026, ruling no. 96/2026 of September 10, 2026, ref. C − 2026/007199, p. 60378.