Mandatory Dutch and invalidity of employment documents
The decree of July 19, 1973 imposes Dutch for social relations and personnel documents within its territorial scope. A document contrary to the decree risks invalidity.
Articles 2 to 5 target employers having a place of business in the Dutch-speaking region. Verify the special regime of municipalities with facilities. Article 4, § 4, also covers relations with candidates before hiring, even if no contract is ultimately concluded.
Article 5 imposes a Dutch version. For certain workers exercising freedom of movement, an additional contractual version in an official EU or EEA language understood by the parties is admitted. In case of divergence, Dutch prevails. Section 5 allows testing other languages during selection.
According to Article 10, the judge finds invalidity ex officio and orders replacement of documents. Regularization only takes effect from the replacement according to the provided terms. Invalidity cannot harm the worker; the employer is liable for damage caused. The effective dates of the articles are indicated in the consolidated text.